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How to Grow Great TomatoesAdapted from Presentation created
by Bob NixonKent Phillips
2
Also by these 27 other Howard County Master Gardeners…
Linda Branagan, Columbia Diane Brown, WestminsterDrenda Collins, Clarksville Linda Decker, Highland
Michelle Domangue, Columbia Aylene Kovensky Gard, Columbia Leslie Gilbert, Mt. Airy Corliss Glennon, Dayton Pat Greenwald, Sykesville Joyce Halasz, Ellicott City
Jane Hayes, Clarksville Jerry Kissel, Ellicott City Paul Kojzar, Ellicott City Chris McComas, Woodbine
Holly McFarland, Columbia Shelley McNeal, Clarksville Ron Newmister, Dayton Barbara Nibali, Ellicott City
Rosemary Noble, Ellicott City Sylvia Rampini-Huestis, Columbia Jo Ann Russo, Sykesville Paul Rutter, Elkridge
Carolyn Taggart, Columbia Louisa Rogoff Thompson, Columbia Barbara White, Ellicott City Jan Marie Williams-Nguyen, Columbia
Lisa Wingate, Ellicott City
Tomato basics/botany
• Member of the Solanum lycopersicum (nightshade) family
• Other members: peppers, potatoes, tobacco, & eggplants
• Tomato leaves, stems, & green fruit contain a glycoalkaloid
Tomato basics/site selection
Tomatoes flourish in (1) good, well-drained soil and require a (2) minimum of 8-10 hours of direct sunlight and (3) approximately an inch of water a week or 6 gallons/week.
Tomatoes have vigorous root
systems
Tip: Add compost to your garden soil to improve it from year to year
“Add compost, compost,and more compost. I useleaves, grass clippings,and kitchen scraps tomake it. I incorporate itinto the garden bed afterit has finished aging(3 to 6 months).” Shelley McNeal & Lindy
Growing tomatoes in containers
Containers can solve problems, such as bad soil & high-rise living, but requirements for the plants remain the same
*Mention of a brand names is for purpose of illustration and not
endorsement
You can make your own containers
Paul Rutter
HGIC Publication 600, Container Vegetable Gardening, contains detailed how-to information, including diagrams for making your own containers from 5-gallon buckets.
Best time to plant?
• When soil temperature reaches 55 to 60 degrees
• Here, usually mid-May to 1st week of June• Can plant earlier if plants are protected• If planted early, plants may grow slowly & be
subject to insect & disease attacks• But choice plant varieties may not be available
then at retailers, so buy & hold
Transplanting tips• Chose small sturdy transplants, 5 to 6 weeks old, no
taller than 6 inches• Plant on cloudy, wind-free day – or late afternoon• Remove leaves except top-2-3 inches• Dig shallow trench a little deeper than the root ball, lay
tomato on its side turning up the top of the tomato• Plastic mulch will warm soil, otherwise do not mulch
with organic mulch until soil warms• If May is cool, protect with milk jugs, bottom and lid
removed
Tip: Stake or cage and mulch your plants to fungl spores from splashing from soil to lower leaves of plants
Barbara White
Tomato Resources
• Videos– www.extension.umd.edu – Click on Youtube button– Search HGIC playlist for tomatoes
• Publications– www.extension.umd.edu/hgic – Click on “Information Library”, “Publications” and
“Vegetable, Fruit and Herb Gardening”– See HG 56 – IPM Series - Tomatoes
The mulch often recommended: Straw
… newspaper, compost, plastic …any barrier between leaves and soil
Paul Rutter
HGIC Publication 70Recommended Vegetable Cultivars
TOMATOES (* = hybrid variety)Red: Better Boy*, Big Beef*, Big Boy*, Celebrity*,
Delicious, Early Girl*, Jet Star*, Mortgage Lifter, Park’s Whopper*, Red Pear, Rutgers, Stupice, Supersonic*
Pink/purple: Cherokee Purple, Eva Purple Ball, German Johnson, Giant Belgian, Pink Brandywine, Pruden’s Purple
Yellow: Golden Queen, Lemon Boy, Yellow PearPaste: Amish Paste, Roma, San Marzano, San
Remo, Super Italian, Viva Italia*Cherry: Gardener’s Delight, Sun Cherry, Sun
Gold, Sweet 100*, Sweet Cherry, Sweet Million
Howard County Master Gardeners suggest these varieties …
Early: Early Girl* (* = hybrid variety)Red cherry: Sweet 100*Orange cherry: Sun Gold*Small red: Juliet*Large red: Celebrity*, Better Boy*, & Supersteak*Heirloom: BrandywinePaste: San MarzanoSmall yellow: Yellow Plum/PearLarge orange: Kellogg’s Breakfast
Key terms: Determinate and Indeterminate varieties, sometimes abbreviated (D) and (I)
• Determinate (or bush or patio) varieties grow to the pre-determined height of the cultivar. Though plants may be short, they can produce fruit all summer. This type is great for containers and small gardens.
• Indeterminate varieties produce fruit at intervals along their ever-growing stems , with blooms and fruit in all stages of development – until frost kills the plant.
