Growing Tomatoes Blog

Jan 20, How to avoid blossom end rot

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:03:31 GMT

When planting your tomato seedlings in the ground, grind up some egg shells into the hole before you cover it. The calcium will help prevent blossom end

Jan 7, Can't Grow a Mortgage Lifter Tomato In Seattle

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:00:32 GMT

Or can you? I always start a variety of heirloom and hybrid tomato seeds -- way more than I can use and starting the seeds indoors is easy with a light stand. I remember reading an article about growing tomatoes in cool coastal climates and that large tomatoes were too difficult to grow.

Well, the Mortgage Lifter can certainly be classified as a large tomato, more that that it is a huge tomato. I planted a few starts in my raised bed which I have located on the south side of my home where it catches reflected light from the house. We have had a succession of cool summers in Seattle and after planting outside in mid-May my tomato plants barely grew until July's warmer weather arrived. That is, until I started covering my raised bed with plastic sheeting over hoops, but that's another tale.

The thing that surprised me the most about the Mortgage Lifter tomato was it's fantastic taste. Because my growing season is so short, I got nowhere near the advertised four-pound behemoths that are possible. However, even though my fruits were well under a pound, they did ripen on the vine and were the best tasting variety I have grown. I also did not have any issues with blight as I did with some other varieties.

So don't think you can't grow a big beefsteak heirloom variety like the Mortgage Lifter if your weather conditions aren't perfect. Give them a try! One reliable online source for seed packets is Mortgage Lifter Tomato at Burpees.

Jan 4, Have you tried the Square Foot Gardening Method?

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:02:26 GMT

I mention Mel Bartholomew's book All New Square Foot Gardening (Amazon.com) in my article on soil for tomatoes because Mel makes a very strong case that his soil mix is the backbone of the Square Foot Gardening method.

My experience when talking to the wizened old gardener at my local garden supply store leads me to believe there aren't a lot of true believers in Mel's Mix which admittedly is not a cheap way to fill up a raised bed. Although I fully intended to spend the extra for the formula: one-third blended compost from five sources, one-third peat moss, and one-third coarse vermiculite, I let myself be talked into purchasing a mix of compost and topsoil. Although I did get reasonable sized plants considering our less-than-ideal temperatures my soil was not as friable as I would have liked.

Have any of you tried Mel's Mix? Did you get superior results compared to typical garden soil? I encourage you to share your experience on my tomato growing tips page!

Jan 3, How long can I store tomato seeds?

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:39:00 GMT

If kept cool and dry in a dark place tomato seeds should easily last four to five years. This question might arise if you run across a good sale.

TomatoFest®, a California grower that sells packets of heirloom tomato seeds, has excess inventory of some heirloom varieties and is currently having a sale to clear the excess before the main selling season gets underway. These are not leftovers from last season but were harvested for 2012. Most varieties are priced at $2 per packet and usually contain a larger quantity than you typically receive. It might be a good opportunity to stock up on some new varieties like Banana Legs or Alicante.

Jan 1, Growing Tomatoes Indoors - The InnTainer™

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:24:42 GMT

Many of us have considered how to grow tomatoes indoors due to less than optimal growing conditions outdoors or for winter crops. TomatoFest® now offers free downloadable plans for the InnTainer™.

"This innovative portable self-container growing system will now give climate-challenged people a totally new alternative to putting up with tasteless Supermarket tomatoes," said Ray Newstead, "The leak-proof design lets users put the InnTainer in the home or apartment where one would never have placed normal containers".

TomatoFest® is a recommended source for heirloom tomato seeds.

Dec 31, It's a New Year - Start Building a Light Stand

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:02:15 GMT

I'm seeing more visitors to my article on building a grow light stand for starting tomato seeds indoors. For many of us the time to start seeds is still months away. But wintertime is a great time for a building project! If you've got more resources than time to build your own stand, I recommend you investigate the quality offerings at Gardener's Supply like their 3-Tier Light Garden and they also have a Winter Sale in progress.

Dec 3, Chlorosis Tomato Disease

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 17:29:59 GMT

I believe I have the Chlorosis virus infecting my tomato plants. This was due to my growing cabbage in with the toms -- this started the whitefly. I found

Nov 22, Tomatoes Have Black Spots in Center

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:46:04 GMT

A local grower who used his high tunnel for the first time this past summer told me his tomatoes were un-sellable because, although they looked fine on

Oct 19, Translucent Tapioca-Sized Balls in Soil

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:29:09 GMT

Removed my tomato plants as a season-end event. Discovered an anomaly in the soil that concerns me. I am using 20 gallon, top of the ground, containers.

