Growing Tomatoes From Transplants

Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable to grow in the United States.  They are not difficult to grow from transplants, and can even be grown from seed with a little extra effort.  Buying transplants from your local nursery, or just about anywhere garden products are sold, is easy and gives you well started plants to begin with. 

If you want a larger choice of varieties than they carry, you can purchase seeds from mail order houses and grow any number of variates.  You just have to start the seeds indoors about eight weeks before it is time to plant them outside.

What to Look For When Buying Transplants

Since most people buy transplants, I will discuss starting tomatoes from seed in another post.  When buying transplants, look for compact, healthy looking plants that are about 4 to 6 inches tall.  Avoid leggy plants or ones with yellow leaves.

What Type of Tomatoes Do You Want

You need to decide whether to grow cherry tomatoes, which are the small, bite sized tomatoes seen most often in salads, beefmaster type tomatoes, which are for slicing, or paste tomatoes, usually made into sauces and tomato paste.  Of course, you can grow some of each. 

Determinant Versus Indeterminate

Two other terms you will hear regarding tomatoes are determinant and indeterminate.    Determinant tomatoes have all their tomatoes at once, while indeterminate tomatoes have them for a longer period.  The advantage of determinant tomatoes is that if you are planning to can them, you get the whole crop at once.    If you plan to eat them as they get ripe, you probably want indeterminate tomatoes.

Tomato Diseases

Tomatoes are subject to a whole host of diseases.  Some tomato varieties are more resistant to diseases than others.  Tomato varieties have groups of letters after them that tell what diseases they are resistant to .  Your nursery professional can tell you what tomato diseases are prevalent in your area and recommend varieties to grow that are resistant to those diseases.

When to Plant Transplants

Transplants should be set out after all danger of frost has passed. 

Fertilizing

Prior to planting, add 2 to 3 pounds of fertilizer per hundred feet of row and mix it well into the top 3 to 4 inches of soil.  If planting just a few plants, it is more practical to put two level tablespoons of fertilizer in each hole before setting the plant into it.

Spacing

Plant them on raised beds about six inches above the rest of the garden.  Plant them 2-4 feet apart in the row with 4-5 feet between rows.  Put the tomato plant in two to three inches deep and set them in firmly.  Water in well.

Staking or Caging

Place a stake ten inches deep and extending upward six feet beside the tomato plant.  As the plant grows, tie the plant loosely to the stake with twine every foot.  Do not use wire as it will cut the plant in two.  Staked plants keep the fruit up off the ground and out of the reach of many of the pests that eat them, such as slugs and snails.  Alternatively, you can use a tomato cage.  The small end goes in the ground as deep as you can put it.  The tomato will be small at the bottom of the plant and big at the top.

Mulching

Mulch plants as they grow so that you have three inches of mulch around each plant.  This will help prevent weeds from growing around them, keep moisture in the ground around the plants, and keep the fruit off the dirt.  It also helps keep fungal spores from splashing up on the plant, retarding fungal diseases.

Watering

Tomatoes need a lot of water.  Water the plant twice a week with an inch of water each time.  Drip irrigation is best, but a soaker hose or sprinkler will work. 

More Fertilizer

Every two to three weeks from the first appearance of fruit until the end of harvest, scatter 1 to 2 tablespoons of fertilizer beside but about 6 inches from the tomato stalks and work into the soil.  Water it in good.

Harvesting

For best flavor, pick tomatoes when they are fully ripe.  If you must pick them when they are only pink, ripen at room temperature before refrigerating them.  Use ripe tomatoes within two or three days or they will start to rot.