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Expert Advice on Growing Tomatoes

in In the Garden· Summer Garden· The Beginner's Garden Podcast· Tomatoes· Vegetables

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If there’s one vegetable that tops everyone’s garden planning list, it’s the tomato. But growing tomatoes isn’t as simple as it may seem.

First, you have to choose which varieties to grow. Whether you’re perusing seed catalogs or shopping at your garden center, the selection can be daunting.

Then, once you get your seeds or transplants, how can you make sure they grow?

And once the plants establish themselves and you think you’re on your way to a bountiful harvest, how do you deal with unexpected pests and disease?

No, despite what you may have thought, growing tomatoes isn’t without its challenges.

organic roma tomatoes

Thankfully, a bumper crop of tomatoes isn’t out of reach. But to get started well, it’s always good to have an expert’s advice on-hand.

In this episode of the Beginner’s Garden Podcast, I talked to Mike at the White Harvest Seed Company. He shared his expert knowledge on his favorite tomato varieties, his top three recommendations for growing successful tomatoes, and his tips for dealing with some of the most common pests and diseases that plague tomatoes.

Click below to listen, and scroll down for the highlights and links to the tomato varieties he recommends.

Top Heirloom Tomato Varieties

As the owner of an heirloom seed company and avid gardener himself, Mike is the one to ask when it comes to top-notch tomato varieties. Depending on what type of tomato you want to grow, how you plan to use it, and even special considerations for climate, Mike has a tomato for you.

Beefsteak Tomatoes

Who doesn’t love a good beefsteak tomato? Excellent on sandwiches and burgers, these heirloom varieties also please the palettes of the most avid tomato eaters. Nothing in your local grocery store will compare to these.

  • Cherokee Purple
  • Black Krim
  • German Pink
  • Arkansas Traveler
  • Brandywine

Paste Tomatoes for Cooking & Canning

canned tomatoes

If you’re like me and prefer to grow tomatoes that you can cook and preserve, a reliable paste tomato deserves a permanent home in your garden. Choose the reliable Roma, which will fruit all at once (ideal for canning), the tasty San Marzano popular for its flavor profile, or the large Amish Paste, which keep producing all season. Or choose tomatoes such as the Rutgers or Arkansas Traveler that offer a delicious flavor for both cooking and eating fresh.

  • Roma
  • San Marzano
  • Amish Paste
  • Rutgers
  • Arkansas Traveler

Tomatoes for Fun

The best tomatoes are those that don’t bear any resemblance to the ones you find in your grocery store. Whether you want to venture into the striped or green varieties, or you prefer a reliable and productive cherry tomato, Mike offers his favorites.

Striped Tomatoes

  • Gold Medal
  • Hillbilly

Cherry Tomatoes

  • Black cherry
  • Little Blond Girl
  • Matt’s Wild Cherry

Green Tomatoes

  • Aunt Ruby’s

Tomatoes for Hot Climates

Although Mike lives in Missouri, his area isn’t immune to scorching summers that many of us in the South experience. As temperatures climb, many tomato varieties cease to set fruit, and sometimes they perish altogether with the heat and drought. Humid summers also help proliferate disease, making growing tomatoes in the height of summer a challenge. Here are recommendations for those of us in hot climates.

Drought & Heat Tolerant

  • Rutgers
  • Arkansas Traveler
  • Homestead

young tomato plantTop Recommendations for Growing Tomatoes:

Have you ever wanted to sit down with a tomato expert and ask all the questions you can think of? That’s what I had the pleasure of doing in this conversation with Mike (listen when you get a chance!). Surprisingly, his advice is uncommonly simple.

Be patient

In the early spring, all of us want to get our tomatoes in the ground as soon as we can. The sooner we plant the sooner we harvest, right?

Not necessarily. Tomato plants in particular will stagnate in tool cool of temperatures. Although they will survive through nights in the 40s, they don’t thrive until those low temperatures remain steadily in the 50s. Wait until the soil temperature has warmed and the temperatures have settled into a warm weather pattern.

Be consistent

Go back to the reasons why you want to grow tomatoes. It’s easy to stray from your garden goals, especially when you see new ideas and varieties. But be consistent with growing what will help you accomplish your garden goals.

