[perchprism]

I started planting tomatoes under landscape fabric several years ago, in an effort to make use of some of the empty space near the house that we’d landscaped. Those tomatoes did so remarkably well compared to plants out in the garden I came to figure out that what tomatoes really like is a stable moisture content in the soil. The fabric keeps the soil at a uniform moisture level most of the time. Also, I think the plants appreciated the partial shade they’d get when planted close to the house.

I built my cages out of hogwire, about 3 feet in diameter and 60” tall. Nowadays I grow too many tomatoes to have them all near the house, so I have started putting landscape fabric down in the garden and then covering with leaves saved from the previous Fall. I have to use a cage because otherwise the deer and rabbits get at them.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"The fabric keeps the soil at a uniform moisture level most of the time. Also, I think the plants appreciated the partial shade they’d get when planted close to the house."

Yep. Just enough moisture and some shade are the perfect recipe for maters. Sounds like you've got tomato growing down pat!