Oct 10, Fungus in Soil

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:37:03 GMT

I think that my tomato plants had Stemphylium solani this year. Do I need to treat the soil with a fungicide over the winter so it doesn't come back

Sep 26, Successful Tomato Crop Tips from Ontario

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:00:17 GMT

Compost. LOTS of mulch. Stake early and maintain. Do not water foliage or in evening hours. Regularly remove the suckers at leaf joints. Try to set

Sep 22, Tomato Plants have Tobacco Mosaic Virus

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:32:22 GMT

I had a problem with tobacco mosaic this year on my tomato plants. My local extension agent said there isn't much I can do about it except good sanitation.

Sep 18, Greenhouse Tomatoes Rotting around the Stem

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 22:28:35 GMT

Hi. I grow tomatoes in a green house every year. This year the tomatoes are rotting at the stem. It's a cream colour soft rot and after a day or two the

Sep 17, Tomato Disease - Pakistan - Help!

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 02:45:22 GMT

We are severely having a tomato disease in which at first a spot is observed on tiller which grows slowly in order to get large shape & get disconnected

Sep 13, Eating tomatoes from plants with late blight

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:23:21 GMT

Hi. Are tomatoes collected from plants with LATE BLIGHT but not showing signs on the tomato itself be left to ripen indoors and still be OK to eat or should

Aug 31, San Marzano Tomato Problem

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:13:58 GMT

I've included a picture of my San Marzano tomato. The top of the fruit has this problem; the rest of the fruit is perfect, but I have no idea what the

Aug 30, Tomato dots

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 04:06:56 GMT

I have little black dots on the skin of my tomatoes. They don't go through the skin. The tomatoes are fine except for the dots. They are in containers

Aug 30, Improve compacted soil for stronger growth

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 04:05:50 GMT

Clay soil or hard soil is going to inhibit good root growth, and nutrient availability and also make watering more of a problem. So before you plant, mix

Aug 20, Texas Drought - Cracking Tomatoes

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 14:10:15 GMT

I've been watering the tomatoes every day because it's so dry and hot. I live in Texas and we're in the middle of a drought. I didn't get them planted

Aug 15, Finger-width Gouge in Tomatoes?

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:08:03 GMT

My tomatoes look like something has used it as a roadway. A gouge, about finger width, horizontally. Fruit is green when this happens. The fruit is

Aug 11, Tomato leaves shrinking, curling - pictures

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:15:05 GMT

Something is going on with my tomatoes this year. The problem starts at the top of the plant and progresses down. The leaves shrink, curl slightly in,

Aug 11, White mildew or mold forming at base of tomato plant

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:13:19 GMT

A couple of my tomato plants have died (or are dying). The first sign I noticed of a problem is that near the bottom of the plant, at the soil line, a

Aug 6, Growbags -- No Tomatoes Only Foliage

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:16:35 GMT

We planted 3 different types of tomato plants in a growbag specially set up for tomato planting. Only one is producing fruit the other two - Moneymaker

Aug 5, Tomato Gray Beetles are Stripping the Leaves

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:58:19 GMT

We have had no rain for three weeks. Last year I had these gray bettles strip the leaves on my tomato plants. So this year I have them back again!!!

Aug 4, Low Tomato Yield

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 04:00:57 GMT

My tomato plant (Early Girl, i think) is not yielding fruit. The blossoms open up and then shrivel and fall off. The weather has been quite hot and dry

Aug 4, Hard Grey Marks on Bottom of Tomatoes

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 03:58:38 GMT

Does any one know why I have hard grey marks on bottom of tomatoes that were not touching the ground. It seems to be on a couple of types but not the whole

Aug 4, Dark area on entire botttom of tomatoes

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 03:57:15 GMT

Bottom of green tomatoes are black and stays that way until fruit ripens. How can I stop this and save the rest of the tomatoes, before they are all ruined

Aug 4, Something's taking large bites out of my tomatoes

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 03:54:23 GMT

75% of my tomatoes seem to get partially eaten after they turn red. Whatever it is, it doesn't touch the green ones, only the ripe ones. It takes an

