What are some of the secrets for growing great tomatoes, increasing your yields, and producing better-tasting fruit?
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First written August 9, 2016, Updated May 13, 2020
Nothing says summer like tomatoes!
We all want to know the secrets to growing great tomatoes. After all, tomatoes are the number one thing grown in a home vegetable garden. And for good reason. They-are-just-that-good!
I mean lots of big juicy sweet and tangy wonderful orbs of summer!
Tomatoes are the most important part of so many of our most favorite foods like Lasagna, Eggplant Parmesan, or marinara sauce that goes with everything. How about a topping for your hamburger, making a tomato sandwich, creamy tomato soup or simply tossing in a salad. I could go on and on.
But sometimes tomatoes can be a bit challenging to grow.
So what are some of the secrets of growing great tomatoes?
Great Tomatoes Start with great soil
To have great tomatoes you need great soil. Your soil needs to be deep with plenty of organic matter and plenty of compost in it.
Tomatoes have a long root system and are heavy feeders. So that means you cannot just amend the top 2″ of soil. You need at least 6 inches of good nutrient rich soil. 12 inches is better.
The soil also needs to be well drained. Standing water will cause disease that will kill your tomato plants. If your soil doesn’t drain well, plant in raised beds.
Check your PH
Your PH should be between 6 and 6.8. If it is too high or too low the nutrients a tomato plant needs will not be available to it even if they are present in the soil. PH is one of the most important factors in growing a successful garden.
Related Reading: Transplanting Your Garden Seedlings For Success.
Transplant your tomato plants
Even though a tomato seed can be sown directly in the garden, that is not the best way to grow it.
A tomato plant is one of the few plants that will grow new roots along the stem where it comes into contact with the soil. So if you start your tomato plant in a pot and transplant it into the garden you can plant it deeper than it originally grew to cause many new roots to grow. This allows the plant to require less frequent watering and helps it to stand up to summer storms.
How do you do this? Grow your transplant 1′ to 2′ tall. Remove all but the top 4 leaves and dig your hole to cover all but an inch below your leaves. Think of how many new roots your new plant will have!
Related Reading: Start Raising Worms, Naturally!
Fertilize your planting hole
Before you actually put your plant in the hole, dig down an extra few inches and put in a couple of handfuls of compost (food), some crushed eggshells (calcium – helps ward off blossom end rot), a tablespoon of Epsom salts (magnesium – production of fruit) and a couple of aspirin (helps ward off fungus). Don’t forget the trace minerals. A little Azomite goes a long way to making your tomato plant healthy and you healthy too. Cover with an inch or two of dirt then plant your tomato plant. This is food for your tomato to grow into.
Tomatoes are heavy feeders. They grow quickly so they need a lot of nutrients to grow strong and healthy. Don’t forget to side dress with fertilizer, compost, worm castings, compost tea, or Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer every two weeks. Add in a tablespoon of Epsom salts when you side dress. Tomatoes like magnesium.
Related Reading: Tips To Grow The First Ripe Tomato
Leave plenty of space for your awesome Tomatoes To Grow
Tomatoes need plenty of space to breathe. First, because they get quite big, especially the indeterminate varieties. And they need a lot of air circulation. They need to be able to dry quickly when they get wet from rain or dew so fungus and diseases do not grow. They also need all the sun they can get to have the energy to produce their fruit.
Related Reading: 8 Easy Ways To Preserve Your Harvest.
Tomatoes need support
You are not only growing great tomatoes, but you are growing great big tomato plants that need support to keep them off the ground.
Planting time is the time to put in your support. Do it now so you don’t damage all those roots later. Whether tomato cages, stakes, or a trellis, just make sure it is strong enough to support the size the tomato plant will be when it is full-grown.
Most tomato cages can’t make it the distance and the weight of the plant will topple it over and your plant will be on the ground. I know this from experience. I suggest you start stronger than you expect to need. Remember, tomatoes that lay on the ground are more susceptible to rot and disease. These Heavy Gauge Tomato Cages are made of a heavy-duty wire and are extra tall. Great for those indeterminate tomatoes.
Rotate Planting Areas
Diseases and pests can overwinter in the planting bed. Fool them by rotating where you plant your tomatoes. Then your precious tomatoes will not be an easy-to-find host.
