Tomatoes

We've been working in our garden, so that's what has been on my mind. Planted the sweet bell peppers the other day so all we have left is the spicy or hot peppers. There are some ancho, Alma paprika and jalapeño peppers and then some little spicy peppers Marge uses when she does a beef roast in the insta pot. These pepperoncini peppers are barely up, so it will be awhile. Bought three really nice eggplants over in Chaffee, so got them out. Zucchini are looking good as are the cole crops.

Been working on the high tunnels, so our focus is on cucumbers and tomatoes. I planted some Chef's Choice, Hillbilly and Dr. Wyche tomatoes a few days ago. The Chef's Choice is orange, and the other two are yellow. Good taste and just a little firm, so they never get mushy. I enjoy all three of them. Finished the day off tilling the 30-by-60 high tunnel. Our tiller is a Troy Horse, so it is a little difficult to turn and maneuver, but it will sure get the job done. Now we are ready to plant tomatoes and cucumbers in that tunnel.

I think an ideal height for a tomato plant is about 10 to 12 inches. I've planted them when they were 2 feet tall or down to 4 inches or so, but it's easier when they are around a foot tall. I like to trim the lower branches off so that there is somewhere around 3 or 4 inches up to the first branch. If the tomato plant is really tall, one can lay them down and plant with just the top 10 inches or so above ground. Not the best but it works. I always dump a pint or so of a mix of fertilizer and water on each tomato plant I set out. I always use a fertilizer with a high middle number like 9-45-8 or so. This will promote root growth.

Try and not get any more of the dirt up on the top part of the tomato plant. Most of the time the dirt has fungus and such in it, and this will simply introduce your new plant to fungus or bacteria and such. If you trim the tomato branches with scissors or pruners, then dump some germicide on the pruners now and then. I use isopropyl alcohol. I also wear those throw away gloves like vinyl or nitrile or such.

The best way to water tomatoes is to never sprinkle them or get their leaves wet. Drip irrigation is the best by far. But if this is impossible then I'd try to water them early in the morning so that they dry out during the day. I would think watering them in the evening would allow the leaves to be wet all night. When first planted the plants maybe need a cup to pint of water a day. Later on when the plants are pumping out tomatoes they might need two to three quarts per plant per day. Don't be afraid to water them with a fertilizer like miracle grow. I put fertilizer on my plants on a weekly basis. Don't overdo though. Read on the container how much to put in a sprinkle can.

There are two different types of tomatoes. Determinates will only grow about 4 to 5 feet tall. They will normally put on all their fruit in a span of three weeks to a month. Then they are virtually done. Indeterminates will keep growing and putting on fruit till frost or something either injures them or frost in the fall. Determinates then will require a cage about 4 feet tall or so. Indeterminates will grow to the top of your 4-foot cage and then usually fall over the top and grow down toward the ground. Some have 6-foot cages and most indeterminates will grow out the top of them. Usually determinates are the choice of northern growers, and southerners can grow both.

As the tomato plant grows it will begin to put off suckers or unneeded branches. These suckers will rob your tomato of strength and goodies so the tomatoes you harvest will be smaller and probably not as many. So one can prune your tomato plants which in turn causes your plant to focus all its nutrients into essential branches with fruit. I prune all my indeterminates. I normally only prune my determinates a little.

As the main stem grows it will put off a branch with leaves. Well right where this stem with leaves touches the main stem a little stem will begin to grow. If left alone this little stem will grow bigger and bigger and put on fruit and more and more leaves. But this little stem or sucker will rob the main tomato plant from focusing on the main fruit stems. I either snip these suckers off or break them off. If you are confused don't feel bad. There are probably YouTube videos. If not I'll show you when this virus goes away or calms down.

A tomato plant grows from the top up and never from the ground up. If you snip off the top of a tomato plant, it's done. It might live, but it won't get taller except for that sucker we talked about pruning! If the top of a tomato plant breaks off, check out the suckers just below it or even down to the ground. I've had tomatoes break off and ended up with a sucker at ground level turning into the main tomato plant.

Most tomato plants won't blossom and set on fruit if the nighttime temps fall below 55 degrees or so. There are only a few that will. Also if the tomato plant is subject to temps above 90 degrees like on a porch or by a wall it will blossom but the blossoms will drop. We have to really watch tomato plants in the tunnels when it gets really hot during the summer.

I've grown tomatoes that went from small cherry size up to almost 3-pound whoppers. In my opinion a tomato that runs from about 10 to 12 ounces up to a one pounder is hard to beat. I grew a bunch of tomatoes last summer that averaged 1.5 lbs. or so but almost everyone had a hard core that wasn't fit to eat. A baseball to softball size tomato is what I look for.

Man I wish I had one right now. I love to toast some bread, butter it up and cover the top with 3/8 to ½ inch slices of tomatoes. An open-faced tomato sandwich is hard to beat. But then I love to start at the bottom of a nice tomato and slice off the bottom and salt and start eating. Most of the time I have juice dripping off my elbows. Come to think of it, there really isn't a bad way to eat a good tomato.