Elaine Casap/Unsplash (public domain)Tomatoes are the bright red gems of veggie gardens. In a salad or sandwich or on its own, a fresh slice of sweet goes a long way. Up your grow game with these tomato tips from the National Garden Bureau.
1. Plant in Direct Sunlight
Set yourself up for success by making sure tomatoes are planted in a space that receives a lot of direct sunlight. “They can get by with six hours of sun but, ideally, eight hours or more is best,” says Diane Blazek, executive director of the National Garden Bureau. “Less than eight hours of sunlight results in fewer and smaller fruits.” Warm weather is important, too. Until nighttime temperatures reach 55 degrees, hold off on planting. (Read more: The Top 10 Best Tomatoes to Grow)
2. Try the Trench Method
Dig a 4-inch hole that’s as long as the plant is high. Pluck lower leaves off the stem, then place the plant in the trench horizontally, filling the trench with soil but keeping the remaining leaves above ground. “Planting horizontally in a trench or simply planting deeper in the soil allows the stem to shoot out new roots, giving the plant a sturdier base,” Diane says. This method is ideal for large indeterminate tomatoes that develop heavy vines and fruits. The technique also promotes speedy, healthy growth, because the plant grows toward the sun and the developing roots are buried shallowly to stay warm. Just make sure to water deeply.
3. Give ’Em Shelter
Tuck tomatoes in at night with a cloche or other cover to protect them from frosty temps. Diane suggests a cold frame (for seedlings), tunnel row covers (once plants are in the ground), water barriers, or an old cloth or plastic tarp. If exposed to 32 degrees, these plants will likely die, so shelter is key!
4. Water Well
As long as the plant continues to fruit, water deeply and thoroughly during dry periods. Once established, tomato plants need at least 1 inch of water a week.
5. Swipe Ripe
Be patient and wait until tomatoes are fully ripened and at their deepest color before harvesting. (Once the fruit is removed, its sugar supply is cut off.) Gently twist the fruit so the stem separates easily from the vine. (Read more: Top 10 Tomato Growing Tips)
6. Skip the Refrigerator
Keep ripe tomatoes cozy instead of cool. Store at room temperature on a kitchen counter for a better-tasting bite. “Never store tomatoes
in the fridge!” Diane says. “Refrigeration changes the taste and texture of tomatoes. Keep them at room temperature and use them as soon as they ripen.”
7. Go Green
Before the first frost pays your garden a visit, pluck any remaining green tomatoes and place them on a windowsill or counter. If the tomato is in a warm spot, the fruit will ripen faster; a cooler location will slow ripening. Although the flavor won’t match vine-ripened, it will stretch your harvest a little more.
Meet the National Garden Bureau
This nonprofit has evolved since its Victory Garden efforts during World War II. Today, it educates and inspires green thumbs to grow their best gardens.
Debuts Fresh from the Vine
• Oh Happy Day beefsteak hybrid is delicious on a burger or sandwich. The disease-resistant plants grow juicy 5-ounce fruits. Buy It!
• Gladiator hybrid, a champion Roma, is a tangy addition to soups and salsas. Its 8-ounce fruits grow well in small spaces, like patios. Buy It!
• Maglia Rosa Italian cherry tomatoes reach their peak flavor when the 3-inch-long fruits are light pink. Grow them in hanging baskets to pop one of these egg-shaped jewels into your mouth whenever you like. Buy It!
LIZ CARTIER says
All that is good, but how do you keep chipmunks from eating the tomatoes at all stages
Mary O says
Thanks you for addressing that problem! I have my tomatoes in bird netting, but some of the chipmunks and SLUGS still get to the tomatoes just at their peak of ripeness.
Shirley Reynolds says
You can also use green tomatoes to make green tomato pie, pickles, crisp, etc. I make the pie filling much like I would for apple pie. It can be frozen and plopped in a pie shell or used for a crisp during the winter also. Look for recipes online. Very tasty!
