Hooray'springtime means it is finally time to plant tomatoes! Still, before rushing out of the store with a handful of them, it is essential to take a second to evaluate the batch so you don't accidentally end up with a lousy tomato plant that will be wilting before you know it. Inspect the plant for size, color, and pesky insects so you'll bring home the right specimen to plant in your garden and set up the season for success. To get the best ruby juicy fruits this season, here's what to look for to avoid nine common mistakes when buying your tomato plants. You'll thank us later.
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Robbie Caponetto
Skip Plants With Flowers or Fruit
You want plants that will put all of their energy during the first weeks after planting into growing roots, stems, and leaves'not flowering or ripening fruit. Defer gratification now, and you'll get lots more tomatoes later. As an option, pinch off any flowers or fruit before planting.
Check for Insects
Keep an eye out for whiteflies in particular. Whiteflies look like little, white triangles and congregate in great masses on the undersides of the leaves, sucking the sap. Infested plants are basically non-salvageable. Lightly brush the foliage of any new plant before you buy. Leave that plant behind if you see any tiny, white triangles fly off.
Find Out Your Area's Frost-Free Date
Frost kills tomato plants, but you can cover them outside to protect against possible frost if you know when that might happen. Just Google your ZIP code and "last spring frost date."
Note the Type of Tomato Plant
Tomato plants are either determinate or indeterminate. A determinate tomato, like 'Celebrity', 'Rutgers', and 'Patio', grows into a bit of a bush and ripens its fruit all at once. Choose this kind for growing in small spaces or containers. An indeterminate tomato, like 'Better Boy' and 'Beefmaster,' grows nonstop like a vine, needs support to hold it up, and ripens fruit over a long period. Choose this kind for growing in cages where you have more room.
Photo: Ralph Anderson,
Don't Assume Heirloom Tomatoes Are Easier
Popular heirloom tomatoes like 'Cherokee Purple' are challenging to grow. They may look cool and taste great, but they're generally more susceptible to disease and weather than newer hybrids and are typically lower-yielding. However, if you put the time and effort into your heirloom tomatoes, they will yield some tasty crops. Just be sure to look outside the popular kinds of tomatoes and try something different, like cherry tomatoes.
Avoid Plants That Look Rough
Of course, if you have a green thumb, you can most likely revitalize a sad-looking plant. But be aware of buying tomato plants on the clearance rack with many problems just because you think you can nurse them back to life. When starting your tomato garden, you want plants with a good foundation. Here are a few general things to consider when buying your tomato plant:
Consider Size
Look for a plant that's not too large and not too scrawny. Smaller plants, around 6-10 inches tall, can put their energy into establishing strong roots and a sturdy stem before they get too tall. The stem should be the thickness of a pencil.
Inspect the Stem
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Ensure the tomato plant you buy has a solid central stem that is not drooping. The stem should be green and unblemished. Check for cracks, breaks, brown streaks, or cuts in the stem, and make sure it isn't falling over. These can indicate a weak stem or that root rot has taken hold.
Know When To Buy Them
Tomatoes are planted when the ground is warm, after the last spring frost. They may appear in garden centers early. If you buy them early, just make sure you can protect them and give them good growing conditions until it is time to plant them. If you buy them late, plant them but know their production may be affected by the delay.
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Now that you have a good base knowledge of the pitfalls of tomato plant buying, you can easily shop. After you bring them home, read our guide on how to avoid common mistakes when growing them so you have a no-fail season.
Don't forget to tag us in your tomato plant photos'we love to see some thriving tomatoes!
What does a stressed tomato plant look like?
If the tomato plant's leaves are wilting, curling, or yellowing, the growth is stunted, or it's not producing flowers or is dropping them, it may be under stress. Make sure the plant is getting enough water, especially as temperatures warm. Give the plant some shade if the leaves are brown or scorched.
What does an overwatered tomato plant look like?
