Thursday, June 11, 2009

How To Grow Big 'Maters (in Memphis)


Start with a nice sunny, sheltered spot that gets some shade from the merciless afternoon sun, to prevent sunscald (bleached white patches on your tomatoes). The "sunny" part is flexible- we grew tomatoes successfully in middle TN behind a deck, where the plant only got a few hours of sun a day. Less production, but they were good.
Fertilize well with compost or whatever your soil needs. When the plants get big, they appreciate a good mulching and deep, even watering to prevent cracking of tomatoes. This gets tricky in the hot summer, when a hurricane remnant can dump inches of rain on us in a few hours. Some will crack then, regardless, but cracked ones will still have edible parts. When it is hot, water daily and well. Continue to give weekly liquid fertilizer ( Miracle gro or worm poo or compost tea or whatever grows yer 'maters) throughout the growing season. Make sure you have plenty of calcium in your soil (crushed eggshells are a good amendment) to prevent blossom end rot on the tomatoes.
Provide the birds with drinking water as well as birdseed. They'll help keep some of your pests at bay, and the drinking water reduces the temptation to peck your tomatoes as they ripen. Also keep rats out with a cat or ratting dog. A big enough dog might keep raccoons out, too, though some dogs like tomatoes and would have to be kept out of the garden. 
Support your tomatoes with cages or supports of your choice. I like cages best, to support the plant with minimal damage under windy conditions. Do inspect for the dreaded Tobacco or Tomato Hornworm (large, ugly skeletonizers of plants), and eliminate without mercy. Let God take care of the rest.

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