Lecture notes - Menlo Park Library series: Growing Tomatoes April 6, 2022. A tomato has an extensive root system. Give it room! Wine barrel can hold two. Poor air circulation or persistent moisture causes disease. Check "seed packet" for when packaged, when to start (days since last frost), how many days to germinate, how far apart to plant them, whether to stake or not. Packet usually has green thumb tips/more information. Planting considerations: Sunlight. Min 6 hrs/day Available space for planting. Containers (15-20 gal) are an option for determinate. 'Ware that containers consume more water. Beds (instead) can be raised or directly in the dirt. Rotate crops, _or_ grow winter cover crops like brassica. Plant 3' apart. Buy plants April/May, _or_ start seeds by late March. Containers: 20 gal container. Not smaller, or plant will be root-bound. (Growbags are an exception, if at least 20" deep and 15" diametre. Peppers would work in smaller bags.) Do not use local dirt; use planting soil (is lighter, non-compacting, holds moisture). Handful of fish meal per plant. One cup w/NPK numbers 4-6-3 (mnemonic "up, down, all around" describing what growth each helps) veg. fertiliser. 3-4 crushed egg shells (or commercial calcium, but egg shells deter snails/slugs). Handful of worm castings (if you have them). If container is over 12" deep, then include sand/loam. Don't insert rocks or clay shards in the bottom. Water collects, roots can suffer. If worried about losing planting soil out the container's drain hole, insert a coffee filter to block it. Use organic fertiliser. Be careful about drying out. Water frequently. If plant is still droopy/wilty in evening, needs water. Peppers are better for containers than are tomatoes, because less extensive root system. Love Apple Farms recipe: https://www.growbetterveggies.com/growbetterveggies/2010/04/growing-tomatoes-in-pots.html Potting mix: Look at the ingredients. Be aware of the fertiliser component in many potting mixes. If that's present, then don't also fertilise the plants at first (because they'll get some from the potting mix). Love Apple Farms recipe to prepare a 50 sq. foot bed: 1 bag of compost 1 qt. organic, dry vegetable fertiliser 1 qt. pure worm castings (2 qts if soil is particularly poor) https://www.growbetterveggies.com/files/summer-veg-gardening-3.pdf Love Apple Farms recipe to amend a planting hole (garden, beds): 2 ft. holes, 2-3 feet apart, rows 3 feet apart. 1/2 cup fish meal (not emulsion) 1/2 cup bone meal handful of worm castings several crushed egg shells 1/3 package Xtreme Gardening "Mykos" brand mycorrhyzae (sprinkled on root ball) http://www.xtreme-gardening.com/products/mykos https://www.growbetterveggies.com/growbetterveggies/2013/04/2013-re-post-how-i-plant-a-tomato.html Planting: Daytime soil temperature should be at least 60 degrees F for planting (rule of thumb: starting Mothers' Day). Measure at the depth of planting, e.g., 4" for tomatoes. Remove cotyledons; some of the lower leaves. This increases the root hairs, from more of the stem. Dig a really deep hole, maybe 18" deep Plant "trenched" (sideways, like 45 degrees) with 2/3 of the length of the plant in soil Spacing: 2' for cherry tomatoes, 3' for others. Do NOT compact soil. Water 3x, 20 minutes apart. Copper tape w/desk stapler. Or Sluggo. Maintenance: When it gets about 1 foot tall, snip some of the LOWER leaves & branches, ones near the ground, to avoid ground contact or mud. Water deeply, not often. Water from the bottom. Never from above. If it's dry 2" down, needs water. 2x weekly watering is good enough. Mulch within 1-2 days. Not touching the stem. Straw is good. Fertilise: compost, worm tea. (Coffee grounds are good, but are nitrogen-heavy. N-number ideally lower. Better to add to compost.) Pruning: Means removing sucker growth between branches. Wait until plant is 18" tall. Never prune determinates. Judgement call: If the foliage is too thick, thin it out. Also, late in season, want to discourage green growth and divert vigour into fruit. Cage or stake immediately. Cannot do that retroactively without damage. Look out for pests. Problems: Failure to set fruit / leaves drop off: Applied too much nitrogen, or too much shade, or night temps below 55 or day temps above 90. Pollen sticks, plant cannot pollenate. Can help de-stress plant by removing partially ripe fruit. Sunburn: Provide partial shade if there is intense sunlight. Avoid overpruning. Ditto remove partially ripe fruit. Fruit cracks / cat-facing: Keep soil evenly moist, apply mulch. Blossom end-rot: Due to a calcium deficiency, usually caused by uneven-over-time watering (as water is needed to deliver calcium to tomatoes/peppers). Thus, more common in containers, and determinates (and peppers) are more vulnerable. Water regularly but not too much, mulch to even out its effects. Nothing wrong with the plant. There was just a watering bobble while that fruit was growing. https://ucanr.edu/sites/placernevadasmallfarms/files/86598.pdf https://vegcropshotline/article/blossom-end-rot-of-tomato-and-pepper/ Pests: Some require barriers (squirrels, rats). Gopher baskets. Hornworms (strips leaves, leaves black droppings). Pick 'em off. Leaf miners: Little roadmaps on the leaves, don't do too much damage. Grubs: Pick them out. Diseased portions: Cut out and dispose of, clean tools with alcohol or bleach. Don't compost diseased plant tissues. Harvesting and cooking: Tomatoes will ripen after cooking. It can be 45% ripened, and can be picked and take inside. Put stem-side up if there's still a stem, stem-side down otherwise. Some varieties will produce to Thanksgiving. Can them, dehydrate them, freeze them. For canning, follow the instructions on the Kerr/Ball (etc.) site precisely. Do not follow instructions in '70s-era or earlier books. Make salsa, gazpacho, tomato sauce with fresh basil. Links: UC - Growing Tomatoes in the Home Garden: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8159.pdf Ask a Master Gardener: https://smsf-mastergardeners.ucanr.edu/ask-a-master-gardener/ Mycorrhizae: https://mycorrhyzae.com/faqs/ Love Apple Farms: https://growbetterveggies.com Solutions to 5 Top Tomato Problems: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=21549 Tomato Preservation Techniques (UC Master Food Preserver): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRwuU3mNFhk Salsa Verde Recipe: www.freshpreserving.com/blog?cid=green-tomato-salsa-verde-0 Takeaways Min 6 hours/day of sunshine. Plant around Mothers' Day (waiting for soil to warm up). Plant stems deeply (snip lower leaves). Plant spacing (don't crowd). Stake/cage at planting time. Water deeply and regularly. Better to do it twice a week than daily. Add mulch. Fertilise after 6 weeks, then 2-3 times during growing season.