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Few garden vegetables are as rewarding—or as frustrating—as Tomato plants. After growing tomatoes for more than 30 years in California gardens, I’ve learned that most tomato problems trace back to a handful of preventable mistakes. The good news is that tomatoes are resilient plants. Once you understand what they need—warm soil, deep roots, steady moisture,…
Choose the Right Pot for Bigger, Healthier Tomato Harvests Tomatoes are one of the most rewarding crops to grow in containers—but they’re also one of the easiest to get wrong if you choose the wrong pot. After 30+ years of growing tomatoes in California (from the Central Valley to Sonoma Valley), I can tell you…
Tomatoes are the most rewarding—and most demanding—crop you can grow in containers. If your plants look healthy but produce few tomatoes… or if leaves are yellowing and growth is slow… 👉 Fertilizer is usually the missing piece. In containers, tomatoes rely completely on you for nutrients. Get feeding right, and you’ll harvest heavily. Get it…
Blossom end rot (BER) is one of the most frustrating tomato problems—perfect-looking fruit suddenly develops a dark, sunken patch on the bottom. The good news: it’s preventable and manageable once you understand the cause. After decades of growing tomatoes in raised beds and containers in a Zone 9b climate, I’ve found that blossom end rot…
🌱 Why yellow leaves are one of the most common tomato problems If your tomato leaves are turning yellow, it’s a sign the plant is under stress—but not always for the same reason. In my experience growing tomatoes for decades in California, both in the ground and in containers, yellowing leaves usually point to an…
Growing tomatoes in containers is one of the most rewarding ways to garden—especially if you’re short on space, working with a patio, or dealing with poor in-ground soil. I’ve grown tomatoes in raised beds and containers for decades in Sonoma Valley, and I can tell you this: container tomatoes can outperform in-ground plants when you…
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