Growing Quality Tomatoes in the South
A LITTLE ABOUT MY BACKGROUND
I am retired from the Department of Defense after 36 years of service. Some of my hobbies are gardening (tomatoes), bird watching (Purple Martins), and computing (desktop publishing, Internet, and live chatting). This provides me with both indoor and outdoor activities. I am no expert in any one thing but have a good time doing the best in the areas that I enjoy. My goal is a 2lb. tomato. I think that it will be a challenge that will keep me interested in gardening.
Information to help in growing Quality Tomatoes
My favorite Varieties: I have tried several varieties including heat wave, early girl, solar set and others but my best quality tomatoes have been from WHOPPER and SUPER STEAK.
PLANTING YOUR TOMATO SEEDS
STARTING YOUR SEEDLINGS 8 WEEKS BEFORE YOUR LAST FROST
1. Put your seed starting mix into a bucket and moisten it thoroughly but don’t soak it. Make sure that none of it is still dry. Fill each cell with the moist mix, tamp it down and place two seeds in each cell, then sprinkle a pinch of the mix over them. Cover the tray with a plastic lid or loosely with plastic wrap and set it some where warm (70 degrees is about right). The seeds don’t need light at this stage, but they do need constant moisture, so keep your tray covered and evenly damp. Check daily for four to seven days for the first sprouts.
2. As soon as you see the first sprout, remove the plastic and set the tray just a few inches below a bank of fluorescent lights, in a cooler (60-65 degrees) location. (One day without light and newly emerged seedlings will get very spindley.) Keep the light on for about 16 hours a day. Water frequently but sparingly as you don’t want the seedlings to dry out, but you also don’t want to drown them or keep so wet they fungus forms.
3. Your sprouts start off with two little round leaves, called “cotyledons,” before they get their first true leaves, which look like the leaves of bigger tomato plants. When your seedlings get two pair of true leaves, it’s time to say “so long’ to one of the two seedlings in any cell enjoying double occupancy. That’s right, just snip off the extra, so that each cell has only one plant. Treat the remaining seedlings to water flavored with a hint of fish seaweed fertilizer, compost tea or other liquid organic fertilizer.
4. As your plants grow, move the light up or the trays down, so that the tops of the plants are just inches away form the lights. Place a small fan near the tray so that a light breeze blows steadily on the seedlings, this keeps the plants dry and fungus free, refreshes the air around them to grow sturdy stems. Begin to give the plants more water but do it less frequently. Feed them with a dilute fertilizer every other week or so. Transplant to a larger degrade-able container after about 5 weeks.
DESCRIPTION AND ENVIRONMENT
Height : 3 to 15 feet. (Yes, 15 feet). I am experimenting with some hybrid plants this year and planning some good competition with my local friends. We are going for the "biggies" this spring. Stay tuned for any updates.
Spread : 24 to 36 inches
Root Depth: Most of the roots are found in the top 8 inches, but some fibrous spreading roots
extend 4 to 6 feet deep.
Shade Tolerance: Needs 8 or more hours of full sun a day.
Frost: Tolerance Tender, cannot tolerate any frost.
Preferred pH 6.0 to 7.0
(TID-BIT INFORMATION)
Determinate Plant growth habit in which stems stop growing at a certain height and produce a flower cluster at the tip. Determinate tomatoes, for example, are short, early, have a concentrated fruit set and do not require staking.
Indeterminate Plant growth habit in which stems keep growing indefinitely in length. Indeterminate tomatoes, for example, are tall, late and requires staking for improved yield. This is the type plant I prefer. You probably already knew this information.
Determinate
PLANTING
Spring Planting Time: 2 to 4 weeks after frost-free date.
Planting Depth: 8 inches
Spacing of Plants in Rows: 5 feet between plants
Spacing of Plants in Beds: 18 to 24 inches
Best Soil Temperature for Germination: 65F to 85F
Best Soil Temperature for Growing: 70F to 80F
Best Air Temperature for Growing: Day, 65F to 85F; night, 60F to 70F
Weeks to Germination: 6 to 14
Weeks to Transplanting: 6 to 10
Multiple Transplants: Tomatoes benefit by being transplanted two or three times before finally
being placed in garden.
