How to Grow Tomatoes

More Americans grow tomatoes than any other vegetable. No wonder - there's no resemblance between the tasteless pink slices served in restaurants and the real deal, fresh from the vine and bursting with flavor. Tomatoes crave heat, but they'll grow anywhere in USDA zone 3 and warmer.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Gardening Gloves
• Hanging Baskets
• Potting Soil
• Garden Trowels
• Garden Hoses
• Shovels
• Fertilizer Analyzer
• Tomato Seeds
• Eggshells
• Compost Makers
• Garden Stakes
• Tomato Plants
• Fertilizers
• Cloches

1. Buy tomato plants at the nursery for planting after all danger of frost has passed. Otherwise, start seeds indoors six to eight weeks before the last expected frost.

2. Choose a site that gets full sun and has soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. Tomatoes need plenty of warmth to taste their best, so provide shelter from chilly breezes, whether with a windbreak of trees, a garden wall, or a vine-covered trellis.

3. Amend the soil with plenty of compost; tomatoes need soil rich in organic matter.

4. Harden off seedlings, whether store-bought or homegrown, and move them to the garden when nighttime temperatures remain above 50 degrees F.

5. 

   Dig a hole the size of a basketball for each plant. Add a shovelful of compost and a handful of crushed eggshells (for needed calcium) to each hole.

6. 

   Set the plants 12 to 18 inches apart depending on variety (see the seed packet or plant label). Plant them deeply - up to the fourth branch from the top - to encourage new root development.

7. 

   Place a paper collar around each plant to deter cutworms, and cover the plants with cloches or floating row covers to protect them from insects and cool temperatures.

8. 

   Remove the covers when the weather has warmed, mulch the soil and install any supports the plants will need as they grow.

9. Make sure plants get between one and two inches of water every week, and to ensure a bumper crop, spray them with compost tea or seaweed extract four times: two weeks after transplanting, after the first flowers appear, when the fruits reach the size of golf balls, and when you spot the first ripe tomato.

10. Pick tomatoes when their color is glossy and even, and their texture midway between soft and firm.

Tips & Warnings

• There are more than 25,000 varieties of tomatoes to choose from, in many colors, in sizes ranging from half an inch to half a foot in diameter, and suited to a variety of climatic ranges. Consult seed catalogs and comprehensive garden books for both heirloom varieties and modern hybrids that will perform best in your growing conditions.

• All tomatoes grow well in containers, and there are many miniature varieties, including "Tumbler," a sweet red cherry tomato bred specifically for pots and hanging baskets. For larger varieties, use at least a 10-gallon container (a half whiskey barrel is ideal) with good drainage, and fill it with a mixture of potting soil and compost. Provide plenty of moisture and feed every three weeks with a low-nitrogen organic liquid fertilizer.

• Tomatoes are prone to a number of diseases, but you can avoid most of them by rotating your crop every year, cleaning up garden debris in the fall, and planting disease-resistant varieties.

• Tomatoes are members of the poisonous nightshade family, so don't eat any parts of the plant but the fruits themselves.