The key to growing great tomatoes involves a little advance planning, good soil preparation, proper planting techniques and then regular maintenance of the plants as you wait for those beautiful red ripe tomatoes. As far as that goes, there are many, many theories about each step. The following is what works well for me:
ADVANCE PLANNING:
Over the winter, save banana peels and egg shells.
Keep a gallon sized freezer bag or other container in the freezer and just keep adding banana peels until you have about 2 peels per the number of tomato plants you think you'll want to grow.
The egg shells need to be rinsed thoroughly, allowed to air dry and then crushed and stored in an airtight container. You'll need approximately 12 to 18 crushed eggshells per plant. (Note: Just recently learned that some gardeners have gone to either baking their eggshells or boiling them (you can water your plants with the egg water when done too) to avoid the risk of spreading salmonella. I assumed that an airtight bag for a lengthy period would be sufficient, but I am going to start doing this too just to be safe.)
SOIL PREPARATION:
Cultivate your garden soil and work a couple of inches of compost into the top 4 to 6-inches of soil. You can work in some fertilizer at the same time if you want.
Figure out what area of your garden will be for tomatoes. We plant ours either in short rows in one square of our garden or a single long row.
Dig holes to the depth and distance appropriate for the varieties of tomato plants you have chosen. I dig the hole about the same depth as my plant is tall (not counting the container).
Add more compost and some builders sand to the pile of dirt you have just removed (soil should be loose and rich).
Lay a couple of banana peels in the bottom of the hole. Cover with about 4" soil.
Sprinkle on a couple of handfuls of crushed egg shells.
PLANTING:
Remove the tomato plant from its container. Gently loosen the roots and soil where it has become compacted in the container by picking at them with your fingers.
Pinch off all of the growth along the bottom 50 to 75% of the plant. The plant will grow new roots from the nodes where the leaves and stems were previously attached, and you will be rewarded with a much stronger and more vigorous plant!
Center your plant in the hole with 50 to 75% of the plant below ground level.
Backfill the hole with the soil you removed earlier and amended. Firm but don't pack the soil around the tomato plant.
Repeat until you have planted all the tomato plants and then stand back and admire your accomplishment while you give them their first drink of water!
MAINTENANCE:
This section especially tends to be more of a personal preference!
Tomato Supports:
Tomato plants can be staked, caged, allowed to grow up a wire or twine fence type creation, etc. I've always heard that giving your tomatoes support allows greater air circulation, supports branches laden with heavy tomatoes to help prevent breakage, keeps fruit off the ground and makes better use of garden space by limiting expansion of plants. I know this is all true, but for some reason we let ours grow as nature intended.
Pruning:
I've heard that you can prune your tomato plants and it is supposed to increase yield, but I just don't know about that. Occasionally I will cut off a branch that isn't looking too good. Other than that, the only "pruning" we do is to pinch off the "suckers" that sprout up where the leaves attach to the branches of the tomato plant.
Mulch:
Mulching helps retain soil moisture, prevents weeds and keeps the ground cooler. Tomato plants like heat, so if you mulch wait until the days are long and hot to prevent keeping the ground too cool and slowing plant growth and production. Weeds don't ever seem to be a problem around our tomato plants, because the plants themselves prevent most weed growth.
Straw or grass clippings are good mulch choices. If we mulch, we do it to keep the fruit on sagging branches off the ground, so they won't rot. After the plants get pretty big, we mound dirt around the stems to protect the plant. This method is called "hilling".
Watering:
Water plants regularly but don't over water (kind of vague, I know). Don't water to where they are sitting in soggy ground but don't allow to completely dry out either. We water a couple of times a week but monitor moisture almost daily.
Do water slowly and deeply at ground level.
Fertilizer:
Tomato plants do require a lot of food/nourishment. I would recommend side-dressing with a tomato/vegetable fertilizer when tomatoes start to develop and then once again later when production seems to be slowing or the plants look like they need a little boost.
We fertilize along with the "hilling" process. Using a hoe, we cultivate between the rows being careful not to get to close to the tomato plants and potentially injure the roots. Then we sprinkle fertilizer on the freshly cultivated dirt and use a hoe to pull the dirt back towards the plant and mound or hill it at the base of the plant.
Tomato plants are not difficult to grow at all and are well worth what little effort they do require from you. The difference between a store bought tomato and a home-grown tomato is so great that it is almost like they are not even the same fruit! Just plan ahead some and follow the instructions outlined above, eventhough I know it is hard to see all of those lovely 12" or so tall plants you purchased become 4 to 6-inch little tomato plants sticking out of the dirt. But, be patient and soon you will have more home-grown tomatoes than you know what to do with!
