In Honor of Marty and Joe:

[LoganBuck]

It is time to plant your Tomato plants! I fancy myself a bit of a Tomato expert. If you have some questions throw them my way.

My number 1 tip for growing good tomatoes: Use Tomato Fertilizer Spikes, the time delay action keeps feeding the plant continuously for up to two months.

[Roy Tucker]

So what are your recommendations to grow? I've had mine growing in the garage for the last couple weeks and I'm going to plant them this weekend.

I've got Jet Star (2), Better Boy (2), a Beefsteak, an Early Girl, Roma (2), and grape tomato plants:

- The Jet Stars and Better Boys are your general purpose (or garden variety ) tomatoes that get used for sandwiches, salads, pizzas, whatever, etc.
- The Early Girls aren't all that spectacular, but they are early
- The Roma we freeze/can for winter time cooking.
- The Beefsteak I grow just to see big ole tomatoes. I love a tomato slab, cucumber, and cheese sandwich with a sturdy mustard and mayo on whole wheat.
- The grape tomatoes are for kids to go pluck off the vine and eat and also for salads. I prefer them over cherry tomatoes.

I've looked at the heirlooms, but am never quite sure what is good.

[Spring~Fields]

We love Jet Star, they always seem to produce nicely regardless of soil or weather, except last year they had such large clusters of very nice tomatoes that they eventually broke the main vines, the beesteaks produced 2lb tomatoes for us last year, this year we are trying Burpee Mortgage Lifter, Burpee claims that they can produce up to 4 lb tomatoes.

HEIRLOOM. This huge heirloom beefsteak (up to 4 pounds; average 2 1/2 pounds) consistently wins taste-tests.
http://www.burpee.com/jump.jsp?itemI...at=2004&page=2

Wish I could produce fewer typo's

[westofyou]

I planted mine 3 weeks ago (rain forest) also my pepper plants.

I like Romas, Beefsteaks and cherry (lots of them)

Didn't know about the food sticks, now I'll have to try them thanks fo rthe tip.

[ochre]

My dad uses this chambered plastic sleeve that goes around early tomato plants. You fill the sleeves with water. The water keeps the surrounding ground moist and traps heat around the plant and in the soil.

It works well until 3 year olds trample it; Don't get him started.

[Roy Tucker]

Do ypu guys stake up your tomatoes or use cages? I do the cage thing.

And do you prune much? I prune early to get them shaped up. But after a while, I just let 'em rip.

Jet stars are hard to find around here. I don't know why, they produce such a nice sized tomato. I've ended up saving seeds from the previous years and starting my own plants around the beginning of April.

We've got 6 5x10 raised beds in the garden and I rotate my "crops" around. One of the reasons why I don't like cherry tomatoes is that the next season, I'm pulling cherry tomato seedlings out of the old bed like crazy.

Not to mention the seeds the birds poop out around the house and the seedlings show up in the darndest places.

[westofyou]

I stake mine and I prune early and often, when the fruit takes I'll remove bottom leaves and try to focus growth on the fruit.

[919191]

I wasn't aware tomato plants were to be pruned, but then my thumbs aren't green- they are withered and a pale shade of brown. Do you prune them similar to rose bushes and such? Or do you just pull off the leaves?

[westofyou]

I wasn't aware tomato plants were to be pruned, but then my thumbs aren't green- they are withered and a pale shade of brown. Do you prune them similar to rose bushes and such? Or do you just pull off the leaves?

I pull of the the bottom leaves, my pruning experience is focused on providing the plat with the ability to increase it's structure not it's spread.

Similar to a new tree, if you limit the branches the trunk takes in all the growth.

[919191]

OK- I see- last year my tomato plants grew really fast and were quite massive, but the tomatoes were a bit disappointing- I guess all the plant's energy was focused on the spread instead of the tomatoes. Thanks!

[Roy Tucker]

I prune my tomato plants to a single stem by removing all lateral shoots (people call them "suckers").

I prune early to give them shape (the one stem) and encourage top growth.

I cut down on pruning (ha-ha) as the plants get older, mostly shoots that are yellow-green or brown or the suckers that are growing under the main umbrella and won't ever do much.

Sometimes when I get home from work, I go directly from the car to the garden and putter for 15 minutes or so, pruning, weeding, etc. A good decompress time.

[Spring~Fields]

We mainly trim lower leaves that can get infected by the dirt and moisture and then spread, some times we top them to force the laterals, we also mulch with black plastic to heat the soil, and use some minor amount of straw to keep a consistent moisture level after the soil is warm.

Espon salt helps them also.
http://www.yourgarden.com/qa/eng/special-tomatoe.htm

You can put them on a trellis; they have done well for us on those.

Jet Star seeds
http://www.yankeegardener.com/seeds/hartseed11.html

[Roy Tucker]

My dad uses this chambered plastic sleeve that goes around early tomato plants. You fill the sleeves with water. The water keeps the surrounding ground moist and traps heat around the plant and in the soil.

My wife wanted to try these this year. Do they work very well?

(We didn't try them because, as always, life in general got away from us and we didn't get the plants out. They are still sitting on the driveway).

And thanks for the link SF.

[LoganBuck]

Wall of Water works well when you know the temp is going to be on the low side. You have to watch them on really hot sunny days as they almost become a boiler.

I do stakes on the plants that make smaller fruit like Celebrity and Better Boy. I like cages on the bigger fruit varieties like Beefsteak or Big Beef. My 79 year old neighbor grew some Russian Heirloom plants last year on a trelis. The fruits got up to 3-4 pounds, and the taste was outstanding.

On the cherry tomatoes, I usually only plant one plant. Thats enough for salads and some dishes that my wife makes. I don't like the birds either. One thing I have learned is if you plant a Habanero plant in the garden next to something that the birds would be interested in they tend to stay away.

I put out "Health Kick" as my Roma variety this year for the first time. It is the one with the concentrated Lycopene levels. Has anyone used this before? Are there any downsides to the plant or fruit. I have been assured that it is quite good. Just my ignorance of the variety so far is my only concern. I love Roma tomatoes as they are good for salsa, spagetti sauce, freezing, or just fresh in salad.

Celebrity is one of my favorites. But for the second year in a row my seedlings didn't do well. I used the same seed company both years and am not happy about this. I don't like the Celebrity Bush variety as the fruits are about a third smaller, and the taste is not as good.

One question for the masses. I have a dog that tends to stroll through the garden, she is my German Shepard. Do those plants work that keep dogs away with their smell? I planted one last year and she didn't go near it but instead walked around the garden and went in the back side.

[Roy Tucker]

Didn't know there were different kinds of Romas. I just grow plain ole Romas.

Interesting about the Habaneros. I usually plant some Cayennes in the same bed as the tomatoes and, come to think of it, the bird do stay away that end of the bed.

I have a low picket fence around my garden to keep the big critters (deer, dogs) out and protect it from the basketball court that is next to it. We have a yellow lab and she'll eat anything (green tomatoes do really bad things to her digestive tract). Rabbits still get at my green beans though.