Why I grow them?

Taste. Duh. Nothing beats a garden tomato

Easy to grow. Satisfaction.

Excellent for container or in-ground gardening

Heat-loving. Summers are hot down south

Great for canning and cooking

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What do I grow?

Heirloom or Hybrid

Heirloom seeds can be saved year to year without plant compromise. Hundreds of varieties to choose from. Take your pick.

Hybrids are crosses between two tomato varieties.  If you replant your tomato seeds, hybrid seeds will not give you the exact plant year after year.

Determinate & Indeterminate

Determinate plants produce their fruit all at once.

Limited plant height. Determinate plants only will grow so high. More like a bush. Good for limited spaces. Minimal support is needed.

Indeterminate plants produce continual fruit throughout the season. They tend to be vine growers. Major support is recommended. Preferably a trellis support system of some kind. Find some here.

4 Overall Types of Shape

Globe; obvious reasons. Spherical in nature. The standard tomato shape

Beefsteak; The bigger tomato shape.

Paste tomatoes; Thickly walled tomatoes that are good for cooking and sauces

Cherry Tomatoes; Smallest fruit. Good for salads and snacking.

My personal choices

Romas: Determinate. Excellent for canning and sauce recipes. Easy to blanch and skin. Canning & Cooking worthy.

Rutgers: Determinate. The Acid. I love the acidic flavor of these tomatoes. One of the last “true” breeds of tomatoes.  Sauce and salsa making tomatoes. Canning, Cooking, & Snack Worthy.

Cherry:  Indeterminate. I like making sauce from these because the skins and seeds are easier to remove during straining. These are also great in salads or snaking. Snack, Salad, & Sauce worthy.

Cherokee Purple: My favorites. Beautiful complex dark flavor. All things worthy!

Pink Brandywine: BLT tomatoes. Large slicer variety. Soft skin. Juicy and acidic. Sandwich & salad-worthy.

Experimental: I reserve this spot every year for some tomato “test” varieties.

Spacing

About 2ft between each plant. Don’t overcrowd. They’ll fill in. I plant 4 rows of 4. That’s a tad tight, but its worked for every season so far.

Grow vertical. It keeps fruit up off the ground and away from varmints, it saves on ground space and looks cleaner in my opinion. It also ables more sunlight to reach the plant leaves. More sun = healthier tomato plants.

Mulch. Growing vertical leaves ground space. Mulch in between plants to hinder weed growth and aid in watering.

SUNLIGHT. Tomatoes need 6+ hours of direct sunlight a day for max production

Dig Deep

I dig a 2ft hole with post-hole diggers.

I dig extra deep holes because I add a lot of “extras” to my soil.

Plant your tomato plant up to its neck, almost burying it. Tomatoes will grow roots off the stem. This forms a more solid root system.

In with the tomatoes

Plant deep

Handful of compost

Handful of Epsom salt. Adds magnesium

1 egg. The shell helps fight blight.

Crappie scraps. Most tomato fertilizers have some sort of “fish” ingredient, so I just use the real thing. I just freeze my scraps after crappie fishing. Warning: This does stink.

Water Deep

Drip irrigation is the most effective form of watering. But a sprinkler and hose will work too. Water deep and irregular.

I bury 4 PVC tubes in each tomato bed for direct root watering. They make watering more efficient because it gets it directly to the roots. They are also good for direct composting of rotten tomatoes.

Fertilizer

I noticed most tomato fertilizers use fish as the main ingredient. So I freeze my fishing scraps after cleaning and break off pieces to add along with my tomato plants.

I use Neptune’s Harvest at the beginning planting stages, to give my plants a jump start. I love this stuff. It’s a tad pricey but so worth it. Little goes along way.

Pests & Varmints

I use two things for my pest problems; Neem Oil & Diatomaceous earth. I spray the Neem Oil on the plants, then dust them with the DA. Continual applications may be required if the rain keeps washing off.  They’re both organic and don’t affect the flavor of the tomatoes. Neem Oil does stink but a small jug goes far, depending on your garden setup. I get both of mine here.

Support

A store-bought trellis will work. You can find some styles here. Remember you get what you pay. Or build your own. I’ve done both. Bamboo is an excellent trellis source FYI

I use fencing and chicken wire after years of trying other stuff. It’s super sturdy and looks clean.

Easy to set up. Super stable. Lasts from season to season. Easiest supports for long rows of tomatoes.

I use garden twine for tying tomato vines on the fencing. It’s biodegradable and works great. I get mine here.