Tomato

About Tomato

Tomatoes are the most popular home-garden vegetable, grown for fruit that tastes far better vine-ripened than store-bought. Bush (determinate) types stay 2 to 3 feet tall and ripen their crop over a few weeks, while vining (indeterminate) types keep growing and bearing until frost.

Grown as a warm-season annual in every zone; it is killed by frost, so plant it out after the danger of frost has passed.

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

• Start seeds indoors: 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost
• Set out plants: 1 to 2 weeks after the last frost

Days to harvest count from setting out transplants (52 to 90 days depending on variety). Stake or cage plants when you set them out, and give them about an inch of water a week.

Soil

Well-drained soil improved with compost, in a spot where tomatoes and their relatives have not grown for 3 to 4 years.

Follow a soil test; aim for pH 6.0 to 6.5, work in compost or composted manure, and till any pre-plant fertilizer about 6 inches into the soil.

Feeding

• 3 to 4 weeks after setting out transplants: nitrogen fertilizer such as calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0). Spread about 1 lb per 100 sq ft (about 30 ft of row) 4 to 6 inches from the stems and water it in; on sandy soil split it into two feedings 3 to 4 weeks apart.
• when the first fruits start to grow: nitrogen fertilizer such as 46-0-0 or 27-3-3. Use about 1/2 cup of 46-0-0 or 1 cup of 27-3-3 per 100 ft of row in a 6-inch band beside the plants, scratch it into the soil and water.

Too much nitrogen makes big leafy plants that are slow to fruit; skip extra phosphorus unless a soil test calls for it, and never use weed-and-feed products.

Harvest

Pick when fruit has full color but is still firm. Fruit picked at the first blush of color will finish ripening indoors with good flavor, which helps avoid cracking and pests.

Indeterminate (vining) tomatoes keep flowering and ripening fruit until cold weather; determinate (bush) types ripen a set crop over 4 to 6 weeks and then stop. When frost threatens, bring in fruit that is full-size or starting to turn white or pink to ripen indoors.

Varieties (60)

Good neighbors

Basil, Marigold, Lettuce, Spinach

UMN Extension says only a few studies suggest basil and marigolds help with thrips on tomatoes; tucking early lettuce or spinach around young plants is mainly a way to save space.

Pests to watch for

Tomato hornworm, Aphids, Flea beetles, Colorado potato beetle, Cutworms, Stink bugs, Root-knot nematodes, Corn earworm (tomato fruitworm), Cabbage looper, Whiteflies, Thrips, Leafminers, Slugs, Brown garden snail, Harlequin bug, Tarnished plant bug, Eriophyid mites (rust, bud, blister and gall mites), Mole crickets, Mice (house mice and deer mice), Chipmunks, Potato psyllid (tomato psyllid), Broad mite, Tomato pinworm, Beet armyworm, European corn borer, Pepper maggot, Leaffooted bugs, Fungus gnats, Blister beetles, Voles, Groundhog (woodchuck), Tree squirrels

Diseases and problems

Early blight, Septoria leaf spot, Late blight, Bacterial spot, Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt, Tomato spotted wilt virus, Blossom end rot, Heat stress (blossom drop), Edema (oedema), Transplant shock, Too little light (leggy plants), Leaf sunburn, Catfacing, Blotchy ripening and yellow shoulders, Phosphorus deficiency, Magnesium deficiency, Black walnut toxicity, Ozone injury, Sunscald, Fruit cracking, Nutrient deficiency, Herbicide injury, Frost and freeze injury, Tomato yellow leaf curl, Bacterial canker of tomato, Mosaic viruses, Powdery mildew, Bacterial wilt, Anthracnose, Gray mold (Botrytis), Damping-off, White mold, Southern blight, Root and crown rot, Sooty mold, Tomato brown rugose fruit virus, Tobacco mosaic and tomato mosaic, Cucumber mosaic, Impatiens necrotic spot, Curly top, Potato virus Y, Tomato and tobacco ringspot, Alfalfa mosaic

In the kitchen

Eaten fresh in salads and sandwiches, or cooked down into sauces, soups and salsas.

Keeping it: Keep ripe tomatoes on the counter out of direct sun and use them within about 5 days; the fridge dulls their flavor and texture. Let fruit picked at first blush finish ripening on the counter.

Safety: Only the ripe fruit is eaten. The leaves and stems contain the alkaloids tomatine and solanine and can cause stomach upset if eaten in large amounts, though real poisonings are extremely rare (NC State).

Pets: Toxic to dogs, cats and horses (ASPCA): the green parts contain solanine and can cause drooling, severe stomach upset, weakness and a slow heart rate; ripe fruit is non-toxic.