Of all the pleasures of summer, tomato gardening is surely one of the finest. The flavor of home grown heirloom tomatoes is a thousand times that of any supermarket tomato. Commercially grown tomatoes are bred for easy shipping and a long shelf life at the expense of taste and texture.
Unlike many persnickety fruits and vegetables that challenge backyard gardeners, tomato gardening is relatively easy armed with a little knowledge.
To Seed or Not To Seed
Beginning gardeners and those getting a late start with their tomato gardening may want to purchase tomato plants instead of starting them from seed. Most nurseries and garden centers have a good selection of tomato plants in six-packs, 4" pots and gallon sizes. However, they tend to have a wider selection of basic tomato varieties rather than heirloom tomato plants, which really are the very best you can grow!
Growing Tomatoes From Seed
Ideally, you should start heirloom tomato plants indoors eight weeks before the desired transplant date, which should be after the last frost date for your area. If your tomato gardening season is short, you'll get more bang for your buck if you choose "early" tomato varieties with shorter days to maturity. Keep in mind that if a given tomato variety requires 70 days to mature, this is the time from transplanting into the garden, not seeding.
Hardening Off
One of the most important aspects of growing tomatoes is the process of gradually exposing tender seedlings to cool outdoor air. This "hardening off" decreases transplant shock, which can damage and sometimes kill fledgling heirloom tomato plants.
Preparing the Soil
If you have heavy clay or sandy soil, enrich it by digging in an ample amount of compost, peat, or other organic material. This increases drainage and adds nutrients. If you want to grow organic heirloom tomatoes, forgo chemical fertilizers. If you do use them, avoid ones with high nitrogen content, which encourages foliage growth at the expense of fruit production.
Planting Tomatoes
Choose a full-sun location that gets a minimum of eight hours per day, preferably more. To minimize soil-borne diseases, avoid growing tomatoes where peppers, eggplants, potatoes or tomatoes have been grown for the past three years.
Unlike most other plants, tomato seedlings prefer to be planted deep. Transplant tomatoes so that the first set of leaves is just above the new soil level. Space tomato plants 18" to 24" apart, with at least three feet between rows.
Caring for Tomato Plants
Keep your heirloom tomato plants uniformly moist but not soggy. Uneven watering encourages diseases such as blossom-end rot. This may mean watering seedlings every other day until established, and then watering the tomato plants often enough to keep the root zone damp. During hot spells you may need to water your tomato garden daily.
Indeterminate tomato varieties require support, such as wire tomato cages or sturdy stakes. To avoid damaging the stems, use strips of cloth or other soft ties to secure the vines.
Pruning tomato plants increases fruit size and keeps the vines from overtaking your garden. When side shoots develop at leaf axles (the "V"), pinch them off with your fingers or snip with scissors. Also pinch stems when they've reached the top of their support system.
When you take that first tangy bite of the season's first home grown heirloom tomato, you will know that all your tomato gardening efforts have been worth it!
