Tips on Tomato Gardening

If you’re thinking about starting a vegetable garden this spring, start with the easiest and most rewarding crop of all—tomatoes.

There's no comparison to picking and biting into your very own homegrown, fresh-from-the-vine tomato. And now is the perfect time to pick up tomato transplants from any local nursery. Maryland has the perfect warm climate for growing juicy, flavorful tomatoes.

Selection

I like to get a variety of types—roma, beefsteak, cherry, pear, grape, patio and heirloom. I usually grow the hybrid tomatoes for production and the heirlooms for taste, but there are plenty of hybrids that have an excellent taste. Try a wide variety to find the ones that you like. My personal favorite is "Early Girl" because, just like the name says, it is one of the earliest bearing and prolific tomato producers. 

Planting

Once you have selected your plants, prepare your soil by tilling and incorporating compost and well-rotted manure. Make sure that your garden gets at least eight hours of sunlight a day because tomatoes are big sun lovers. Dig your holes deep enough to cover two thirds of the plant stem. You want to plant it deep so that the stem will root all along the plant’s length, increasing its strength. Sprinkle a little fertilizer in the backfill soil and water thoroughly. Space your plants so you can walk between them, 4 to 5 feet apart. This makes them easy to get to and allows for air circulation, which will reduce disease problems.

Staking, Caging or Sprawling

You have several options to control tomato plant growth. The simplest, but least desirable way, is to just let the plant sprawl on the ground. This can lead to rotten and pest-ridden fruit.

A sturdy stake is another easy way to give support, but you should tie the plant to the stake as it grows.

The method I use is to place a sturdy tomato cage over the entire plant and weave the branches through the support wires as it grows. Prune off any suckers that pop out. This forces the fruit to be carried on the main branches. Be sure to hammer a stake inside the cage to hold it upright, as the ripening tomatoes can get quite large and heavy. You wouldn’t want everything to come crashing down.

Feeding and Watering

Tomatoes need regular watering—at least an inch of rain a week.  You can supplement this with a deep watering. Use a hose placed at the base of the plant for the days it doesn’t rain. I also fertilize with a general-use fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro, mixing it in my watering can, giving each plant a boost at planting time, and also once the fruit has set. Don't over fertilize as this can lead to problems with excessive foliage growth.

If you are hesitant about all the work involved, just start with a couple transplants so you will see how rewarding and how much better the flavor is when you grow tomatoes yourself. Get planting!