Tomatoes: A Complete Planting Guide

The How Do Gardener ^ | 04/11/2012 | Rick Bickling

[orsonwb]

Complete planting guide for Tomatoes including state specific varieties, planting dates, nutrition facts, planting, watering, fertilizing, insect and disease control information...

[Argus]

Thanks

[rightly_dividing]

We are getting some blooms now and some are needing to be staked. Ours were planted Mar 17. We are just north of Houston.

[patriot08]

We have a local weather man who is famous for his tomatoes.
Thought I’d through in his formula:

Dale Nelson’s tomato formula:

There are two Tomato formulas... One formula for sandy soil and one for clay soil. The first time you use the tomato formula use the “Original” formula no matter what type of soil you have.

Original Formula / Sandy Soil
1 cup 10-20-10 (1-2-1 ratio) fertilizer
1/4 cup super phosphate
1/2 cup gypsum
2 cups cow manure
Dig a hole and mix ingredients. Then, add regular dirt on top of formula before placing tomato plant in hole. Otherwise, formula will burn the roots of the plant. Don’t let formula touch the roots when they are first planted. Let the plant grow into the formula. Water regularly. Stand back and watch them grow! Best varieties are Sonny, Bingo, Carnival, Heatwave, Celebrity, Big Boy, Better Boy and President. Best cherry tomatoes to use are small Fry and Cherry Grande. Everything needed is available at any local nursery.

Caution: Please be aware that excessive use of phosphorus in our clay soil over a long period of time can be non beneficial to your plants.

Clay Soil*
1 Cup 21-0-0 (1-0-0 Ratio) Ammonium Sulphate
3/4 Cup Gypsum
2 Cups Cow Manure
Mix these ingredients together with existing garden soil and plant one tomato plant per hole mixture.

*Most clay soils in this area already have too much super phosphate, which tends to stay in the soil for a long period of time. The local nursery people tell me, the best way to correct this is by adding ammonium sulphate which is 21-0-0.

[YoungCurmudgeon]

I’m going to try that this year. It sounds like a terrific method.

[knarf]

True story;

I imagined this during some cloudy daze of the 60's or 70's (did I say cloudy daze?) and it was first, a ladder.

Over the years and decloudification, I added (in my mind) wire fence to the top of the ladder that was resting on 5 gal buckets at each end.

Last year was the first time I did it as described.

Thanx for the comment.

[trisham]

LOL!

[djf]

Yup.

Lime, bone meal, wood ash, almost anything with alot of calcium. Fast growing veggies need calcium, it’s one of the triggers that help cells divide.

Good for lettuce, cabbage, broccoli also.

In general, if you need calcium, you probably also need magnesium.
The lime I get is about 2-1 calcium-magnesium.

Plants need magnesium to make chlorophyll.

[ScottinVA]

Got a good mix of Bush Goliaths, Beefeaters, Better Boys and Lemon Boys planted this past weekend. Looking for another productive season.

[csmusaret]

Good sources of calcium are Damp Rid and sidewalk de-icer. A good source of magnesium is Epsom Salts.

[kalee]

Ping

[VTenigma]

bump

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Ping to the Weekly Gardening Thread Member List

Please let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from the ping list.

[Red Badger]

LOL!.......

[djf]

And if you eat a lot of clams or oysters, just smash up the shells and chuck em in your garden!
Egg shells also!

My compost pile had all that stuff in it...

[Vinnie]

Hanging tomato plants:

Yes, my wife tried them.

Save your money.

[djf]

What I can’t figure out is what I need to get good root veggies.
Tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, peas, the squash and stuff do good here. Potatoes medium to good.

But I can’t grow a damn radish or carrot or beet to save my life!

Tops do great, and beet greens and carrot greens are fine and edible...

(and I’ve heard the “too much nitrogen” way, way too much!!)

Soil here is fairly acidic because of the pine trees. But I know it’s good - my dog lived back there for 16 years, it’s good and fertilized. Area gets about 7 hours of direct, overhead sun a day, so that should be enough...

:-(

[momtothree]

Hi Normandy! I tried something similar... a thick metal pole that hung the tomato plants upside down. Really bad idea... the tomatoes didn’t grow well at all (they just didn’t root the way they should) and a breeze knocked the thing over. Unfortunately, I was weeding underneath the thing when it toppled over. Saw stars and gave me a good gash on top of my head. We now laugh at the incident but for a minute there... I thought it would be “death by tomato plants”. Save your money and use pots or plain old (non lethal) dirt.

[Darth Reardon]

The tree rats have been devastating most of my tomatoes lately. Every day I find one in the yard half eaten (a tomato that is, not a squirrel, unfortunately). But I've got some growing where they can't get them. Here's a couple pics of a Better Boy that went in a couple months ago. Threads about food need pictures.

[Darth Reardon]

I haven't used those, but most of my tomatoes hang and it works quite well. I use a hydroponic system (slideshow of hanging tomatoes at link). I was advised to plant only half as many plants per pot when planting tomatoes because they need more room for the roots.

[bgill]

I figured out why three of mine died. Hubby parked next to them and the reflective heat burned them up. He also mowed down my garlic, grrr. The tree in the middle of the garden (hey, gotta work with what you’ve got) is leafing out so that’s going to cut out a lot of sunshine.

The broccoli and cauliflower never came up so guess I’ll try okra or cantaloupe. The okra seeds are old so those are doubtful. Did plant two potatoes from a potato that had sprouted in the kitchen so who knows. Just one of the peppers didn’t make it but still have plenty. A cucumber somehow popped up in the salad and greens area so need to try to move him. Everything else seems fine and we’ve been eating asparagus and lettuces.