Soft and mushy leaves and stems can indicate that a tomato plant is getting too much water. If water puddles around the plant, the soil is soggy, or a white or green crust covers the surrounding soil, hold back on the watering. Try letting the soil dry out. If needed, replant the plant in dry soil.
What should I not plant with tomatoes?
When buying tomato plants, you'll probably be looking for other plants to fill in the space around them in the garden. Avoid corn because it attracts the same pests as tomatoes. Cabbage and broccoli will compete with tomatoes for nutrients. Instead, look for companion plants such as basil, marigolds, and lettuce that will keep pests away and won't compete for the same nutrients.
The season is just getting started, and already reports are coming in from gardeners having trouble growing tomatoes from seed. Fortunately, there is plenty of time to start over, which may be a good idea. Tomato seedlings emerge fast and show vigorous growth under warm, bright conditions, so there is little point in starting seeds very early.
Tomatoes are the first veggie many gardeners grow from seed, mostly in pursuit of interesting varieties that are rarely available as seedlings. To improve your shot at success, here are my top tips for growing tomatoes from seed.
If you are reusing plastic cell packs, wash them well in warm, soapy water to remove old soil and accumulated salts. My favourite containers are small paper cups with several holes punched in the bottoms, because I can write the variety names on the cups. When the seedlings are ready to move to larger containers, it's easy to peel away the softened cups and compost them.
Also use a new bag of high-quality seed-starting mix. Avoid cheap imitations, which are often the cause of seedling failure.
Write variety names on them with waterproof markers, or you can make labels from utility tape. Labels work better than little stakes, which wiggle around amongst the tomato roots and can be accidentally lost. I learned this one year when a gust wind toppled the table that held dozens of seedlings. Most survived with prompt repotting, but I had to guess which markers went with which tomatoes. Labels work better.
The furry coating on tomato seeds softens and gummifies when water is added, which helps the seeds stick in place among soil particles. The seed coats also release chemicals into the soil that enhance growing conditions for the soon-to-come roots.
I use a pump spray bottle to thoroughly moisten the seed starting mix, which can take several hours. When the containers feel heavy with water, I use a pencil eraser to make shallow holes for the seeds, and cover and press them in with my finger. Then I spritz more water over the top. If you are not sure about the purity of your water, use filtered water that has been allowed to gas off overnight in an open jar.
Tomato seeds kept at warm room temperature and sprayed with water twice daily should sprout within a week. As soon as the seedlings break the surface, move them to bright light. A full-spectrum grow-light is ideal, but a sunny window will do provided the seedlings are watched closely to make sure they don't dry out.
I like the phrase 'potting on' for moving a seedling to a slightly larger container, which happens twice with my tomatoes. Soon after the first true leaf appears, I move the seedlings to larger paper cups or small plastic pots. Most of them must be potted on again three weeks later.
Never touch the main stem of tomato seedlings, because the juicy tissues are easily bruised, and bruises serve as entry points for the fungi that cause seedlings to rot. The main stem also can be damaged if a seedling falls over, which sometimes happens when a weak-stemmed tomato seedling becomes top-heavy with new leaves. Prevent fall-overs by sprinkling additional seed starting mix around the base of leggy seedlings, and press it in. To further support seedlings until you can repot them, prop up leaners with toothpicks or a wood skewer.
Avoid the temptation to plant little tomato seedlings in large containers, which can cause the skimpy roots to become overwhelmed by soil microorganisms. It's better to pot on seedlings to a slightly larger container as soon as you see roots growing through the bottoms of the containers.
Gradually expose your indoor-grown tomato seedlings to increased sun and wind. An opaque storage bin with the lid removed makes a good hardening-off chamber, or you can use a cold frame or protected plant shelf. Allow at least a week for your plants to prepare themselves for outdoor life.
With a little practice, you can expect great results growing tomatoes from seed. Tomato seedlings that enjoy stress-free lives with no serious setbacks quickly adapt to garden life, and few things are more rewarding that harvesting sun ripened tomatoes from plants you started as tiny seeds.
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