Elizabeth Crowe says
When growing up, we always had a garden. We would wrap our green tomatoes in newspapers in the fall, stack them in a box and store them in the cellar until they were ripe. They would be ripe in the dead of winter and we would have fresh tomatoes. They won’t ripen all at the same time, so you will have graduated ripe ones.
Trowelgal says
When I harvest my tomatoes I take scissors and clip about an inch of the vine the tomato is growing on, leaving it attached to the tomato. Then the tomato stays fresh many more days then when the whole stem is removed.
Rose Naomi O'Brey says
Wonderful article: thank you sooo much. Take care and keep growing!
Lynn says
After I pick my green tomatoes, I wrap each individually in a paper towel and place in a large under-the-bed plastic bin. Every week, I pull the bin out from under the bin and check to see if I have any ripe tomatoes. If they are ripe, I place them on the counter and we use them. I replace the bin with the still green tomatoes back under the bed and check them the next week. This way, I have had tomatoes from my garden until well after Christmas. They may not taste as good as ripe from the garden home grown tomatoes, but they are a close second and so much better than store bought – even the vine ripened store bought.
contrarian says
One inch of water over what size area?
Sandra White says
That means water enough to go one inch deep
Karen F says
Great growing tips. These are not new to me, but good information for the rookie gardener! Have planted my tomatoes deep (removing lower leaves) for many years. They are looking great this year, but hope the rain ends soon, or the plants may mold. I think too much water is also not good.
Tom Reins says
Tom R
I best tomato I have grown is the PINK BRANDTWINE. Keep it watered well and it will produce LARGE low acidity tomatoes. Large enough that you have to eat tomato before you get to the bread of you sandwich.
Janet M Fendrych says
Another tip needed (already do those you listed, although follow Thalassa Crusoe on 60º nights before setting out): How keep birds from pecking if leave on vine till fully ripe? Always a battle because I’d let them have a whole fruit, but they put multiple single-holes to ruin the batch. No diversion tools seem to work.
Sandra White says
If you have tomato cages or supports….have you tried putting bridal netting over them….in the sewing dept. Have cover enough that the birds cannot fly under it.
Cathy Cleveland says
What are the seasons for growing tomatoes in North Florida. Someone says it gets too hot in the summer
james says
what about fertilizer?? Tomatoes are heavy feeders and will grow so much better when properly fertilized and please consider organic fertilizer – so much better for the plants and does not kill off critical soil microbes.
Pat says
The best tomato I have ever eaten is the Heirloom Cherokee Purple, bar none! Once you have grown these and eaten them off the vine you will not plant anything else or won’t to eat any other tomato. THEY ARE AWESOME )8*)
Nehal says
Last time I grew tomatoes in the pots. I only harvested 10 tomatoes but growing even a small part of your food gives a lot of joy.
Would try again this time
John Lindner says
Absolutely, don’t put tomatoes in the fridge. My farmer/pastor says when tomatoes get below 45 degrees F, the cell wall breaks down. That’s why tomatoes in the fridge get watery.
Jodie Gunn says
Let them creep! Staking tomatoes breaks vines. Let them do what nature intended them to do: crawl.
Pat says
Pat, I totally agree with you re the “Purple Heirloom tomato”. I was surprised this tomato was not listed on the list of tomatoes to grow. Had an issue with my tomatoes in summer of 2017 of what the garden nursery called “blossom-end rot”. all 4 plants suffered from this issue. Garden nursery said it was a lack of “calcium”; plants looked great but ended up throwing 3/4 of the tomatoes away (;(. Hope this year proves to be a better year. Any one else had this issue?
Sandra White says
Try grinding up or crushing egg shells and put around each plant for the calcium they lack…put on top of soil or under it a little from time to time.
Brenda Heenan says
I put a 1/4 cup of skim milk powder in the bottom of the holes before plantsing . And I only plant Cherokees Purple tomtoes too – I see I am not the only fan!
Donna says
A gardening expert on our local radio station said tomatoes were from the nightshade family and that they ripen in the dark, not from the sunshine, hence their ripening in dark paper bags or wrapped in paper.