Pruning a tomato means removing unneeded growth tips from the plant. These growing tips are sometimes called shoots or suckers. Growth tips are the new growth–the small leafy-bud growth–located in the “V” or crotch between two stems. Pruning or pinching away new growth allows a tomato plant to concentrate its energy on the development of […] More
Grow tomatoes on stakes to ripen fruits earlier than plants that are not staked. Grow tomatoes on stakes to keep fruit cleaner and easier to spot at harvest. You can grow almost twice as many staked tomatoes in a given area than if you let plants grow unstaked or in cages. Tomatoes grown on stakes […] More
Do heirloom tomatoes (or other heirloom vegetables, for that matter) have benefits or advantages when compared to hybrid tomatoes? The answer is not simple. Natural selection of tomatoes Most of the crops we eat today, including tomatoes, have evolved from less desirable wild plants. Over generations and generations, humans have selectively created many plant varieties […] More
How do you choose which tomatoes to grow in your garden? Here’s a suggestion: Make a list of how you and those in your household enjoy tomatoes. Consider the 5-S’s— salads, sandwiches, sauces, soups., and salsa. There are tomatoes perfect for each of these uses. Plant 1 to 3 tomato plants for each household member […] More
Early-season tomatoes ripen fruit 55 to 70 days after being transplanted to the garden as 6-week-old plants. Because great tomato flavor comes with just the right combination of sugars and acids that are the product of sunlight and photosynthesis, early-season tomatoes are often dismissed as less tasty than mid- and late-season tomatoes (which require 80 […] More
Epsom salt contains magnesium, an essential plant nutrient. Used as a foliar spray or soil additive it will help tomato and pepper plants grow and produce larger, tastier yields. Milk contains calcium, an important plant macronutrient. Milk can feed tomatoes and peppers and double as a fungicide. Compost tea, comfrey tea, and other liquid organic […] More
Tomatoes and peppers drop their blossoms when environmentally stressed. But when conditions are less extreme, a plant that has dropped its blossoms will flower again, set fruit, and be productive. Temperatures too cold or too hot; weather too dry or too wet; soil too nutrient-rich or deficient are the most common reasons tomatoes and peppers […] More
Early blight, late blight, and leaf spot are common fungal diseases of tomato plants. Late blight is the most serious of the three. It spreads rapidly and will likely destroy the infected plant and can quickly spread to other plants—including potatoes, eggplants, and peppers. Here are the basics for identifying these fungal diseases: Conditions for […] More
Print Tomato Harvest Ketchup Yield 2 quarts Here’s a full-flavored tomato ketchup that comes right out of the garden. This recipe combines just picked tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, and celery. It’s thick and smooth with a rich, complex flavor you’ll never find in store-bought ketchup. (If you want store-bought flavor add double or triple […] More
Bruschetta is an antipasto—a “before the meal” bite or first course—except when it’s its own meal. There is much to be said for the simple, traditional bruschetta—grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil and salt and pepper. That’s an antipasto. But when the summer garden is producing, bruschetta demands fresh, seasonal toppings—tomatoes, […] More
Tomato sauce—basic, herbed, or with vegetables added—is easily made from tomatoes fresh from the garden or tomatoes frozen last harvest. Use tomato sauce on pastas, pizzas, vegetables, or soups. The key to flavorful tomato sauce is ripe, juicy tomatoes—the fresher the tomatoes the more flavorful the sauce, but that’s not to say you can’t make […] More
Fresh corn, herb, and tomato relish is a mix that comes together naturally as the summer harvest peaks. When sweet corn kernels can be cut from the ears and popped in your mouth as a garden snack—well, that is the same time you are going to find meaty tomatoes ripe on the vine. For this […] More
Stephen Albert