Planting Tomatoes in My Garden

June 8, 2017

Tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, have long been one of America’s favorite garden vegetables. Those bold red, sun-ripened tomatoes deliver the taste of summer with every bite. And, they’re filled with excellent antioxidants and vitamins.

Just a handful of healthy plants can produce a bounty of delicious fruits within six to eight weeks. The best time to plant tomatoes is when daytime temperatures are consistently above 65-degrees Fahrenheit. Recently, my gardeners, Ryan and Wilmer, planted this year’s tomato crop.

Here are some photos and tips on planting tomatoes…

: These tomato plants are ready to be transplanted into the vegetable garden. Ryan drove them to the beds in our Polaris Ranger Crew 1000. We always grow an abundance of tomatoes – I love to share them with family and friends and use them to make all the delicious tomato sauce we enjoy through the year.

: Wilmer already covered the beds with thick, black plastic to make them neat, tidy, and free from weeds. Tomatoes should be planted in an area with full sun and well-drained soil.

: Wilmer makes sure all the plants are equally spaced along the bed.

: All our tomato plants were started from seed in my greenhouse. Here are the tomato plants last April when they were only a few inches tall.

: Once the tomato plants grow several inches, they’re transplanted into larger pots until they are ready to be planted into the ground. Whether seedlings are store-bought or home grown, they also need to be hardened off before planting outside. This means getting them acclimated to the outdoor environment by reducing their water and leaving them outdoors for a few hours and then bringing them back indoors – a process that takes about a week to complete.

: And here they are about a foot tall or more, and ready to plant into our garden bed. Using the pot as a guide, Wilmer cuts through the plastic with a utility knife, making a circle big enough for the plant.

: The circles are cut out of the plastic about two feet apart. The holes are perfect. Keeping the weeds at bay optimizes fruit production. Any kind of weed barrier can be used – newspaper, cardboard, landscape cloth or plastic. Just be sure to remove those materials, that are not compostable, at the end of the season. The holes are big enough to plant in and small enough to prevent a good amount of weeds from emerging.

: Transplanted tomatoes that are kept free of weeds for the first four to eight weeks can usually outcompete emerging weeds later. Using a garden bulb planter, Wilmer creates a hole for the tomato plant. Most tomato plant varieties need about 100-days to mature, but there are some that only need 50-60 days. You can also stagger your plantings, so you have early, mid and late season tomato harvests.

: A regular garden shovel or trowel can also work for making the holes, but using this bulb planter helps to do a lot of holes more quickly.

: The depth of the hole depends on the tomato plants being transplanted. Measure the height of the seedling from bottom of the root ball to just under the bottom set of leaves remaining on the plant.

: Wilmer followed up with a healthy scoop of fertilizer. The best fertilizer for tomato plants contains a relatively low concentration of nitrogen. High nitrogen content promotes the growth of stem and leaves, but not the fruit and flowers. Instead, tomato plants use phosphorous and potassium to produce fruit. Apply the fertilizer before the tomato plant is placed in the hole. A fertilizer with a 5-10-5 ratio of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium is good for the young plants.

: Wilmer removes the plant from the container.

: Then loosens the soil around the roots just a bit.

: Two-thirds of the plant should be underground, meaning all but the two top most leaf sets should be buried.

: Planting deeply helps the plant to develop more roots, and more roots mean more ability to take up water and nutrients.

: Tomato plants will root along their stems. If the seedling is already too tall and wobbly, dig a trench instead of a hole and lay the plant on its side. The stronger root system also helps the plant better survive the hot weather. This applies to tomatoes planted in the ground, in a raised bed or in a container.

: As the tomato plants grow, they need to be staked for support. Staking helps to keep the fruit off the ground, while helping to keep the plant somewhat upright.

: At this stage, they are staked with two to three foot tall bamboo canes.

: Wilmer gently ties the stems to the bamboo uprights to give them a bit of direction. The loop around the plant stem should be just tight enough to keep the vine secure, but not break it.

: We use jute gardening twine for so many projects around the farm. This twine is strong, doesn’t slip easily, and is made from an all natural fiber. To keep the stems from getting crushed, I taught all the outdoor grounds crew members to twist the twine several times before securing to the bamboo.

: Securing the tomato plants is a time consuming process, but very crucial to good plant growth and performance.

: Don’t use any chemically treated wood or other material for staking climbers, as the chemicals would likely run off and go into the soil.

: These plants look so much better when kept upright and neat. Most tomato plant varieties need between 50 and 90 days to mature. Planting can also be staggered to produce early, mid and late season tomato harvests.

: It’s a good idea to grow a range of varieties, including at least one or two disease-resistant types, since, of all veggies, tomatoes tend to be the most susceptible to disease. 93-percent of American gardeners grow tomatoes in their yards, and according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, most Americans eat between 22 and 24 pounds of tomatoes per person, per year – this includes tomatoes in sauces.