Hello my friends! It has been three long months since I last posted and all I can say for myself is things have been BUSY! But I thought I would stop in today as I took some pictures along the way as I was transplanting my tomato plants into the garden last week, and thought I would share my process. Not everyone does things the same and not every situation is perfect for everyone. But here in Northeastern Minnesota where we have short (and sometimes relatively cold!) summers and subsequent growing seasons, this process has been very successful for me. Last summer where we saw an average of low 60’s nearly the entire time, I had my best tomato season yet! My plants were as tall as me, required two tomato cages apiece, and were full of beautiful tomatoes free of blight, blossom end rot, and other diseases- without the use of chemicals, pesticides, or other.
This year I’m planting some new heirloom varieties: Pruden’s Purple and Cherokee Purple. I’ve also planted a large number of a Beefmaster strain that is from Canada which is supposed to do well in cooler climates.
(Here are some photos of my 2013 crop)
It can be done! And it’s so easy!
Here are 9 simple steps to getting a great tomato garden underway. I’ve re-written the instructions and added some additional information beneath the photos for clarity. Take some, leave some, but either way- get out there and get in the garden!
Step 1: Prepare the garden area.
Step 2: Dig a trench a few inches deep and the length of your tomato plant from fork to root. You will be laying your plant down on its side.
Step 3: Prepare to say good-bye to all of this leafy stuff!
Step 4: Using a clean, sharp scissors, remove all branches up to the fork, or 2 main branches at the top.
Step 5: Add some crushed, clean egg shells to your trench and work them into the soil a bit. This will provide much-needed calcium for your plant and will help ward off blossom end rot. Tomatoes are heavy feeders of calcium; if you do not have egg shells on hand, you can use gypsum or bone meal which can be purchased in the garden section.
Step 6: Lay your plant on its side, gently curving the top of the plant upward (be careful not to snap the stem!). The soil under the stem should be loose and wide enough to prevent cramping the roots, especially around the root ball. The benefits of planting in this way are: (1) the entire length of your stem will create one big, long root system which allows for more intake of water and nutrients, and (2) your root system will be closer to the surface of the soil, which will ensure that your plant gets plenty of water (as opposed to a root system that is planted deep in the ground which requires deeper watering in order to reach the roots at the bottom).
Step 7: Thoroughly cover the entire stem and root ball. Use the dirt to support the top of your plant, leaving the forked area above ground. Gently firm the soil around your plant. At this time, if your plants have already started to blossom I would recommend pinching the blossoms off so that the tomato puts its energy into growing the plant at this point, rather than fruit. I had to do this with nearly all of my plants.
Step 8: Always place your tomato cages right away. Be sure to straddle two of the legs around where your stem is laying; don’t pierce it. When my plant is real low to the ground (as it is when you first transplant your tomatoes), I make sure the lower ring of the cage is fitted underneath the leaves to keep them up on off of the soil.
Step 9: Set yourself up for a successful growing season by committing to using a soaker hose and placing it right away. Soaker hoses water slowly and deeply, which is what tomatoes need. They also eliminate two other issues: (1) water on the leaves which can cause them to burn in the hot sun, and (2) soil from being splashed up off of the ground and onto your leaves which can lead to disease issues. Aim to water deeply once a week (choose a day and stick to that day). Irregular irrigation can also contribute to blossom end rot and cracking of your tomatoes.
That’s it! Just a couple of hours and you’re ready to see a harvest of tomatoes in your future! I will be providing a post in the next month or so on pruning your tomato plants, so stay tuned.
Thanks for visiting today!
I use that same method Erin and have had great success! Hope you get lots of tomatoes this summer 🙂 Our season is ending as our summers are too hot I grow mine during the winter.
I would LOVE to be able to garden year-round. I truly love where I live, but often wonder how much more I could accomplish if I had more than 3 months to garden 🙂
Thanks so much for visiting!
xErin
Thank you for writing this! We have never done any of this, except for the cage part. We’ve had some good years and some bad years. I’m thinking we need a soaker system for our garden.
Hi, Christine! Thanks for visiting 🙂 I was fortunate to learn a lot about tomatoes from a friend of my husband’s family who is a tomato master. I didn’t mention anything pre-transplant stage, but when selecting tomato plants either from a greenhouse or from your own seedlings, always select those with strong, straight stems. Forego the leggy or crooked stem plants. When you lay your plant down in the trench in this way, that stem will typically double in size and strength in the first month of growth. It’s amazing. My plants end up with trunks! Very strong and by the end of the growing season, pulling those plants out is not an easy job as they establish a root system like you wouldn’t believe. The more roots you have, the more opportunity for pulling up nutrients and water from the ground to feed your plant :).
I would definitely do soaker hoses with tomatoes- you just can’t get the nice deep watering like they can give with a regular hose. And you can just turn it on and leave it for a few hours without feeling like you’re wasting a ton of water- it’s nice and slow- no runoff.
Anyways, I could go on and on… thanks again for stopping by!
xErin
Wow I’ve been growing tomatos here in California all my life and have never seen anyone plant them on there side ,but I’m going to try it out this season! I’ll let you know how it goes as we have a long growing season here from March – around Nov. 1st. Thanks for the great tips! What do you do to start the seedlings any other tricks that maybe I’m not doing ?
You won’t regret it, Sharon. I promise you! Definitely update me, I’d love to hear how it goes for you. I don’t do anything special in starting seedlings, other than saving seeds from my best (heirloom) tomatoes and using those for the following year’s plants 🙂