Planting Tomatoes

Tomatoes are my family’s most favorite garden crop.  The selection for tomatoes is huge!  For those of you just starting out, you might be overwhelmed with the variety available to you.  Below is a list of my family’s favorite varieties as well as some helpful tips to get your tomato plant off to a great start this spring!

If I could only plant one tomato plant, it would be the Super Sweet 100.  This tomato is a tiny, bite-sized, cherry tomato that is loaded with zip and flavor.  My kids eat these like candy!  We even take them to the movies (instead of buying popcorn)- seriously!  Super Sweet 100 is an indeterminate variety which means it grows wide and tall.  Determinate varieties stay smaller and do not “vine” out so much.  I would encourage everyone to find a 2’ x 2’ square piece of land where you could plant just one of these delectable sweeties in the ground!  They require very little care, can handle our Fresno heat quite well and produce abundantly all-season-long.

My second favorite is the Yellow Pear.  These are also small, cherry-like tomatoes except this is yellow in color (obviously).  I have found the Yellow Pear is a bit more  tangy than other varieties (like Sun Gold).  These plants grow the same as the Super Sweet 100 and are just as easy to get a bountiful harvest.

Those are my top two favorites.  Other tomato plants require more time and care, but will bring you great results!  I don’t have “favorites” per say.  I tend to experiment with different large tomatoes and have not found a favorite as of yet.  This year I am growing Early Girl (which will provide me with an early harvest), Big Boy (these are a “hamburger-sized” tomato – if all goes well), Roma Toma (great for salads and sauces), Fresh Salsa (they hold their form so you can chop them up easy for salsa- yumm!),  and Tye-Dye (just for fun I grow a crazy one).

Planting Tips:

1. Lots of Sun!  Tomatoes need a HUGE amount of sun!  The more sun, the more tomatoes!  Plant them in a very sunny location.
2. Tomatoes take up an approximately 2’ x 2’ square.  Be sure you have enough room for the amount of tomatoes you want to plant.
3. When you actually plant your plant, I plant mine nice and deep.  My tomato plants right now are about 4-6” tall.  When I planted my tomatoes this weekend, I dug a nice deep hole and then stuck my plant in.  When your plant is covered, you should only have the top part of your plant showing.  The deeper your plant is planted, the stronger your roots will develop.  All along the stem of your tomato plant, more roots will shoot off once it is planted.  This will also give it more support.  Make sure enough of the leaves are above ground so they can photosynthesize! 
4. Tomato plants DO NOT like standing in water.  Your soil (whether in the ground or in a pot) needs to be porous enough it can drain.
5. I have found my tomatoes prefer a nice long soak twice (3x in the summer months) a week compared to being watered every day.  They actually seem to enjoy drying out a tad (not dried out) between watering.
6. Tomato plants prefer to be watered from below.  You can stick a metal pipe or cut off a piece of PVC pipe to stick down deep into your tomato hole.  Then, when you water, send your water down the hole so it waters your plants down deep.  As your plants are small right now, be sure to water from the surface too.  Plants have a way of finding their water source.  If you train them at this early stage to go down into the ground to find water, you will have a stronger, healthier plant.
7. While your plants are small, be sure to purchase some kind of tomato cage to give them support.  It is easier to train your branches and direct them while they are new and green than try to shove mature, hard branches into a cage.

Those are a few basic tips I do with my plants.  If you have any questions, just ask!