Related Reading: 19 Tips For Beginning Gardeners
Prune Your Tomato Plants
This may be controversial, but let me tell you. If you have trouble with diseases this one thing can make all the difference. Rain can splash diseases that are in the dirt up onto your tomato leaves if they are not pruned. As the tomato plant grows, trim all the lower leaves and suckers off the bottom 12-18 inches.
Related>> How to Grow Fruits and Vegetables at Home
Mulch
Mulching around the base of your plants does many things. First, it keeps the dirt from splashing your tomato leaves. Second, it keeps the moisture consistent which helps alleviate tomatoes splitting. Third, it helps keep weeds from competing with your tomatoes. And fourth, organic mulch like grass clippings or straw composts on the spot and puts nutrients back into the soil.
But don’t forget the option of using plastic (red or black) instead of an organic mulch. This can block all the weeds, keep splash off the tomatoes even better than an organic mulch, and help warm the soil so you can plant earlier in the year. So you have options. Evaluate what is best for your garden.
Clean up all dead and dying leaves
Keep both the plant and the ground around the tomato plant free of dead leaves that could harbor diseases.
Cleanliness
While we are on the topic of cleaning up, make sure everything that touches your tomato plant is clean. Clean and sanitize the pruners/scissors you used to trim your leaves. Even keep your hands, shoes, and gloves clean. If one plant has a disease you don’t want to spread it to any others.
Related Reading: Should you grow Determinate or Indeterminate Tomatoes
Water is important for growing great tomatoes that taste good
Watering should be done in the early morning. This gives the tomato plant the moisture it needs to make it through the hot day. It also gives the plant time to dry before nightfall, helping to ward off fungus. Besides none of us likes a wet bed.
You also want to ALWAYS water tomatoes at ground level. A soaker hose or drip irrigation is ideal as it puts water right where it is needed and keeps water off the leaves.
But you say, “when it rains, it waters from the top.” Yes, this is true. It is also the time you are most likely to have trouble with fungi and disease.
Water deeply and consistently.
Growing great tomatoes requires watering correctly. You want to water deeply so your roots will grow deeply to have access to more nutrients and have a stronger root system.
You want to water consistently so your ground will stay evenly moist. Let only the top 2″ or so dry out before watering again. If allowed to get very dry, then get very wet again, cracking of the fruit will become a problem.
Consistent watering will also make your tomatoes taste better. A waterlogged tomato will lose a lot of its flavor.
Do you want MORE secrets for growing great tomatoes? Ok Ok, I did say there would be 16. How about…….
Companion plants
Don’t forget, all plants have best friends and enemies. Planting tomatoes near plants they like will make them more productive, ward off pests and even make them taste better. A few of the tomato’s favorite companions are marigolds, basil, borage, and garlic. Garlic and basil improve the flavor of tomatoes, and borage is a great bee magnet. More bees – More tomatoes.
Some of you are yelling that tomatoes are self-pollinating and don’t need bees. This is partially true. They do self-pollinate, but they have found that the vibrations of bees landing on the tomato plant helps the plant pollinate itself. Amazing!
Stagger your planting date
If you have a long enough growing season, keep planting more plants throughout the season. That way you will keep having more tomatoes right up until frost.
Harvest Regularly and Often
Keep your tomatoes picked to promote fruit production. And don’t forget, you can enjoy a few green tomatoes in green tomato pickles and fried green tomatoes along the way.
That’s it! 16 secrets for growing great tomatoes. And now you are in on the secret!
Growing Great Tomatoes is a reward in itself!
Here’s to a year of bountiful tomatoes.
Do you want one more Awesome tomato growing tip?
Learn how to get rid of tomato hornworms….You’re Welcome.
Related Reading: Simple Ways To Get Rid Of Tomato Hornworms.
Do you have any secrets for growing great tomatoes?
I’d love to hear what your favorite varieties are.
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Happy Gardening!
I believe everyone can grow at least part of their own food! Let me show you how.
Mary is a gardener, backyard homesteader, and duck wrangler. She is also the owner and writer of LifeIsJustDucky.com and AGoodWordADay.com. (for daily devotions) Mary is passionate about helping others expand their backyard homesteading skills and learn to be more self-sufficient, no matter where they live.
