How to Grow Green Tomatoes
Most tomatoes turn red when they ripen, but some varieties stay green even when ripe. Some chefs also use typically red tomatoes while they are still green before they ripen for particular recipes. Gardeners can grow green tomato varieties or grow red tomato varieties for early use relatively easily with just a few simple techniques and supplies. All varieties of tomatoes usually mature during the warm weather of summer. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Sunny garden space or large pots with soil
- Organic compost
- Tiller or garden fork
- Shovel
- Stakes, trellises or tomato cages (optional)
- Twine (optional)
- 5-10-10 ratio fertilizer
- Tomato starter plants
- Water
Instructions
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How to Grow Green Tomatoes
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Gardeners can grow tomatoes more easily from starter plants than seeds. Buy tomato starter plants that grow well in the local climate. Although all varieties of tomatoes usually grow during warm summer weather, some varieties are adapted to the hot long summers of the South, while some grow better in cooler and shorter Northern summers. The National Gardening Association suggests picking out starter plants from a local nursery, since it is easier to grow tomatoes from starter plants than from seeds.
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Tomatoes grow best with lots of sunlight. Choose a gardening site with full sun in most climates, and choose a site with a small amount of shade in extremely hot climates, as recommended by the National Gardening Association.
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Mix some organic compost into the soil using a garden fork or tiller. Prepare the soil for planting by mixing in a two- to three-inch layer of organic compost with a tiller or garden fork as soon as the soil dries up and warms up enough to become soft. Compost improves the soil texture and gives tomatoes some of the nutrients they need to grow.
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Dig planting holes for the tomatoes, and space them at least 18 inches apart for staked plants. Dig holes deep enough to plant the tomatoes at a depth as deep they are in their starter pots.
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Secure any stakes, trellises or tomato cages in the planting holes. Stakes help tomato plants grow more upright and take up less ground space while still growing large.
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Mix a tsp. of 5-10-10 ratio fertilizer and a tbsp. of ground limestone into the soil at the bottom of the planting holes, as recommended by the National Gardening Association.
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Plant the tomatoes in the planting holes and attach them with twine to any stakes, trellises or tomato cages, if desired.
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Water tomatoes immediately after planting and continue to water them heavily for a few days after planting. Continue watering tomatoes regularly for the rest of the plants' lives, but do not overly saturate them. Water them if the soil beneath the surface feels dry or if the plants start to droop.
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Fertilize the tomato plants again when the first fruits show up by side-dressing them with 5-10-10 fertilizer. Use about two cups of fertilizer for every 20 plants. Side-dress by sprinkling some fertilizer on top of the soil at least a few inches from the main stalk of the plant.
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Repeat the same side-dressing fertilization technique once every three weeks for the rest of the growing season.
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Tips & Warnings
When choosing a tomato variety, keep in mind that gardeners can save seeds from heirloom varieties to use each year. Gardeners who choose hybrid varieties, however, will need to buy new seeds every year.
Water tomato plants at the base of the plants rather than spraying water all over their leaves and fruits. This watering technique discourages fungus problems, since fungi like damp leaf environments.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit green tomato image by Xandros from Fotolia.com tomato plants image by Gina Smith from Fotolia.com Sun image by KPICKS from Fotolia.com Garden fork leaning against greenhouse work bench image by Scott Latham from Fotolia.com