Days to Maturity: 70 to 90 after direct seeding being placed in garden
Watering Requirements for Maximum Production
This plant likes lots of water, so for maximum production give it between 1 1/2 and 2 inches of water each week. During the period from flowering through harvest, it is critical that your tomatoes get an even supply of water. Older, late-maturing varieties require less water. I use a plastic 2 liter coke bottle turned up side down with the bottom cutout buried 12 inches from each plant. This allows water and fertilizer to be applied deep into the soil. A small amount of fertilizer is to be placed at the top of soil as a large amount of the roots are within 3 inches of the top of soil. MIRACLE-GRO Plant Food works great.
Feeding Requirements for Good Production
Apply compost or a slow-acting general purpose fertilizer in spring, and give plants supplemental light feedings (either side-dress monthly throughout the growing season).
Feeding Requirements Maximum Production
This plant is a heavy feeder and in addition to the spring feeding mentioned above, it likes
a supplement every 2 weeks during its growing season. Periods during which supplemental feeding are especially important occur 2 to 3 weeks after transplanting, before the first harvest
and 2 weeks after the first harvesting. Go light on nitrogen. If seaweed extract is available
spray two or three times during growing season. (My best results is using 15-30-15 fertilizer
applying each week to each plant). My plants each produced an average of 32 tomatoes from
7 to 13 Oz. size.
(The three numbers listed on the fertilizer are reflective of the levels of nutrients in the fertilizer.
Usually, you'll see something like 8-8-8. The first number is for Nitrogen which promotes
foliage growth. The second number is for Phosphorus which helps in flowering. The third number
is for Potassium which helps in root development and growth.)
Blistered Skin
Blistering of the skin on tomatoes is a sign of sun-scald. Tomatoes must have some protection from extended exposure to the direct rays of the sun. Training a tomato plant to two stems is one solution. Two stems are left un-pruned instead of one. This provides enough foliage to eliminate most sun-scald problems, and gives you a greater yield from each plant.
PLANT MANAGEMENT
Watering Requirements for Good Production
Make Sure the plants get at least 2 inches (plus filling the liter bottles) of water per week by
watering or from the rain. Check daily and be sure that you remove 90% of all suckers.
Cat-facing
Environmental Stress Cat-facing, a spider web of tan scars on the fruit skin, results when environmental stresses cause young fruit to develop more number of cells. Exposure of plants to temperatures below 55F or above 85F are the most frequent causes, but drought, high herbicide 2-4-D can also produce cat-facing. Heavy use of fertilizers high in ammonia, such as uncomposted poultry manure, may contribute to the problem. The best way to prevent cat-facing is to plant resistant varieties. (Check in your local area for best variety)
Pale Leaves, turning Yellow: Nitrogen Deficiency
Reddish Purple Color on Leaves: Phosphorus Deficiency
Slow Growth, Low Yield: Potassium Deficiency
INSECTS:
Foliage Curls, Puckers, Turns Yellow: Aphid
De-foliated Plants: Colorado Potato Beetle
Damage to Buds and Young Plants: Corn Ear-worm
Seedling Stems Severed: Cutworm
Tiny Holes in Leaves: Flea Beetle
Leaves Stripped Yellow: Mites
This was my major problem this past year. Mites
are similar to spiders ( 8 legs) and lives under the leaf and may appear the size of black pepper in
several different colors. To check leaves use magnifying glass and look under the leaf and the mites
will be moving around. To rid the plants of mites use a garden chemical and spray under the leaf.
If mites are not too bad you can use just water and spray (wash) the leaves from the under side
and the mites will be flushed to the ground. Do this every other day for a week. Monitor your
tomato plants carefully as two to three days mites can have your whole plant in big trouble.
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