I grew my tomato plants from seed in potting mix for vegetables in pots with good drainage holes. I have pruned the bottom portion to keep leaves off the ground and removed some upper leaves to allow more sunshine to get to the fruits. I have added ground up egg shells . Have had to water every day due to our hot summer with temps in the mid to high. 80s and little rain. As soon as they start to go pink, the fruits get blossom rot. This has happened two years in a row and I am getting frustrated.
Are you using compost and other organic measures? Your soil needs microbes to break down the calcium for the plants to take it up. I would recommend a soil test and compost. If you are in the US you can get a soil test through your county extension service.
I need to do more research on companion plants! We’re not having the best of luck in our new garden between the rabbits and just picking a bad spot. We are definitely moving the garden next season, but will have to set up a temporary fence to keep the bunnies at bay the rest of this season. After we get the fence up I will try again with my tomatoes. I love fresh tomatoes from the garden!
A fence, I think, is absolutely necessary to keep “critters” out of the garden. I’ve never had a problem with rabbits eating my tomatoes, but they give a major “haircut” to my sweet potato vines. Also, keep in mind that rabbits can go through a chain-link fence at a dead run! You need smaller opening to keep them out. Remember the spaces around gates too.
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How far apart can you plant tomatoes from strawberries
Donna,
That’s a good question. The answer is in how they are planted and why to seperate them in the first place. First, both plants are susceptible to verticullum wilt, so you should never plant one in the same spot that the other has grown receintly. As far as how near each other? As far as you reasonably can. Also, mulching the ground to keep the soil from splashing up on the leaves is a good idea as that is a major way that disease is spread. If you are lucky enough not to have that disease in your soil, this may not be as much of an isue for you. The other thing to consider is strawberries are perennials and tomatoes are annuals. The strawberry plants will be disturbed when you pull up the tomato plants at the end of the season. I would keep them in their own beds for that reason alone. I hope that helps.
I love black krim. Really hard to keep from cracking but amazing for salsa. Lots of meat and minimal seeds.
Excellent info. I’ve never tried black krim. I’ll have to give it a try.
We buy 100′ rebarb fencing to make our cages….real strong and 5′ tall we use tall wooden stakes to keep rhem standing up. We raise our own plants so we get out first tomatoes too….no stunting on them that will abort the first blooms. We used plastic this year instead of mulch….much better. We had 50 plants. We put up 80 quarts and gave away 25 5 gal
buckets to our friends. We love raising tomatoes!!!!!
We lime and put out land plaster at least twice. Fertilize thru our water.
Wonderful! Tomatoes are so rewarding. Adding lime is only useful if you have acidic soil. Don’t add it if your soil is alkaline.
Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
very useful to me.
So glad it helps!
Great information. Nice to have it all in one spot. Thanks
What about propagating (indeterminate) tomatoes plant using the cutting technique ? I found it was a great way to add more tomatoes plants to the garden in mid season.
Wonderful idea, and very easy to do.
THANKS I HAVE LEARNED ALOT WISH TO HAVE ALL THE PROCEDURE FOR PIPPER (HOHO)
Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you. Very useful tips.
Glad you liked it. Check out some of the other posts for more info.
I enjoy learning new growing methods. Do you have any tips for apartment dwellers?
Most vegetable garden plants can be grown in pots. Two things you really need to consider. Light: Make sure you have adequate lighting. If not you will need to supplement with grow lights. and Weight: If you are growing on a balcony, make sure it can hold the extra weight. You can lighten the soil by adding perlite or something lightweight to the soil. Another thought is to grow sprouts and micro-greens. Very quick and very nutritious and you can do that on your kitchen counter. Thanks for the suggestion!
add sulphate of potash around about august to help ripen and add taste
Adding whatever fertilizer (compost and worm castings are best) regularly is a great idea. The timing depends on where you live. Everyone zone is different. August would not work at all for me. 🙂
Paul Williamson…….I live in zone 9 in Jacksonville Florida. This will be my first year growing tomatoes. What month would you recommend I add the potash?? You didn’t say what area you live in so I don’t know if August would work for me.
Paul,
Adding potash depends on your soil not your growing time. I cannot add any at all due to the alkalinity of my soil and the nutrients that are already in my soil. As far as timing, I think a consistent low dose every 2 or 3 weeks all through the growing season is a better choice. I like to use worm tea personally. But it really depends on what your soil needs.