Jul 31, Big Beef Tomato Stem Spliting

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:07:52 GMT

We planted two big beef's this year and both stems started spliting. Any ideas

Jul 31, Hard core center

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:32:09 GMT

Early Girl.......blossom end is yellow, rest of the tomato is red and ripe, but with a very hard core center. What could be the cause

Jul 29, Lower half of plant turning brown...Oklahoma

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 04:44:52 GMT

I have 3 tomato plants that are about up to my belly button. They have not yet produced any tomoto's but have flowers on them. A couple weeks ago they

Jul 24, Plant Leaves Curling

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 01:07:48 GMT

We left for vacation - neighbors watered our garden - and when we came back, our garden was huge but the leaves seem to be curling. We have yet to get

Jul 22, How to treat gray leaf spot

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:04:45 GMT

I think my problem may be gray leaf spot. I am using Neem oil, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Is there a better fungicide for this problem

Jul 17, Tomato plant leaves are drying out

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 02:04:19 GMT

I live in Michigan. I had planted some tomato plants which were coming up real good and also had started flowering. I added some cow manure to them. From

Jul 16, 7-ft Healthy Big Boy Plants -- No Fruits

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 03:36:54 GMT

Large very tall big boy planted in April 2011 still green an very healthy but NO FRUIT. Should I pull them up? Baton rouge La. Very hot here it has been

Jul 14, Lots of blooms but no tomatoes

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:04:04 GMT

Big, beautiful healthy tomato plants with blooms but not one tomato. Have sprayed with hormones. Still no luck. Any ideas

Jul 14, Tomato plant leaves growing yellowing and dying

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:02:35 GMT

Ok it started on the bottom with the end of the leaves turning yellow then growing and curling and dying on the edges. I am a organic Gardner and I have

Jul 12, Sudden Disease in Thriving Plants - White Spots

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 04:21:53 GMT

I've grown tomatoes for about 20 years. For the past 4 years, just about this time of year as the plants are thriving and the fruit has set, they get

Jul 9, No blossoms no tomatoes

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 13:05:01 GMT

I have had my tomato plant for about 2 months and it's big and healthy with no blossoms. What's wrong

Jul 3, Tomato problem (I think possibly virus or bacteria)

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:44:32 GMT

One month ago in some tomatoes (less than 1%), the upper and young stems and leaves started to have spots and turning into a purple/grayish color. You

Jul 2, Septoria Blight

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 15:42:31 GMT

I have had a small garden for 12 years now. My problem is with my tomatoes. The last 4 years I have had this septoria blight problem. Let me tell you what

Jul 1, "THE" Tomato Cage

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 02:24:30 GMT

I fabricate my own cages. They are 6 in diameter and 8 foot tall, and I need all 8 feet. By the end of growing season some of them will be growing out

Jun 30, First Time Gardener - Plant Kinda Sick

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:45:11 GMT

Our Beef Master has very few blooms. It also looks kinda sick. We live in Oklahoma City, Ok. When I planted it I put powder milk in the soil along with

Jun 28, Tomato blooms dropping off -- see pictures

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:55:17 GMT

I have a problem with my tomato plants, the little yellow blooms are falling off and the joint so it does not even have a chance of growing the fruit!!

Jun 19, Half-dollar Size Tomatoes Ripen then Shrivel Every Year

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 04:10:41 GMT

I have planted in all types of soil with all types of ferlilizer and also in pots for 5 years and always the same problem... Plants grow very well 2 feet

Jun 17, Growing Tomatoes in 100 Plus Temperatures

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:43:13 GMT

Once plants stop producing tomatoes due to high temperatures, do I prune the plants back until fall or allow to keep growing taller with flowers but no

Jun 16, Tomato Mosaic Disease Every Year

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 02:30:25 GMT

I have this problem every year with my tomoatoes. They start out really beautiful and they get about 3 feet tall and then they start showing signs of

Jun 11, Leaves are curling and blossoms dropping off

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:35:19 GMT

We planted a tomato in a Topsy Turvy bag and its been growing well and producing well but for the last week or so it's leaves are starting to curl and

Jun 4, Better Boy Tomato Plant - Blooms, No Fruit

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 04:16:27 GMT

My better boy tomato plants are growing fine; they produce blooms, but few of the blooms produce fruit. The fruit that is produced is small and often

May 27, Shriveling tomato seedlings

Fri, 27 May 2011 04:17:47 GMT

We have a new house and garden (in central MD, zone 7). We've tilled long rows (20' x 7') in a place where there has never been a vegetable garden (at