Oh, to be able to walk into the garden and pluck a fresh ripe tomato right off the vine! A lot of times, especially with the cherry varieties, those tomatoes never make it to the kitchen sink and the waiting large clear glass bowl on the counter. Instead, I’ll just wipe ‘em off on my T-shirt and enjoy the sweet deep red or yellow tomatoes right there on the spot.
Growing a good crop of tomatoes , especially beginning with purchased ready-started plants, is not a difficult task. Some of those gardeners that have been doing it for years want you to think that it takes a special green thumb talent that only they possess. . . well that’s a load of well composted manure. Having no gardening experience myself, even though dad always tried to instill it in me, I’ve been trying my hand at tomato growing for only a few years, and already grow more than I can eat, give away and feed to the chickens. These include many over one pound and one giant that crept nearly to the three pound mark on the scale. . . and I live on a barrier island surrounded by billions of gallons of salt water!
Being able to grow tomato plants is not rocket science. You basically need three things to be moderately successful – good soil, plenty of sun and water. I’ll say it again, good soil, plenty of sun and water. And you don’t need a quarter acre plot of prime gardening area either. All of my tomato planting is done either in raised beds made from common size lumber, or plastic barrels that I’ve found washed ashore on the island.
Probably the easiest way to grow tomatoes is in containers. To get that plant to produce to its full potential though, you gotta have a large enough container. I believe one that is at least the size of a 5 gallon bucket, around twelve inches across and fourteen inches deep. This would be the minimum size for one tomato plant. Never try to crowd your plants, you’ll only stunt their growth and become discouraged when they don’t produce. The larger surface area and depth of your container will yield the better results, simply because the plants root system will have more soil to absorb nutrients to grow properly. And regardless of the size of container, you MUST have holes in the bottom for good drainage.
Another route to go is with a raised bed planting area, and it does not need to be elaborate or huge. A 4’x4’ area, twelve inches deep will allow you to grow five tomato plants without crowding them. This is a good size raised bed to start out with.
This raised bed can be built with two boards from the lumber store, each board being 2”x12”x8 feet long. Simply cut each board in half, giving you four boards that are each four feet long, and screw or nail them together. This gives you a square 4’x4’ raised bed that is twelve inches deep, perfect for tomato plants.
Whether you choose containers or a raised bed, make certain you place it in your yard that gets the most amount of sunlight during the day, at least 6-8 hours, this is very important. And wherever you decide to situate your raised bed, cover that 4’x4’ ground area first with several layers of newspaper or a weed stop fabric, in order to stop the weeds from coming up through it. Not having to mess with pulling weeds is a real plus with container or raised bed gardening.
Now to fill that container or raised bed with soil. A lot of rookie gardeners, including myself in the beginning, believe that you can throw some dirt down, shove a plant in it and wait for delicious tomatoes. . . . wrong! With any container grown tomatoes, I prefer my primary soil to be a lighter Potting Soil or Mix, versus a heavier and more dense Top Soil. With a five gallon container, I’ll use about a 1/4 part garden or quality top soil to give it a little substance, but the remaining will be potting soil or mix. I prefer Scotts or Sta-Green over Miracle Gro, which has too many pieces of wood mixed into it.
It is also important to add some organic material to the soil, even if it’s the bought kind. Walmart carries Earthgro Organic Humus & Manure in a 40 lb bag, less than $1.50, and this makes a good soil additive. You want the finished consistency in your container to have a rich loamy feel in your hands.
For your raised beds, a 50/50 mix of Miracle Gro Garden Soil and 40 lb bags of top soil, along with your organic humus and manure will work just fine. Make sure you use your hands or a hoe and mix it all together good. It’s just a good feeling in getting your hands into and working the soil to produce those delicious tomatoes.
Now that your container or raised bed is full of soil and ready, it’s time to pick out a few tomato plants. World wide there are over 12,000 tomato varieties, that’s just hard to imagine. The size and color of tomatoes is your choice, but you’ll need to know that there are two “types” of tomato plants, DETERMINATE and INDETERMINATE. To define it simply, the Determinate plant grows to a short height, up to 3 feet, will produce tomatoes pretty much at one time and they will all ripen about the same time, and then the plant is done. If kept watered and fertilized the plant will remain looking good, but usually will not continue to produce fruit. The advantages to Determinate is that they stay shorter, do not require staking or support and are great for containers or limited planting space.
