Tomato Growing

There are two types of people in the South, says Garden Magik presenter, Melissa Allman: “You get people who have grown tomatoes and those who will grow tomatoes.”

The inference here is that Southerners love planting and eating tomatoes and therefore have a bit of an edge when it comes to both. In this longish (8:07) video, entitled Back to the Garden, Miz Allman, attired in denim shorts and a tomato colored top, tells us how it’s done, deep in the woods of Georgia near Monroe, where the deer still roam free.

There are a number of considerations when growing tomatoes:

* Garden size. If your garden is small, consider planting a determinate type bush (i.e. small, busy, limited in size and easy to manage) rather than an indeterminate type (i.e. rangy, vigorous, requiring pruning and staking/caging).

* Fruit size. Decide if you want small cherry type tomatoes such as Sweet Hundreds or Sweet Millions, large fruits such as Big Boys, Better Boys and Rutgers, or extra large fruit, which really are huge. A Giant Belgian weighed in at 5 lb. and a Delicious at 7 lb 12 oz.

* Seasons. You can plant tomato plants in one of three seasons: early, mid and late. In the early season you plant when the night temperatures are 70 degrees and up. Early Girls and First Ladies are suitable for the early season plantings, and there will be time to plant again after harvest in July and later for harvest in September and the fall. For the mid season, which lasts 60 to 75 days, you plant Big Boys and Better Boys to produce delicious fruits for sandwiches. Late season plants include Abe Lincoln and Arkansas Traveler.

*Soil preparation. Fall is a good time to prepare the soil as it is more friable. Tomatoes like acidic soil in the 6.5 pH range. You should add lime to the soil, preferably dolomitic lime as this contains magnesium, which is good for the skin of the tomatoes. By adding lime you avoid calcium deficiency in the soil and therefore the plant. A lack of calcium leads to plant diseases and other troubles – conditions such as leaf curl and blossom end rot.

*Planting method. Dig deep holes for the plants and put lime at the bottom. Plant 75% to 80% of the plant so that just the top leaves stick out. The stem under the ground will put out out roots to create a strong and vigorous plant. Fertilize the plant when you place it in the soil, with a fertilizer having a 15/15/15 analysis of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. Fertilize it further every six weeks with fertilizer with a 5/10/15 analysis. Use 1 lb of fertilizer per roughly three plants. A low nitrogen content in fertilizer is good for tomato plants. Too much nitrogen and the plant will not be able to absorb calcium.

*Protection. If you live deep in the Southern woods, build a fence around your tomato garden or the deer will get the tomatoes before you do.

Third generation flower grower and sustainable gardener Yolanda Vanveen of Kalama, Washington imparts bunches of confidence, standing as she does in her kitchen with jars of beautiful flowers behind her. In this compact video (2:39) she gives a potted lesson in planting tomatoes in the garden or in containers.

There are a number of tricks to planting tomatoes, says Yolanda. The first is to plant them in full, hot sun as they need lots and lots of heat. Another trick is to use good seed. She likes Sweetie and Roma, which are small varieties that are great in salads.

Start the seeds indoors in spring. Plant them in seed trays, with 2 or 3 seeds per container. Use a seed starter mix with plenty of vermiculite. Keep them warm and indoors.

When the little seedlings start to emerge, select the dominant plant in each container. You can plant that in a bigger pot if you like. (Throw the others in the compost bin.)

You can plant your little tomato plant outside after the last freeze, when the weather has been 70 degrees plus for at least a week. That’s important. Plant them in a flower bed or up against the house with a black plastic bag around them to generate heat.

Or you can plant them in a container, even a garbage can, or even in a hanging basket. That’s the way to get lovely tomatoes produced outdoors or indoors.

Third generation flower grower and sustainable gardener Yolanda Vanveen hails from Kalama, Washington. In this short video (1:53) she demonstrates how you can plant a tomato plant in a hanging basket. This is an interesting variation on the usual theme of growing them in ordinary containers on the patio, or simply in your vegetable garden outside.

The trick, says Yolanda, is to choose the right tomato variety. Naturally the smaller varieties, such as Sweetie, are suitable. The large beefsteak ones are simply too heavy. The Sweetie variety makes a cute little vine that produces lots of tomatoes.

Plant 2 or 3 seeds in containers in a seed try after the last freeze, using a good seed starter mix. Plant the seeds just beneath the surface and make sure the soil remains moist. But don’t create a bog or the seeds might just rot.

When the little plants are an inch or two tall and have two or three leaves, plant the strongest one in a hanging basket. It can be on its own or with other plants. Trim out any dead leaves as time goes on and keep the hanging basket in full sun. Don’t over water.

In no time at all you will be making spaghetti sauce using your own tomatoes from your own hanging garden tomato garden.