Material on this page is summarized from
The Bountiful Container by McGee & Stuckey
unless otherwise noted.
Interesting Facts:
- tomatoes belong to the nightshade family
- also in the nightshade family are potatoes, peppers, and eggplant
Types of Tomato Plants:
Determinate
- grow to a specific height and then stop growing.
- flowers and fruit grow at stem tips
- yield fruit in a certain span of time
Indeterminate
- tip ends continue to produce more stem and leaves rather than flowers
- flowers grow on short stems along branches
- fruit begins ripening starting near bottom of plant
- fruit yield is not confined to a certain span of time
- Note: the variety we’re growing this summer, Early Girl, is an indeterminate type
Advice on Planting and Growing:
Container
- tomatoes need a large amount of soil because they are heavy feeders with large root system
- size: at least 5-gallons for a large-tomato producing indeterminate plant
- deep planting encourages a large root system
- tomatoes, especially indeterminate types, need support, since they are a vining plant
- insert the support trellis or cage when the plant is first planted in the pot
Care
- tomatoes need a lot of water
- heavy watering washes away nutrients in soil; fertilize every two weeks
- prune indeterminate tomato plants
- suckers form at the connection between stem and branch or leaf
- pinch off suckers to prevent bushy foliage and few fruits
- pinch off growing tips from tops of plants when they reach the top of the support
- it may be necessary to tie main stems to supports to keep stems upright; use strips of old t-shirt or pantyhose to protect stems
- fruit on indeterminate vines begin to ripen from the bottom of the plant
- allow fruit to remain on the vine until completely ripe for full flavor
Common Diseases and Problems
- Blossom-end rot: flower end of the fruit turns dark and sunken. Prevent by consistent watering so that the soil does not dry out completely between waterings. Adding agricultural lime or crushed eggshells to the bottom of the planting hole for added calcium might help.
- Cracking: fruit splits. Prevent by consistent watering.
- Cutworms: brownish, caterpillar like worms eat around stem of plant at the base.
- Tomato hornworms: striped green body with sharp horn; eats holes in fruit.