Be attentive

Walk out in your garden every day. Take note of your plants’ growth and take action if you see signs of disease. The quicker you can act, the more likely you are to stop problems before they have a chance to overwhelm your tomatoes.

Most Common Pests & Diseases + Recommendations:

It never fails. Every year I fight some kind of pest or disease with my tomatoes, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. These are the most common issues Mike has seen in both his garden and from what gardeners across the country have told him.

Tomato Hornworm

tomato hornworm

The best way to deal with the tomato hornworm is to catch it early and pick it off. But to put measures in place to help prevent it in your garden, consider planting dill, basil, carrots, radishes, and/or lettuce nearby. Also, don’t plant tomatoes next to corn, as corn can attract the hornworm and also the corn earworm to your tomatoes.

Aphids

Aphids can do a lot of damage to your plants. In my experience, promoting a natural garden keeps my aphid population in check. But for infestations, Mike recommends the organic measures  Neem Oil and diatomaceous earth.

Early Blight

Early blight is arguably the most common tomato disease, but it’s also somewhat preventable and treatable. As a preventative measure, lay down a thick mulch. Then, trim foliage to twelve inches above the ground. You can also spray Neem Oil to help prevent and control its spread.

Blossom-End Rot

A very common problem with tomato gardeners is blossom-end rot. This condition is caused by the plant’s inability to take up calcium. Mike recommends focusing on the health of the plant and the soil. Soil pH out of the ideal range and uneven watering can also interfere with the plant’s ability to update calcium. A soil test can help you determine if either of these issues is present.

Other Resources from this Episode:

Mike’s Favorite New Seed Varieties for 2018

  • Who Gets Kissed (bi-color sweet corn)
  • Black Cherry Tomato
  • Black Krim Tomato
  • Flower Mixes

Rogue Hoe

White Harvest Seed Co. Web Site

What are your favorite tomato varieties?

15 Tested Tomatoes to Grow This Season

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Filed Under: In the Garden, Summer Garden, The Beginner's Garden Podcast, Tomatoes, Vegetables Tagged With: growing tomatoes, tomatoes

