Tomato, Tamaydo: It's Not How You Say It, It's How You Grow It

Tomato, Tamaydo: It’s Not How You Say It, It’s How You Grow It

Facebook Tweet Pin Yummly LinkedInSharesPrint

If ever you need a lesson and reminder about abundance, grow tomatoes. With just a few plants, you will have tomatoes for yourself and the whole neighbourhood – if you care for them properly and give them what they need. Follow these detailed steps for a bumper harvest.

My clearest memory of eating the best tomatoes I had ever tasted was when I was invited to a farm for a week. The tomato that was handed to me right off the vine was a taste trip of note. No tomato I had ever tasted before was as good as the ones I had standing in a field, eating sun-warmed tomatoes with a sprinkle of salt.

Since then I have endeavored to always have a tomato plant or four tucked away somewhere. I even grew tomatoes on my balcony when I lived in the city for a while. In that time I’ve picked up a trick or two on keeping my tomatoes happy and harvesting an ample supply of delightful fruits.

What You’ll Learn

Choose the right type.
Sow seeds at the right time.
The first transplant to grow strong tomatoes.
Have the bed prepared.
The second transplant to grow even stronger tomatoes.
Spaced out.
Chop ‘n drop.
Watering to grow tomatoes the right way.
Pruning tomatoes, yes or no.
Tomato guild: the holy quaternity of companion plants.
Plants to avoid.

How to Grow Top Tomatoes: Step-by-Step

1. Choose the right type.

Tomatoes come in two types – determinate, indeterminate.

Determinate tomato plants are a bush type and stop growing when they reach 90cm – 1.2m (3 – 4 feet) in height. Once the flowers appear at the tips of the branches, this usually indicates that the plant will stop growing taller. The fruit ripens all at once, which is handy if you want to bottle or dry the harvest. This type is also best for containers or for those who have a smaller garden. The plant will need to be staked to keep it up off the ground.

Determinate tomatoes all ripen at once. — Determinate tomatoes ripen at the same time.

Indeterminate plants are a vining type and just carry on growing and growing. These plants will need a trellis or fence to grow up against. They will keep on producing fruit right through the season for fresh picking and will ripen at different times. They will carry on growing until the first frosts kill them off. In warm climates, tomatoes are perennial.

Indeterminate tomatoes ripen at different times.

Choose at least two varieties that will set flowers and fruit at different times for a continuous supply. I choose one early and one late variety and then one unusual tomato variety just for fun.

Look at your space, and then decide which type of tomato you would like to grow there. Also, keep in mind that most heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate.

2. Sow seeds at the right time.

As early as possible, start the seeds indoors. Read the instructions on the back of the packages for the right time.

For the south of France, I start my seeds when I see the acacias and wild vetch start to flower. I also look to the almond tree for an indication. It’s the first tree in the garden to flower when the time is right. This year (2021) it’s at the end of January.

One year it snowed in February, so I take great care to keep the seeds in a warm spot.

The almond is the first indicator that it's time to germinate tomato seeds. — The almond is the first to blossom.

Seedlings are usually transplanted into a garden bed one to three weeks after the last frost. If the temperature suddenly drops, cover the young plants to protect them. Use row covers or mulch.

Plan on harvesting early tomatoes at around 50 to 60 days after transplant; mid-season tomatoes at around 60 to 80 days; and late-season tomatoes from around 80 days or more.

Cherry tomatoes are well suited to container gardens. — Cherry tomatoes are well-suited to container gardens.

The optimum temperature for germination is from 24ºC (75ºF) or warmer and should take between 5 and 7 days. If the seeds haven’t germinated by day 10, they could be old and probably won’t generate good strong plants even if they do eventually poke their heads out, or the temperature isn’t high enough.

3. The first transplant to grow strong tomatoes.

As soon as the seedlings have developed their first true leaves, put them very carefully into small individual pots filled with some seedling mix. Take great care not to damage the stem or roots in any way during transplanting.

Plant the seedlings slightly deeper in their new pots. Tomatoes grow a lot stronger when more of their stem is buried and they can throw out some extra roots. This is especially important if you live in a place that can experience very strong winds, like I do.

Transplant young seedlings into individual pots. — Transplant into small pots.

Run a fan over them for several minutes each day to strengthen the stems if you live in a windy area.

4. Have the bed prepared.

Make sure the spot you’ve chosen has adequate sun and good drainage. A generous layer of well-rotted manure should have been spread onto the bed at least a month before the transplant date.

In colder areas, ensure that the bed receives at least 8 hours of sun, otherwise your tomatoes will not be happy. In places with very hot, dry summers, protect the plants with dappled shade for the hottest part of the afternoon. A shade cloth will be fine, otherwise a convenient tree. The important thing is for the plants to receive free airflow to prevent fungal diseases.

