How to prune and train tomatoes up a string from http://www.beginner-gardening.com and award winning garden author Doug Green. There are several important th…
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Question by aaronhal123: i live in north florida and i want to grow tomatoes. what varieties should i try?
i live in tallahassee and i am new at growing tomatoes. i am also growing in containers. right now i am growing sunsugars, super sweet 100s, celebrity, better boy, and sweet baby girls. they have only been in the ground for about a week and so far so good. but it gets very hot here in the summer and last year that caused all of my plants to die. i am trying to avoid that fate this year. any advice on varieties or anything would be much appreciated.
Best answer:
Answer by cutie101
Planting Tomatoes
Tomato plants may be started indoors from seed or transplants may be purchased. If starting your own plants, use a light soil mix and give the plants plenty of light. Tall, spindly transplants are usually caused by low light levels in the home. Unless you have a sunny, south-facing window, supplemental light will probably be necessary. The seeds are sown six to eight weeks before the last frost date in your area. A few weeks before transplanting time, harden-off indoor-grown plants by exposing them to an increasing number of hours outdoors each day. Bring plants in if there is danger of frost. A few varieties of tomato (the sub-arctics) are bred to grow well in low spring temperatures; however, these are rarely available in the usual markets and ordinarily must be grown from seed.
When you are ready to put home-grown or purchased plants into the ground, select stocky transplants about 6 to 10 inches tall. Set tomato transplants in the ground covering the stems so that only two or three sets of true leaves are exposed. Horizontal planting of tomato plants is an effective way to make plants grow stronger, especially leggy ones. Roots will form along the buried portion of the stem, giving better growth and less chance of plant injury from a too-weak stem. Do not remove the containers if they are peat or paper pots, but open or tear off one side to allow roots to get a good start. If non-biodegradable containers are used, knock the plants out of the pots before transplanting, and loosen the roots somewhat. Press the soil firmly around the transplant so that a slight depression is formed for holding water. Pour approximately one pint of starter solution or dilute fish emulsion around each plant to wash the soil around the roots.
Plants should be staked or caged. Though it requires more initial work, this makes caring for tomatoes easier than letting them sprawl. Since they are off the ground, fruit rots are reduced, spraying is easier and may be required less, and harvesting is much less work. For staking, space them 24 inches apart in rows 3 feet apart. Use wooden stakes 6 feet long and 1 1 /2 or 2 inches wide. Drive them 1 foot into the soil about 4 to 6 inches from the plant soon after transplanting. Attach heavy twine or strips of cloth to the stakes every 10 inches. As the plants grow, pull the stems toward the stakes and tie loosely. Prune staked tomatoes to either one or two main stems. At the junction of each leaf and the first main stem a new shoot will develop. If plants are trained to two stems, choose one of these shoots, normally at the first or second leaf-stem junction, for the second main stem. Remove all other shoots, called suckers, weekly to keep the plant to these two main stems. Pinch shoots off with your fingers. Tomato plants may also be set along a fence or trellis and tied and pruned in a manner similar to that used with stakes.
Growing tomatoes in wire cages is one method popular among gardeners because of its simplicity. Cage-growing allows the tomato plant to grow in its natural manner, but keeps the fruit and leaves off the ground. Using wire cages requires a large initial expenditure and a large storage area, but many gardeners feel that the freedom from pruning and staking is worth it. The cages, if heavy duty, will last many years. Be sure to get fencing with at least 6 inch spacing between wires so that you can get your hand inside to harvest the tomatoes. If tomato plants in wire cages are pruned at all, once is enough; prune to three or four main stems. Wire-cage tomatoes develop a heavy foliage cover, reducing sunscald on fruits and giving more leeway when bottom leaves become blighted and have to be removed. Many staked plants are nearly naked by late summer. Caged plants are less prone to the spread of disease from plant handling, since they do not have open wounds and must be handled less frequently than staked plants. However, it helps to space the plants somewhat further apart (3 feet is good) to allow good air circulation between plants; humidity is higher because of the foliage density, and diseases, such as late blight, spread rapidly in humid situations. If well-nourished and cared for, caged tomatoes can produce exceptional harvests and make up for the extra space with high production. This type of culture is especially suited to indeterminate varieties.
* Big Rainbow – This very large tomato is a gold/red bicolor, and is described as being meaty and mild-flavored.
* Brandywine – This large beefsteak variety tomato is legendary for it’s “exceptionally rich, succulent flavor” and “old-fashioned tomato taste.” An Amish heirloom, it is solid pink-red.
* Black Krim – This Russian beefsteak variety is deep maroon red when ripe. It is a medium-sized tomato that has a “rich” flavor.
* Evergreen – When ripe, this juicy and flavorful tomato is green with yellow highlights.
* Green Zebra – This green and yellow tomato has “a sweet zingy flavor” and is “as sweet as an apple.” It is beautiful when served with yellow, red, orange and pink varieties.
* Stupice – This smallish Czechoslavakian tomato is great for northern climates, is early to ripen, and is very productive. It is a smooth red tomato with great flavor.
* Yellow Pear – This variety produces an endless supply of yellow, bite-sized, pear-shaped fruit that have a mild flavor.
Hope this helped!
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Home-Grown Tomatoes
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