Grow Good Tomatoes

[lynnmcmahan]

To grow good tomatoes;
Dig a hole as deep as the first limb on the plant and snug it in.
Sprinkle 3 tablespoons 13-13-13 around the plant at 6", no closer
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon 0-0-60 around the plant at 6", no closer
When the plant starts to bloom and every three weeks there after, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of calcium nitrate around the plant, you guessed it, 6", no closer.
Apply mulch, I use black plastic around the plants which holds moisture and keeps down weeds.
Tomatoes need about 8hrs of sun.
It's good to spray every two or three weeks with a fungicide.
Watch for stinkbugs and the tomato horn worm.
Make sure you have good support for the vines. I plant about 20" apart and they develop a lot of foliage. It gets heavy.
Make sure you have a lot of mayo and bacon on hand for those good 'ole BLT's.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I can't even grow crabgrass so I'd best stick to my tried and true strategy of old and support my local farmer's market.

 

[regolith]

I just stick the seedlings in the ground after the last frost. Nothing else required.
Red ones have been appearing for the last fortnight. Amazed not to have lost the lot to blight this very wet summer, but no sign of it in one group and very mild blackening on the other - maybe it's just too cold for the blight to take hold this year?

 

[3waycross]

I just stick the seedlings in the ground after the last frost. Nothing else required.
Red ones have been appearing for the last fortnight. Amazed not to have lost the lot to blight this very wet summer, but no sign of it in one group and very mild blackening on the other - maybe it's just too cold for the blight to take hold this year?

I got the blight from a local nursery 2 years ago. Now I can only grow tomatoes in containers. Luckily lick tubs make great tomato containers.

 

[3waycross]

To grow good tomatoes;
Dig a hole as deep as the first limb on the plant and snug it in.
Sprinkle 3 tablespoons 13-13-13 around the plant at 6", no closer
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon 0-0-60 around the plant at 6", no closer
When the plant starts to bloom and every three weeks there after, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of calcium nitrate around the plant, you guessed it, 6", no closer.
Apply mulch, I use black plastic around the plants which holds moisture and keeps down weeds.
Tomatoes need about 8hrs of sun.
It's good to spray every two or three weeks with a fungicide.
Watch for stinkbugs and the tomato horn worm.
Make sure you have good support for the vines. I plant about 20" apart and they develop a lot of foliage. It gets heavy.
Make sure you have a lot of mayo and bacon on hand for those good 'ole BLT's.

Thanks Lynn. I will try this method!

 

[redcowsrule33]

3way- what do you fill the lick tub containers with? I'd like to give it a try as our lick tubs went from returnable steel to non-returnable plastic. I'd think that all potting soil would bankrupt you.

 

[3waycross]

3way- what do you fill the lick tub containers with? I'd like to give it a try as our lick tubs went from returnable steel to non-returnable plastic. I'd think that all potting soil would bankrupt you.

One thing we have a lot of around here is rocks. If we use the larger tubs they get a foot of rocks first then a couple of old boards. The smaller tubs we just mix potting soil, composted manure, and dirt from somewhere the blight hasn't affected.

 

[Douglas]

Here is what i have had success with. Use the hand post hold digger to remove soil down to the subsoil, about 18 inches down and large enough for a corner post. Fill the bottom with cow manure about 4-6 inches (it is about 1/4 wheelbarrow). Add 4 inches of soil. Mix the two layers together. Add 4 more inches of soil. Add a handful of fertilizer, and a handful of lime, and fill the hole in . Plant two tomatoes about 6 inches each side of the hole up to the bottom limb. Once the soil is warm, cover with straw and stake. I use woven wire cages hooked to a t-post.Water is all you have left to do the rest of the summer. Cow manure is like a slow release fertilizer. Now this is for the season long varieties like better boy.