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Notice a difference between the cabbage seedlings Notice a difference between the cabbage seedlings on the left and the ones on the right?
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I just love testing different things in my garden, and for these seedlings I tested two treatments I’ve never tried before: foliage feeding and a “root dip” using the plant growth product, Organic REV.
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The plants on the left were untreated; the ones on the right were treated.
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A few weeks ago I filled a spray bottle with a diluted Organic REV mixture (per their instructions) and I sprayed the young seedlings on the right. They responded well and began to outpace the untreated group slightly — it was small but definitely noticeable.
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Then last Friday I transferred the seedlings into these larger pots, but before I did it, for the plants on the right, I dipped the root ball in a 50/50 REV/water mixture, saturating the soil and roots before transplanting. Again, the plants on the right were the only ones that got this root dip.
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The soil all plants are growing in is the same: a potting mix plus some Plant Tone organic fertilizer.
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It was after this root dip and transplant that the seedlings on the right started pacing much more ahead of the ones in the untreated group.
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While all the seedlings (treated and untreated) are growing in this fertile soil medium, what Organic REV is supposed to do is appearing to prove true — at least in this test. It helps plants more efficiently take up and use the nutrients that are present in the soil.
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Organic REV is now a brand partner of the Beginner’s Garden. They sent me their product to try first, and I’m continuing to test it in different ways.
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But what I’m sharing with you is my own experience and results. If you’re interested in their product, look them up here: @buyorganicrev Use my affiliate code JILL10 to get 10% off if you want to try it for yourself.
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I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to harvesti I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to harvesting from my garden in the winter. It snowed today, even! (Okay, just a dusting, and it already melted, but in central Arkansas, any snow is worth celebrating! 😂)
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Although I’ve grown cabbage in the spring before, this is my first time harvesting a fall crop. (My last two attempts were thwarted by hungry rabbits or rogue hens 😡.)
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I have several more plants that I’m hoping to harvest from now that the days are getting longer and maybe the heads will start growing again. And I also have a new crop started in my grow room.
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Four-season gardening may sound daunting but I assure you, fall and winter gardening is almost a hands-off endeavor. The only thing it really takes is a little planning (and some nurturing in the beginning).
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And the reward of picking from your garden in the winter (when your climate allows) can’t be overstated. It’s fabulous!!
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If you’re interested in learning how to incorporate more seasons in your garden growing, I have several exciting new resources coming up, starting with tomorrow’s first podcast of the new year on deciding if indoor seed starting is right for you!
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As much as I’m enjoying this winter harvest, I’ve already got one eye in spring! You, too? 😊
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This fall-planted parsley 🌱 has done really wel This fall-planted parsley 🌱 has done really well in my Greenstalk Vertical planter. I recently harvested the lower leaves and dried them for use in the kitchen. But the rest of the plant is still growing well, and I expect to harvest from it for months to come.
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I planted the parsley along with other plants in the Greenstalk planter in September. Although the lettuce is done and I harvested the celery, the herbs like parsley, cilantro, chives, and oregano are going strong!
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I LOVE that I don’t have to buy almost all herbs from the store, even in the winter.
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I’ve spent the better part of two days selecting I’ve spent the better part of two days selecting and ordering seeds for this year. My husband thinks my intensive research is a bit over the top. Maybe.... 🤔
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But here’s what I do:
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1️⃣ Select the seed companies I’ll purchase from. Most of my orders were from @southernexposureseed because I’m in the SE US and the varieties there fit my climate well. Next, I placed a large order from @territorialseedcompany (great selection, informative catalog, and some of the best prices). From there, I supplemented with seeds from @bakercreekseeds (high quality heirloom seeds, highly dependable, free shipping), @johnnys_seeds (unique varieties for different needs than I can get elsewhere), and @seed_savers_exchange (heirloom seeds with a great mission).
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2️⃣ I went through my top 3 catalogs, circling varieties I was interested in.
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3️⃣ I entered each variety in my Seed & Plant Research sheet from my Complete Garden Planner, noting unique characteristics, days to maturity, and price. (Not all seed packets are equal in quantity so it pays to be a savvy shopper.)
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4️⃣ I chose which seeds to purchase.
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I usually plan my entire garden before ordering seeds, but I was a bit nervous about the seed supply (thankfully only a few varieties were sold out), so I did my best in choosing what I’d need.
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The process was LONG but a great way to spend the last two days of 2020 — with HOPE for the 2021 garden season! 💕
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Have you ordered seeds yet? Where do you like to order from?
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(My printable Complete Garden Planner is available in my shop, link in profile.)
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My greenhouse lettuce is coming along! 🥬 I expe My greenhouse lettuce is coming along! 🥬 I expect now that the day length ☀️ will be increasing, the growth will accelerate in the next couple of months.
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I think I planted these in early October, so you can see how slow they grow this time of year, even in the warmth of the greenhouse. But it’s so nice to see signs of growth and hope for future lettuce harvests! 🥬
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I’m almost to the end of my main fall lettuce, so I’ll be glad when these are ready to eat!
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Would love to hear your personal experience using Would love to hear your personal experience using shredded leaves as mulch! 🍂
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🌲 The trees on my property are mainly pine trees, so I’ve never had fallen leaves to collect and use as mulch. (That’s mainly why I use wood chips.) But when my dad offered to collect and bag up his leaves and give them to me, of course I said yes!
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Twenty-five bags later I realized I needed to figure out how to best use them. I knew they’d blow away if I just dumped them on the garden and they’d take forever to break down if I threw them in the compost pile. So I watched a few YouTube videos and settled on a leaf shredder.
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(A lot of people use lawn mowers to mulch their leaves but we don’t have a mower like that. I also tried the weed-eater as an immersion blender in a trash can idea once and it was a disaster.)
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I LOVED this leaf shredder! It was really easy to use and I shredded 25 bags in just a couple of hours. Most people shred the leaves into bags but I created a simple wired bin to collect mine, and I shredded the leaves directly into it. I applied the leaves to several beds already but I have half of them still in the bin to use later.
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How do you use fall leaves in your garden? I’m excited to try this method that I have enviously watched so many gardeners use over the years!
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