DIY Network

Keys to Improving Tomato-Growing Talent

Master gardener Joe Lamp'l, host of Fresh from the Garden, shares his expertise on growing the perfect tomato.

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It doesn't take an expert gardener to appreciate the virtues of a homegrown tomato. But even veteran gardeners can experience challenges in growing these beauties.

A strong start finishes with good tomatoes

By Joe Lamp'l

It doesn't take an expert gardener to appreciate the virtues of a homegrown tomato. But even veteran gardeners can experience challenges in growing these beauties to perfection.

Here, then, are some ideas you can apply this season to improve your tomato growing talent:

Start with great soil.

Start with great soil and a healthy plant. You can eliminate most of your tomato-growing challenges with affirmative action on this simple mandate. Well-amended soil, full of rich compost and other organic material can be your secret weapon to having the best tomatoes around. In fact, many of the best tomato experts grow their plants in pure compost.

To illustrate this point, I grew tomatoes in raised beds, amended with compost and manure, last year. Not far away, I had my compost bin, full of aged, rich dark compost. Growing from it was a volunteer tomato plant. I decided to let it grow to see how it would do. I did not provide any supplemental care.

Over the next three months, this composted tomato plant outperformed the competition in every way, in spite of my best efforts to nurture the raised bed tomato plants to perfection. The composted plant grew happily, free from pests and diseases. As the season matured, so did this plant. It was heavy with abundant, delicious large red tomatoes, right up until frost.

In the event you don't happen to have a compost-rich planting area available, you can still have great success. Assuming you have provided rich well-drained soil, pick a sunny spot, and don't plant your tomatoes too close together. Tomato plants thrive in full sun and are healthier when provided good air circulation.

Plant them deep.

Plant your seedlings deep ... very deep. Tomato plants are one of the few vegetables that will root along the stem. The larger the root system, the more vigorous the plant. I leave about two sets of leaves showing when I plant. This step will ensure a larger root area and a more vigorous plant.

In the planting hole, I add a tablespoon or two of dolomitic limestone and mix it into the soil. This step can help ward off blossom end rot in emerging fruit. Cover the plant and water it in thoroughly with a diluted mix of liquid fertilizer. As a mostly organic gardener, I prefer to use an organic blend of fish emulsion and sea kelp. This adds nitrogen and phosphorus to get the plants off to a good start.

Manage the water.

Tomato plants like deep watering. A soaker hose is best for this because it allows the water to soak deep into the soil, without wetting the foliage above. Don't water too much, but make sure they are getting enough. As the plants get a bit taller, add mulch. It will help prevent soil-based pathogens from splashing onto the foliage and spreading disease. Place the mulch to within two inches of the stem, in a layer two to three inches thick. I place my mulch right over the soaker hose.

These guidelines will get your tomato plants off to a great start. Like with so many examples in gardening and life, how you start out makes all the difference in the world with the success of the harvest.

(Joe Lamp'l, a master gardener, hosts DIY's Fresh from the Garden as well as a gardening radio show. For more information, visit www.joegardener.com.)

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