The Indeterminate tomato plant will continue to grow, 6-10 feet in height, and will basically continue to produce tomatoes until it freezes. These plants can be pruned or “topped-off” to reduce their height, but they will need to be supported or staked. The tag attached to the plant or stuck in the soil when you buy it should always specify if that particular tomato plant is Determinate or Indeterminate.
If you have the garden or raised bed space to allow the additional growth, both vertically and horizontally, and you are willing to keep it staked or supported securely, try at least a few of the Indeterminates. If very limited in space or only want to stick with container growing, the Determinate tomato plants will be your choice, and the Patio variety is a great one.
In purchasing your tomato plants. Lowes usually has a good selection to choose from. They carry the Bonnie company brand in various sizes. If they are out or low on selection, ask the outside garden employee when the next batch will be arriving so you can have a good selection. When I first started out and before I began my plants strictly from seed, I liked their 25 ounce size that comes in a degradable peat pot, about $3.50. When planting, you simply tear away the bottom of the pot and plant the whole thing in the soil. The key to a good start for that tomato plant is to plant it deep. I’ll say it again, plant your tomato plants deep! I’m talking at least half of the exposed plant needs to go under soil. You don’t even need to pull off the lower stems or leaves, just plant it all. Those buried stems will then develop additional roots to make your plant stronger and produce better. The roots on that plant are like the blood vessels in our body, the more we have, the better the flow and the healthier we are. Call me Dr. Clint. I know it’s gonna seem odd to plant it that deep, but trust me on this one, I can’t stress this piece of tomato planting info enough. And if you can only find tall and lanky plants to buy, simply dig a trench and lay the plant in it sideways, and then carefully turn the top few inches upward so it’s above ground and then cover up the trench with your soil. Again, plant it deep!
The last thing I’ll cover is watering and fertilizing your tomato plants. I have a very high tech system to determine when and if my plants need watering – I stick my index finger into the soil up to the knuckle, if the soil feels dry I water, if it’s moist I don’t. I’m thinking about putting a patent on this intelligent system. Probably the number one reason tomato plants die is due to over-watering. When you first plant it in the soil water it good, and then use the knuckle method after that. Remember you can always add water but you can’t take it away once it is there.
My goal is always to grow huge tomatoes, so fertilizing is very important to me. There are thousands of suggestions on how to do it, I’ll just mention what works for me. Fertilizers are comprised mainly of three parts and labeled as three numbers, example 2-3-1. These numbers in order are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (or potash). All three are important in successful tomato growing, but I have had the best results with keeping these “numbers” low. Do not use an excess of nitrogen, otherwise you will have a beautiful green plant with very little or no tomatoes. It’s much more important to start out with good soil and organic matter added to that soil.
A liquid fish/seaweed fertilizer is my primary source for growing nice tomatoes. I prefer the liquid form because I can also spray it on my plants leaves (called foliar feeding). A company called Neptune’s Harvest carries an organic 2-3-1 fish and seaweed fertilizer that I use, mixing one tablespoon per gallon of water (800-259-4769). Always follow the directions on whichever fertilizer you decide to use.
Well these are the basics that I use to grow delicious tomatoes. I don’t even begin to think that I know it all when it comes to growing tomatoes, but I certainly know what has worked for me. Start out with a few purchased plants and don’t get discouraged if you’re not a master gardener your first few tries. Just hang in there, ask a lot of questions and read books on it, and when in doubt ask dad if he’s around. Good luck and let me know how you do. Happy Gardening.
For questions or comments on this article you can contact Clint at ccbennetsen@yahoo.com or dolphin1@tisd.net.
Clint Bennetsen and his faithful companion “Barnacle” are the only full time residents of Matagorda Island Peninsula. Clint writes a monthly column, “Island Life” for this publication.