Disease ID codes help you select resistant hybrid varieties
Totally Tomatoes
Early Girl Hybrid VFF
Ron Newmister
Totally Tomatoes
"Early Girl is dependable, has few disease problems, and is better adapted to varying weather conditions than other early varieties I've tried. It has very good flavor for an early tomato“ – Barbara White
Sweet 100 Hybrid VF
August 23
Totally Tomatoes
Photo: Paul Kojzar
“Sweet 100 has true tomato flavor as well as sweetness. It’s an incredibly vigorous vine growing 6’ tall or more and producing hundreds of tomatoes” – Louisa Rogoff Thompson
Sun Gold Hybrid
Totally Tomatoes
“’I put a bowl of those little orange tomatoes on the counter,’” my neighbor said, “’and they were gone in less than an hour’” – Bob Nixon
Juliet Hybrid
Totally Tomatoes
“A great munchable – meaty & not too sweet. A great treat to take to the office. Resists cracking. One of the first I pick in early summer, one of the last in the fall” – Bob Nixon
Celebrity Hybrid
Totally Tomatoes
“Celebrity meets all my needs – a long-season fruit, 4-oz. tomatoes small enough to use all of at one meal” – Louisa Rogoff Thompson
Better Boy Hybrid VFN
Totally Tomatoes
“Great taste. Fruit to 1 lb. A great slicer with disease resistance. Call this one ‘Old Faithful.’ A great choice for a first-time tomato grower” – Bob Nixon
Supersteak Hybrid VFN
Totally Tomatoes
Paul Rutter
“Supersteaks are great for making sandwiches. One slice and your job is done” – Paul Rutter
Brandywine
Paul Rutter
Totally Tomatoes
“Brandywines are big, pink, heirloom tomatoes with a fabulous old-fashioned taste. One slice per BLT! But they don’t do well in the dry, hot summers we’ve been having” – Jane Hayes
San Marzano
Jane Hayes
Totally Tomatoes
“San Marzanos are prolific, rich tasting, and their thin skin allows for canning or freezing without peeling” – Jane Hayes
Yellow Plum/Pear
Totally Tomatoes
“Our family has used Yellow Plums or Yellow Pears for more than 100 years to make tomato preserves. They tend to split after rains, so keep them picked” – Bob Nixon
Kellogg’s Breakfast
Diane Brown
Totally Tomatoes
“Kellogg’s Breakfast is big & delicious. It has a thin skin that tends to split, so keep an eye on it. Mine won the Third Premium ribbon in the Large Tomato category at the 2007 Howard County Fair. It weighed 1¾ pounds” – Diane Brown
What can go wrong?
4 common problems:• Damping off• Blossom-end rot• Leaves die, beginning near
soil• “Bugs” attack
Marianna’s Peace
Most solutions are simple & non-toxic
Blossom-end rot: Fruit tissue disintegrates at blossom end
Tip: Time, lime, and water generally solve blossom-end rot
• Generally it’s an early-season problem that “naturally goes away”
• Remove affected fruit as soon as possible• Add handful of ground limestone to planting soil• Mulch to conserve moisture• Drip irrigate deeply 1 to 2 gallons/plant per week• Establish pH of 6.3 to 6.8 after soil test*
*Test your garden soil every 3 to 5 years. Call or email the Home & Garden Information Center, and they will tell you how to do it and where to get your soil analyzed.
Tip: Drip irrigate, mulch, prune, select resistant varieties to prevent
leaf die-back diseases• Mulch and drip irrigate to prevent soil
splashing onto leaves• Prune lower 12”+ of leaves as plants grow• If disease is severe, spray with a fixed
copper fungicide to slow or stop disease• No cultivars have genetic resistance,
though some are more susceptible than others
• Ignore: Generally late season before plant adversely affected
• Rotate location of tomato patch • Remove all debris after season
Tip: Make simple drip irrigation system from jugs & buckets
Tip: Beneficial insects and simple remedies usually control “bad bugs” so avoid toxic chemicals
• Aphids: Predators & parasites, such as lady beetles & small wasps, generally control. Or blast them off with your watering hose.
• Whiteflies: Predators and parasites usually control. Or use insecticidal soap, pyrethrum, or a combination, as directed on the label.
• Hornworms: Hand pick and squish underfoot or drown in jar of soapy water. Or use them as fish bait.
• Warning: Toxic sprays that kill the “bad guys” generally kill the “good guys” too.
Hornworm saga, Part 1: You notice droppings or missing leaves
Hornworm saga, Part 2:You look closer …
Paul Rutter
Hornworm, Part 3:The braconid wasps win
Photo: Rosemary Noble
How to choose good plants
• Look for short, stocky plants with dark-green leaves• Avoid plants that evidence disease (yellow leaves) or
damage (lack of water)• Check label for resistance to diseases & pests (VFN…)• Check label (or catalogs) to see if variety is
determinate or indeterminate• Shop when new plants have arrived, probably just
before the weekend
Pick up a brochure to find out how you can become a
Master Gardener
635At libraries using Dewey Decimal Classification, you can find gardening books at this & nearby numbers.
Other resources
Resources• Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC)
– 800-342-2507– http://extension.umd.edu/hgic
• Grow-It-Eat-It website– http://extension.umd.edu/growit
• Master Gardener state website– http://extension.umd.edu/mg
This program was brought to you by
Maryland Master Gardener Program
Howard County
University of Maryland Extension
