Q: I've planted the bigger tomatoes with limited success but feel my luck would change if I tried salad tomatoes in my garden this year. I've never worked with the cherry and grape tomatoes, though. How should I go about planting them?'A: The good news is that your past experience with larger tomatoes will not be put to waste! Growing salad tomatoes is not a whole lot different from growing the larger varieties, and since salad tomatoes' yields will naturally be higher, just the sheer numbers ensure you'll have a better chance at success! Most salad tomatoes are indeterminate varieties (they grow all season), as opposed to determinate varieties (which stop growing and produce their fruit all at once).
The first thing you need to note is that a tomato plant needs three or four sets of leaves with a healthy green color. Eventually you'll remove all but the top row of leaves.
The basic requirements of tomato plants are these:
- Mist soil
- Plenty of sun but also some shelter from hot late afternoon sun
- Minimum pruning
- Moderate weather
- Ample fertilizer.
These are the supplies you should be sure to have on hand:
- Cages, stakes or trellises
- Soaker hose
- Mulch
- Epsom salts or lime
- Fertilizer
- Composted soil.
1. Make sure the soil is loose and well drained and that its pH is correct (6.5). Dig a deep enough hole that you can leave only about the top third of the plant above the ground. While you're digging, tossing in some Epsom salts or lime to provide additional calcium.
2. Insert plants in holes and fill with dirt so the top row of leaves is practically sitting on ground level (this will encourage new root growth). Plant the tomatoes about 2' apart.
3. Add a cage or stake the plant -- tomato plants need extra support as the fruit gets heavier.
4. Water and fertilize, but don't get the leaves wet.