5. The second transplant to grow even stronger tomatoes.

Once the seedlings reach 30cm (12 inches), it’s time to either put them out into the garden, put them into a larger pot to grow more before going out into the garden, or put them into a large pot – the bigger the better – to grow on a balcony. Remember to bury them deeper than they were before to create even stronger roots.

When putting them in the garden, place a bit of freshly cut grass, nettles, or some fish heads at the bottom of each hole before putting the tomato plants in. This will give them an extra boost of nutrients and help to counteract transplant shock.

6. Spaced out.

Tomatoes are greedy feeders and will need space to reach their full potential. This is even more important for container-grown plants. Don’t expect good yields from cramped roots.

Space at least 1m (3.5 feet) apart for indeterminate tomatoes, and 60cm (2 feet) for determinate plants.

Remove the first couple of leaves from the bottom of the plant. This is to prevent splash-back from rain that might get pathogens onto the leaves. As the plants grow, remove a few more, up to 30cm (12 inches). A good layer of mulch or living mulch may negate this step. Just keep an eye on it and remove any leaves that go yellow or mottled right away.

Put the stakes in for bush types just after transplanting so that they can be tied up as they grow. For vining types, just tie up to the trellis as needed.

Tie tomato plants up to keep them off the ground.

7. Chop ‘n drop.

Mulching tomato plants will prevent soil from splashing up onto the leaves and possibly causing a fungal disease to attack your plants. Keep the mulch away from the stem though. You can chop any green stuff and just arrange it around the base of each plant. Not only will the mulch feed the plant, but it will prevent water evaporation as well.

Mulch tomato plants to stop soil from getting onto leaves. — Mulch prevents soil from splashing onto leaves.

Give them a regular dose of homemade nettle, horsetail, and comfrey tea as a fertiliser to keep them at their best.

8. Watering to grow tomatoes the right way.

Tomato roots go deep and strong. To encourage them to really dig down, water them deeply once or twice a week. Shallow watering each day just encourages the roots to stay on the surface and this makes the plant susceptible to heat and drought.

Only water the soil, not the leaves. Obviously, this does not apply to rain.

After they are established, stop watering for a week to encourage the roots to go down. Go back to watering when needed.

9. Pruning tomatoes, yes or no.

Determinate tomato plants need branches to develop fruit, so should not be pruned.

Indeterminate plants, on the other hand, will try to send energy into making more branches and leaves. The leaf stems developing in the leaf/stem axis must be pruned out, but the flower stems must be left. This way you get a tall column that will fit into a smaller space and produce a lot of fruit.

Keep any pruned branches and put them into water to root for more plants. Make sure that they are exposed to morning sun only and protected from harsh afternoon heat.

10. Tomato guild: the holy quaternity of companion plants.

Tomatoes, being so greedy, don’t do very much for other plants, but they do a lot for us!

A BL sandwich would be very sad fare indeed without the T(omato). Pasta just wouldn’t be the same without a rich tomato-based sauce. And pizza? What is a pizza without lashings of tomato sauce, I ask with tears in my eyes?

Tomatoes on pizza. We really want tomatoes in our lives.

We really want tomatoes in our lives so we want to keep them content. Luckily there are plants that will live quite happily next to these delightful gluttons and will benefit our precious tomato plant’s growth and deter pests.

Basil and tomato are a match made in heaven, both in the garden and on the plate. Basil repels pests and can even be made into a tea to spray on any mildew that raises its downy head. Grow the bushes in the spaces between the tomato plants.

Nasturtium provides a living mulch that protects the soil from the sun and improves the flavour of the tomatoes. Besides that, nasturtiums provide a large bounty of peppery leaves and flowers for summer salads. Even the seeds can be pickled as a substitute for capers.

Borage is a mineral accumulator and works very well in this particular guild. Their deep roots mine the soil for nutrients which they pump up to the surface to feed the plant. When the borage leaves drop, all of those lovely minerals become available to other plants that can’t reach these minerals. The leaves can also be clipped and dropped around the tomato plants for fertilizer. Borage attracts bees and butterflies to its pretty blue flowers and therefore improves the tomato yield. Both the leaves and the flowers of borage are edible.

Borage is a mineral accumulator plant and benefits tomatoes.

Garlic repels many pests and the bulbs and roots deter blight. Even though garlic takes a very long time to mature, the leaves can still be harvested and used like chives. Best of all, garlic takes up very little space.

Garlic is a great companion plant to tomatoes, as it deters pests and attracts beneficial insects.

11. Plants to avoid.

Keep beans, peas, and clovers away from tomato plants. Leguminous plants create too much nitrogen to the detriment of a good tomato harvest. The plant will push out leaves instead of tomatoes.

Enjoy Your Harvest

Pick your tomatoes when they are ripe and at their absolute best.

To preserve your harvest, you can dry some of them in a low oven and pack them into jars with olive oil. You can also make tomato paste and delicious homemade tomato sauces with them.

Sign up for the newsletter to receive new posts, hints and tips, and special deals right in your inbox.