Oh, what a wonderful feeling of satisfaction, to walk out into the garden and pluck a beautiful homegrown vine-ripened tomato from one of your plants — to have been able to watch that plant, and at least several others, from the day you brought them home from your local nursery or outdoor garden store, caring for them as if they were your babies, up until final fruition of being rewarded for your several months of dedicated work.
A lot of established gardeners would lead you to believe that only they have the experience and know-how to grow delicious tomatoes by their own hand. . . Well, to that way of thinking I say, “that’s a load of well composted cow manure.” Anyone truly can grow their own tomatoes in their back yard, or wherever gets the most amount of sun. It’s not rocket science, just simply a little knowledge and patience and practice. I’ll do my best to impart what I’ve learned through trial and error about growing your own tomatoes. I, in no way, know all there is to know. . . but through experience and talking to my dad and uncles, all of whom have certainly forgot more about tomato growing than I’ll ever know, especially my late uncle Charlie Ray Bennetsen, I’ve learned a thing or two.
As important as good blood is to our bodies, nutrient rich soil is equally so to growing healthy tomato plants. Yes, tomato plants and other vegetables will grow in plain soil alone, but they will not thrive or produce to their full potential. Organic matter, such as composted cow manure, rabbit manure, composted chicken manure and cotton burr compost (the ground up husk that holds the cotton balls), are all excellent choices of organic matter. All of these choices can be found at nurseries and feed stores. Always make certain the chicken manure has been composted, as it is a very “hot” form of nitrogen and will otherwise burn the roots of your tomato plants.
Simply thoroughly mix one, several, or all of these organic materials into your garden soil. How much do you mix in? My answer: a bunch! My raised bed gardens and large tubs contain about 60% soil and 40% organic matter, and EVERY year I add more organic matter so the soil stays refreshed with beneficial nutrients. And if you are using containers for growing your tomatoes, please use at least 10 gallon ones, and preferably 15-20 gallon. Yes, it will take a larger amount of potting soil and organic matter the first year, but each year thereafter just add more organic matter. Your results with a larger container will be a much healthier producing tomato plant. And always try to situate your growing area where it will receive at least 6-8 hours of good sunlight per day. This is very important for healthy plants.
Your soil with organic manure and materials is ready to go, now lets go find some healthy tomato plants. This prime planting time of year offers a good selection of plants at any nursery, home improvement or feed store, and if they are selling them in this area, they should certainly grow well. Bonnie Plants provides assorted variety tomato plants for sale at Lowes, WalMart and Home Depot, and they are very good quality, available in biodegradable pots, wherein the whole pot and plant go into the soil of your garden. I would suggest getting several different varieties, maybe a cherry type and then a larger beefsteak variety, they will be about $4 per plant, roughly twenty ounce container size. While you are there, pick up some Miracle Gro fertilizer to be used every 7-14 days when watering your plants, follow the directions.
Upon returning home with your babies, you are ready to put them into the ground, and only one plant per large container, and a minimum of 24-30” spacing between them if they are planted into the ground or raised bed. Now here is where planting tomato plants is gonna be different from planting all other vegetables: That plant needs to be planted DEEP! And by that, I mean a good 2/3 of that plant needs to be under the soil. Pinch off the bottom set of leaves; place the plant into your planting hole and completely bury it, leaving only several inches sticking above the soil. The stem of that deeply buried tomato plant will develop roots and create a much healthier and stronger plant. Lightly pack the soil around the plant, leaving a depression or bowl that will allow water to gather and soak directly down into the roots, and then water it well.
I personally always mulch around the base of my plants, using shredded hay that I’ve thrown onto the ground and then mowed over and bagged with my push mower. Dried grass clippings would work as well. This mulch material helps keep moisture in, helps with weed control and also prevents water from splashing up onto the bottom leaves which creates fungus. As the plant grows, help support it by placing a tomato cage over the top of it while it is small, or push a long stake into the soil next to it and tie off the plant to the stake as it grows taller. I use surveyor tape for tying off. Water and fertilize as needed, following application directions on the Miracle Gro fertilizer box. A common mistake is to over-water tomato plants, so be careful. Depending on the variety, hopefully within 60-90 days you will be eating delicious homegrown tomatoes.
Feel free to contact me by email with any questions and/or concerns regarding growing tomatoes. If I don’t know the answer I’ll certainly try to find it. Everyone take care and Happy Growing!
Clint Bennetsen resides full time on Matagorda Peninsula Island, and can be contacted for comments or questions at ccbennetsen@yahoo.com.
