How to Grow Tomatoes

Tomatoes are the number one grown vegetable in the garden for a reason. Not only are they super versatile, but they’re insanely easy to grow and low-maintenance. Here are a few tips and tricks to get them even more fruitful. 

Tomatoes are a summer vegetable, which means they require a lot of warmth. They are best planted in late spring or early summer. If you are in zones 9 and above they can even be planted in late winter.

A Very Brief Tomato Log

I got these around mid-April 2020 when they were 6-8 in. long seedlings from the nursery. In about a few weeks they started to bear fruit. Then a couple weeks later the fruit started to ripen. Based on a few other tomato plants I’ve harvested last summer, the average time it took for them to achieve ripen tomatoes from seedlings were about two months. From what I’ve read it can usually takes 2-3 months for the plant to mature if you are starting from seedlings, and if starting from seeds it’s about 4-5  months depending on the cultivar (aka the type of tomato variety).

Indeterminate vs. Determinate

My plants were the indeterminate variety, the ones that have the fruits ripen at different rates. So I could have a slew of unripen tomatoes on a few branches, but still be able to pluck a few ripe red ones here and there. Cherry tomatoes are the classic indeterminate variety, as well as the Beefsteak and Big Boy types. They also will grow continually throughout the season and can get pretty tall, which can get out of control pretty quickly. These varieties require a large container by the way if you’re not planting in ground.

On the other hand we have the determinate variety of tomatoes that will stop growing at a certain height, so they tend to be shorter and stockier. These can come in handy if you don’t have much space, especially since they don’t vine all over the place. Determinate plants include most Roma tomatoes and the ‘Early Girl’ variety. This type of tomato also matures much earlier and the fruits usually ripen all at the same time. Because of this shorter growing season, determinate tomatoes are more ideal for canning or making pasta sauces. That way you can make the use of their one-off abundancy.

Whether they’re determinate or indeterminate, tomatoes are pretty fragile so they need to be caged or staked. They need something to hold them upright or as they grow they’ll start to droop and the branches will most likely break. We didn’t stake one of our tomatoes and a huge chunk of it broke instantly when we tried to move it. 

Ways to Keep Tomato Plants Producing

Pruning is essential for most plants because it helps divert energy into more flower production than leaf production. Prune the bottom leaves, since those leaves get less sunlight anyways. They’re also more prone to yellowing or decay since as those leaves get older, which will also attract more pests. 

Important thing to note here is that when you are fertilizing your tomatoes, make sure you are giving them more phosphorus than nitrogen. If they receive more nitrogen than needed, they will have an abundant amount of leaves but little fruit. So if you notice your tomato plant is very leafy with not enough fruit, they probably have excess nitrogen and not enough phosphorus.  Adding  phosphorus to the plant will encourage actual fruit production, so if you’re buying fertilizer make sure the number in the middle is higher than the other two (for example it should say something like 8-32-16 on the package, which is called the NPK number). You can also add bone meal or rock phosphate to provide phosphorus to your plants.

Another method is to remove the suckers. They’re small shoots that branch out from where the stem of the plant connects to the branch. They basically suck the energy from the plant as they continue to grow, hence the name. They don’t harm the plant, but they will slow the development of fruit from it as the energy is drawn to produce unnecessary stem growth. Remember, abundant leaves on a plant usually means less fruit. Simply pinch those off, and they take awhile to grow back so it won’t be a constant chore.

Pest Control

Tomatoes are most prone to aphids, those tiny green/brown/grey insects that feed on the leaves of the plant and deprives it from its nutrients. Leaves from aphid damages will usually look curly, misshapen and/or yellow discoloration. Another sign that your plants has aphids is you’ll see their tiny white exoskeletons on the leaves.

One way that I got rid of a some pesky aphids on my tomato plants was I put some diatomaceous earth (a white powder made up of tiny, fossilized plankton) over the plant and left it on there for maybe a few days. DE basically suffocates the aphids by clogging up the pores on their soft bodies and will also act as a repellant. I haven’t seen an infestation problem since.

Another method is to fill a spray bottle with water and a few teaspoons of dish soap and spray it on the leaves every two to three days. Adding a couple tablespoons of cayenne pepper or garlic oil to the soap mix can aid in killing off aphids as they react strongly to the capsaicin from the pepper.

If DIY solutions aren’t really your thing (or you just have a massive infestation on your hands) you can buy some insecticidal soap. Insecticidal soaps are generally non-toxic and aren’t laden with chemicals like other forms of pesticides. I’m not keen on which brand works the best, but I assume they all can get the job done.

I was never really a fan of tomatoes, but these just tasted different for me. It has a fresh, bitey taste that you don’t get from supermarket tomatoes. These are great starter plants if you never considered yourself possessing a green thumb.