Planting Tomatoes

Double-stacked tomato trellises are anchored both with uprights and between plants. One year, without the anchoring poles, the whole row blew down!

My nasturtium "ocean".

August Pride peach blossoming.

Fragrant freesia in brilliant yellow.

First calla lily.

'Mary Lou Heard' rose.

Sky-Blue bearded iris with clear-yellow chasmanthe.

Coral rose.

Cooke's Pakistan mulberry blossoms.

Stock.

     With these 80-degree daytime temperatures, I hope you're inspired to start planting your spring and summer garden.  I already have six different varieties of tomatoes in their beds.  My nasturtium groundcover has literally turned my hillside garden into an ocean of green, with blooms popping up amongst 5-inch-round leaves, thanks to all that rain!  Other bloomers – including fruit trees -- are brightening the greenery.
     Since the first sturdy tomato seedling varieties appeared at local nurseries, I’ve been planting my “usual suspects” that I grow every year – Sungold, Celebrity, Early Girl, Ace, Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Brandywine; I’ll add Green Zebra, Stupice, Dona, Carmello and Green Grape as I find them. 
     I’ll also add new ones to see how they do. I usually give varieties new to me at least three chances – if they do well for 3 years, they’ll perhaps replace one of my “usuals”.  In the meantime, there’s a lot of good eating!
     I always purchase two plants of each variety, and plant them in separate holes, because sometimes one doesn’t survive, and I want to make sure I get some of each of those fruits.  So far, one Pink Brandywine and one Early Girl have given up, so I’ll purchase stronger plants.
     Tomatomania is always an excellent source of many, many varieties (some locations offer more than 200!), and tomato experts on hand to help you decide.  See http://tomatomania.com/events/ for upcoming locations in your locale.  I’ll be at Tapia Brothers on 3/19, and Descanso on 3/25.
     Because tomatoes are heavy feeders and drinkers, I recommend these steps in planting:

1. Incorporate manure and compost into the entire growing bed (tomato roots can extend 4 feet to the side and down).
2. Provide soaker hoses or drip irrigation or buried 5-gallon buckets with bottom holes. Keep soil evenly moist – like a wrung-out sponge – for the entire growth period.When plants are fully developed during hot weather, this may require an inch of water per day, depending on your soil type.
3. Provide sturdy trellises to corral extensive foliage and support fruit for the full life of the plant.“Determinant” varieties will grow to 3 or 4 feet tall so one trellis will usually suffice.“Indeterminant” varieties may extend to 8 or 10 feet high, so I stack a second trellis on top of the first one.In addition, I stake one corner of my trellises both with uprights and between plants for support while growing and during our Santa Ana winds in fall when the plants are huge and full of fruit.I’ve done this ever since the year that the winds blew down my whole row of plants following my deep watering.
4. Dig holes and turn soil a full handtrowel deep and around – about 6-8 inches.
5. Roughen up the plant’s rootball to “inspire” or “threaten” the plant to develop new vigorous roots.If the container-grown media is very loose, like peatmoss or vermiculite, shake most of it into the hole to mix with the dirt to create a more moisture-holding mixture.
6. Remove any leaves along the stem, leaving only the topmost 3 leaves.
7. Place the plant rootball at the bottom of the hole, and hold the stem upright by its top 3 leaves.Gather the soil back around the stem, and fill the hole so only the top 3 leaves are showing.Roots will develop all along the stem for a stronger plant.However, be aware that tomatoes are the only plants that do this, so use this deep-planting technique only for tomatoes.
8. Arrange remaining soil into a short berm about 4 inches away from the stem and foliage.This will be its initial watering hole to direct water down to the rootzone.
9. Water the plant in well, filling the hole three times as the water disappears into the soil.Then, also water the area around each plant to a distance of another foot or two.You want that entire surrounding area to be well-irrigated so roots will want to extend out there, providing more nutrition and moisture for the growing plant.