Comments on: Tomato Tips & Tricks

By: Marc

Marc — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 21:16:24 +0000

Hi, I’ve grown tomatoes for many many years now. I just wanted to add that mulch around the plants will not keep them “warm”. Mulch or plastic will trap in moisture…

By: Albert H.

Albert H. — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:11:38 +0000

Last year I tried cherry tomatoes in my garden, with good results. This year I will try some of your great tips. Thank you for sharing this information.

By: brandon

brandon — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:19:45 +0000

here are a few tips to make tour tomatoes thrive.first,i always prune the first sets of blossoms so the plant can have more time to grow larger.this will give them more time to put thier energy into growing larger instead of producing fruit.Next, when they are large enough and start to set blossoms use a bloomburst fertilizer or if you want to go organic bury some left over bananna peels under the mulch. the potassium and phosphorus will work wonders and you will set more blossoms.and remember that tomatoes are self pollinating so when blossoms appear vibrate the blooms by tapping the cage vigorously or using a sonic vibrating toothbrush around the blossoms to mimic a large bumble bee.i get almost 100% pollination by doing this. take left over dried egg shells and grind them in a herb or coffe grinder and sprinkle the dust under the mulch to give calcium and avoid blossom end rot.I use a constant drip system to keep my plants from drying out. this is great because if the plant get too dry then calcium cannot be taken in by the roots and you will get blossom end rot. and by not watering alot all at once you avoid splitting and your tomatoes will taste better because the flavor will be more conscentrated and not watered down.good luck and happy growing!

By: NG

NG — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:36:19 +0000

THE SUN REFLECTS THREW THE WATER TO MAKE IT WARMER

By: Jory

Jory — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:06:14 +0000

Great tips! I’ve been growing heirlooms for years. I always start mine from seed, that is even more gratifying! Lately, I’ve seen some locals using the plastic wrap, I’m going to try it next year.
Here’s another tip for all of you. If your plants get so big that even sturdy cages topple over, I’ve gone to our local building supply and bought some re-bar. They even cut it for me into approximately 5 foot sections. I intertwine the rebar through the levels of the cage (to make sure it helps with both directions) and hammer the rebar into the ground. I’ve had HUGE plants with HUGE yeilds, and occassionally the cages turn to the side a bit, but have never fallen over, even with big storms! Not EXTREMELY costly, but extremely effective!
(another side note, for great heirloom tomato seed selection, visit tomatobob.com, that’s where I get mine!)

By: Rebekah Bentley

Rebekah Bentley — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:57:51 +0000

Congratulations on your garden! Growing your own foods is definitely exciting.

Last year we tried out a tomato-growing idea from a friend and it worked fabulously: the tomatoes were planted in one side of a cinder block and we filled the cinder block’s other hole with slow-release, organic fertilizer. It worked great!

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:13:57 +0000

That’s a good question, Autumn. I will ask the farmer, but he raises all natural heirloom plants (which are the ones I purchased), so I trust he wouldn’t advise anything that would be harmful as such. I wouldn’t imagine that would be such a huge issue, because it really is only the bottom of the bottles that is just resting on the top of the soil.

By: autumn sager

autumn sager — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:57:16 +0000

I told a friend about your great ideas for the tomato plants and she advised me against the plastic water bottle because of trying to go organic, the plastic would release toxins into the soil. Is this a problem?

By: Jacquelyn@Because I Said So!

Jacquelyn@Because I Said So! — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:06:49 +0000

Wow! For a beginner gardener, you sure do your research. You have me wishing I liked tomatoes! I will definitely be back to see how they grow. We are trying green beeans, carrots, baby lettuce and chives this year. My post on WFMW is kind of the opposite of yours—my perfect garden is a bit different!

Maybe I’ll try a tomato plant too. I do like bruschetta…

By: Keengardener

Keengardener — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:56:47 +0000

Some great tip here on how to produce tomatoes. Providing your plants with water should really be a daily routine making sure that you dont over water them but just prevent them from drying out.