10 Steps to Your Best Tomatoes Ever

Love tomatoes? Prepare yourself for the best harvest ever with these easy-to-follow tips.

Big, Beautiful Tomatoes

Homegrown tomatoes offer unparalleled flavor. Growing your own sun-ripened tomatoes is one of the ultimate joys of summer. Achieving outstanding tomatoes only requires attention to detail. Get the basics right, and you'll be relishing a fantastic harvest. If growing large, flavorful tomatoes with historical significance excites you, try heirloom varieties like 'Mortgage Lifter’ (shown above), 'Bear Claw,' or 'Marianna’s Peace.'

Choose the Right Varieties

Select tomatoes that match your growing conditions. Local varieties typically produce good results. Check with local garden clubs, master gardeners, or plant sales at public gardens to find varieties adapted to your area. Also, choose tomatoes based on how you plan to use them—whether for slicing, sauces, or salads. This orange Roma tomato, 'Sunrise Sauce,' is the only non-heirloom orange paste tomato available and produces a beautifully colorful and delicious sauce. Finally, select varieties with the flavor profile you desire, such as low acid, high lycopene, smoky undertones, or intense sweetness.

Plant Deep

The best tomatoes come from plants with strong root systems. Give your plants a healthy start by planting seedlings deep into the soil. Remove the lowest leaves and bury the lower stem. Tomato stems root easily, so any buried portion of the stem will sprout roots to support and nourish the plant. This seedling, overdue for planting, has roots forming on the lower stem. Bury it up to the gloved fingers; a short trench might be useful for accommodating its curved stem.

Start the Season Early

Getting the first tomato of the season is a badge of honor for gardeners. Technology, such as this pop-up tomato accelerator, makes it easier. It uses greenhouse materials to create a warm environment around seedlings, keeping them cozy on cool spring nights. This allows you to plant tomatoes as soon as the soil warms up, even if air temps are still chilly. These mini-greenhouses accelerate plant growth, letting you harvest tomatoes a few weeks earlier than usual.

Stake Tomatoes

Elevate tomato vines to keep ripening fruit safe from pests and diseases. Using cages or stakes not only protects the fruit but also makes picking easier. Since disease is a common issue with tomatoes, staking helps by increasing airflow around the leaves, reducing disease risk. Ensure you choose supports that match the mature size of the plant; many traditional cages are too short for heirloom tomatoes.

Water Tomatoes Properly

Consistent watering is key for healthy, flavorful tomatoes. Inadequate watering can lead to small or deformed tomatoes and issues like blossom end rot. To avoid fungus diseases, water at ground level using drip irrigation, soaker hoses, or devices like a tomato halo. This device holds three quarts of water and directs it to the plant's root zone, encouraging deep rooting. The halo's red color reflects light to promote fruiting.

Mulch Soil

Cover the soil beneath tomatoes with mulch like straw, grass clippings, compost, or shredded leaves. Mulch helps control diseases by preventing soil from splashing onto lower leaves during rain. It also keeps soil moist, ensuring a good tomato yield, and suppresses weeds.

Prune Tomatoes

Remove lower leaves on tomato plants to reduce disease outbreaks. Wait until the first tomatoes form, then remove leaves below the first fruit cluster. This prevents soil-borne spores from splashing onto leaves during rainstorms. Combining pruning with mulching can significantly improve your tomato harvest. Check out more tomato pruning tips.

Pick Problem Tomatoes

It's common to find problematic fruits in your tomato patch. Heavy rain can cause tomatoes to crack, and various critters (squirrels, chipmunks, deer, turtles) might nibble on them. Slugs, earwigs, and stink bugs can also damage fruits. Remove any damaged tomatoes to prevent attracting more pests and diseases. Dispose of them in your compost, yard, or however works for you, but be sure to get rid of them to minimize future issues.

Keep Watch for Pests

Visit your tomato plants every couple of days to monitor ripening fruit and check for pests. Hornworms can devastate a plant overnight, eating leaves clean off. Look for caterpillar frass, which looks like black peppercorns, to spot these pests. Slugs and stinkbugs also pose threats. The best defense is using gloved hands to knock pests into soapy water.