Credit: Elizabeth White
Does anything taste better than a vine-ripened tomato right out of your garden? I think not.
Tomatoes are a warm-weather crop and aren’t yet ready to be planted outside in early May. But if you’re planning on tomatoes for your garden, you’ve probably already started tomato seedlings inside, and they’re nearing six weeks by now.
Alternately, you’ve purchased them from a nursery. You might think it’s too early to buy, since it’s too early to plant. But buying now is the best way to ensure you find the variety you like and that the plants will be in a healthy state and not picked over.
Young plants from a nursery come in a six-pack container and probably are already root bound, meaning their roots have become too crowded in their small pots to properly absorb nutrients from the soil.
As soon as these seedlings are brought home, they need to be transplanted into larger containers, 4-inch pots at the least. To release the young plants, tip the store-bought container on its side, and push up from the bottom. Don’t pull on the stem. This ensures the entire root ball is extracted.
Transfer it into a pot with a mix of three parts potting soil, one part compost, and a sprinkle of fertilizer (Tomato Tone is a good choice).
Place your repotted plants outside to help them adjust to outdoor conditions. On cool nights, bring them back inside until the plant has hardened off and has three or more sets of secondary, or true, leaves. Keep the soil moist.
By Memorial Day in late May, warm weather should be upon us and the ground is at least 60 degrees and the threat of frost has passed. Now it’s time to plant your tomatoes in a full-sun location in your garden.
By this time, your potted plants could be at least a foot tall. When replanting, I recommend the trench, or lay-down, method. This ensures that the roots remain relatively close to the surface, where it’s warm. Tomato plants don’t like their roots to be cold.
Credit: Elizabeth White
The trench method also capitalizes on the fact that tomato plants are adventitious, meaning they will grow new roots from a buried stem. This is a big advantage to the plant since the bigger the root system, the more nutrients the plant is able to absorb. The healthier the plant, the more tomatoes it will produce.
Measure the length of your plant except for the last couple of inches. Dig a trench that length, about 8 inches deep. Mix in a double handful of compost and a generous sprinkle of fertilizer. Trim off all the bottom leaves except for the very top two sections, and pinch off any blossoms. We want the plant to concentrate on growing before it starts making fruit.
Once the tomato plant is out of its pot, lay it down in the trench. Cover with soil, water well and then finish with mulch. This helps keep the soil from drying out and keeps the weeds at bay. Chopped straw, dried leaves or grass clippings are good choices. Pile some mulch beneath the top part of the plant to encourage it to grow upward.
Lastly, hammer in a stake or cover with a tomato cage. Cages need to also be staked since they topple over easily on a windy day. Your next plant needs to be positioned 2 feet away. Plants need room to grow and to not be overcrowded to ensure good air circulation.
Tomato plants need to get about 2 inches of water a week and at least six hours of sunlight a day to grow well. When little green fruit starts to appear, it’s time to feed the plant. A fertilizer high in phosphorus and potassium, but low in nitrogen, is best.
As they grow, bushy plants should be removed of stems that don’t have blossoms or fruit on them. Don’t worry, they actually don’t mind at all.
Following these simple tips and tricks – plus good weather and a little luck — will help ensure you a bountiful harvest of delicious tomatoes.
Elizabeth White grew up on a farm in Shekomeko Valley and holds a degree in agronomy from SUNY Cobleskill. She’s been an active member of the Pine Plains Community Garden since 2020.