From how to plant, to fertilizing, pruning and staking – see all of our best tomato advice below!
Growing Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Looking to give your newly planted tomato plants a big jump start to get them off and growing fast?
Whether you grow tomato plants in a traditional garden setting, raised beds, or in 5 gallon buckets, containers or tomato bags, the first six to eight weeks of their life outdoors is critical to their long term success.
It is absolutely vital that a tomato plant develops strong roots, a healthy stem structure, and thick, vibrant foliage during the first month or two. Unfortunately, without a strong root and stem structure, tomato plants can’t absorb the energy they need from the soil and sun. And the longer they lag behind in growth, the less likely it becomes your plants will produce a good harvest.
The Importance Of Strong Roots & Foliage – How To Jump Start Young Tomato Plants
Strong roots help a tomato plant create a solid anchor in the soil. They allow it to withstand wind, rain, and many of the other perils that mother nature can bring. Even more, a good root system helps to soak in the nutrients and moisture needed for steady and strong growing habits.
Plain and simple, the more extensive and robust a tomato plant’s roots are, the more easily it can absorb the power it needs to make it grow even stronger.
Along those same lines, strong stems and thick canopy of leaves provide even more strength to the plant as is it matures. With a strong leaf structure, the plant can use the power of photosynthesis to its advantage, increasing its ability to turn the sun’s rays into energy for the plant. And that powers the blooms that eventually produce those amazing tomatoes!
So how do you help your tomato plants create stronger roots early in the growing season? It all comes down to providing three simple but very key needs for your plants during those critical first few weeks outdoors.
3 Simple Secrets To Jump Start Tomato Plants!
#1 Water For Success!
One of the biggest issues for young tomato plants is getting the proper amount of moisture they need for strong growth. And that can be not getting enough, or surprisingly, getting too much. In fact, more often than not, young tomato plants suffer from over watering more than under watering.
In late spring and early summer, the cooler temperatures and more frequent rains often leave tomato plants water-logged. Making matters worse, many gardeners still feel the need to water their plants on a daily basis.
Unfortunately, once roots become saturated, they have great difficulty absorbing nutrients from the soil. Unless you live in a desert-like environment, established tomato plants do not need to be watered every day. It actually harms them way more than helping them.
Only water your plants when the soil is beginning to dry out down by the roots. Always check the soil a few inches down for moisture before watering. Just because the surface is dry, it does not mean the root area is.
This is one time where having an inexpensive, instant-read moisture meter can be of great help. You can simply stick the probes down in the soil and instantly know the moisture level. Affiliate Product Link: XLUX Long Probe Deep Use Soil Moisture Meter
Listen In Below To Our Podcast On How To Get Young Tomato Plants Growing Fast!
Water Deep When Watering
When you do water, it’s important to water deep. Frequent, shallow watering creates tomato plants with a weak root structure. The roots stay near the surface of the soil because they get used to the constant supply. Instead, water slow to allow the water to go deep in the soil.
This allows the roots to grow down looking for moisture. In the end, you develop stronger plants with a more extensive root structure. Not only do bigger roots absorb more nutrients, they also help anchor the plant against wind and storms.
This is also why when you plant, you always want to plant your tomatoes deep! See our article: How Deep To Plant Tomato Plants – The Simple Secret To Grow Your Best Tomato Crop Ever!
#2 Fertilizing Your Plants With Perfect Power – 3 Secrets To Jump Start Young Tomato Plants
Young tomato plants need a lot of nutrients to grow strong roots, stems and foliage. Unfortunately, quite often, they struggle to obtain enough nutrition in the early phases of growth.
The biggest reason for the struggle is that they simply don’t have an extensive root system in place yet to gather the nutrients. And that is where helping plants out with a dose of fast-absorbing energy can make all the difference!
Tomato plants, as many vegetable plants do, often go through a bit of a lag in growth the first few weeks after going into the ground. But by giving them a nutrient boost in the form of a liquid fertilizer, you can jump start a good early growth spurt.
Why Liquid Fertilizers Are Best For Tomatoes – 3 Secrets To Jump Start Young Tomato Plants
So why use liquid fertilizers in place of granular types? Because liquid fertilizers act fast! They absorb both through the roots and foliage of a tomato plant, and they provide nutrients quickly, helping struggling plants to perk up in a flash.
To help young or struggling tomato plants, apply a dose of liquid fertilizer every 7 days for two to three weeks. Compost tea, worm casting tea, or an all-purpose liquid organic fertilizer are all excellent choices.
Once your plants have begun to respond and green up, back off the feedings to every two weeks to prevent your plants from growing too much foliage in lieu of blooms and fruit. Affiliate Fertilizer Link: Farmer’s Secret Tomato Booster Fertilizer (32oz)
#3 Mulch Your Plants! 3 Secrets To Jump Start Young Tomato Plants
Finally, always mulch your plants right from the start! One of the best ways to help your plants stay healthy and strong is with a thick layer of organic mulch. Leaving the soil around your plants bare can cause all kinds of issues for tomato plants.
For starters, it allows the soil to dry out too quickly. That not only starves plants of the moisture they need, but creates the need for you to have to water more frequently.
Bare soil also allows weeds to take hold. Weeds that steal the same nutrients from the soil that your tomato plants need to grow and produce. That same layer of mulch also helps to keep the soil temperature regulated, keeping your plant’s roots from getting too cool or warm – both of which can stunt growth.
Finally, mulch helps to protect your tomato plants from soil borne disease. Soil borne diseases such as blight can infect plants when dirt splashes on plants. A thick layer of mulch keeps that from occurring, protecting your plants in the process.
For best results, mulch your plants with a thick four to six inch layer of organic material. For this, straw, grass clippings or shredded leaves all work great. It will protect your tomato plants and add nutrients to your soil as it breaks down.
For even more power, mulch your plants first with a few inches of compost around the plant’s surface. This will help leach even more nutrients into the soil whenever it rains or you water.
Here is to giving your tomato plants the jump start they need to big growth. And even more, a big harvest this summer! If you are wondering how to use wood ashes from your fireplace to help boost your plants, be sure to check out Planting Tomatoes With Wood Ashes – The Secret To Getting Tomatoes Off To A Fast Start!
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Tomatoes
Did you know that by simply using coffee grounds and egg shells in the planting hole of your tomato plants, you can help power your young tomatoes to fast, healthy grow – and set the stage for your best crop of tomatoes ever?
Believe it or not, these two natural and organic by-products of a common morning breakfast are incredible for powering young tomato plants. Not only are they more than plentiful to come by, they also happen to be free for the taking. And best of all, they are so easy to use on planting day!
Although there are all kinds of fertilizers that can help tomato plants grow better, there is something special when it comes to using both coffee grounds and egg shells to help tender young transplants get off to a fast start.
For tomatoes, that fast start can make a huge difference when it comes to a bigger and better harvest. But the real secret to success when using both effectively is knowing the correct way to apply them so your plants can best take in the nutrients that are so important to your tomatoes.
How & Why To Plant Coffee Grounds & Egg Shells With Tomatoes
Why Egg Shells & Coffee Grounds Are Great For Tomato Plants
So how and why do these two ingredients help tomatoes so much? For starters, whether they are small transplants or mature producing plants, tomatoes are heavy feeders. Really, heavy feeders! And if they fail to get the nutrients they need, they simply will never produce to their full potential.
This can certainly be a problem later on for mature plants when it come to producing flowers and fruit – but if young tomato plants fail to get the nutrients they need early on, not only can it affect their growth, it also can make them easy targets for pests and disease. See: How To Keep Tomato Blight Away
But the good news is that is exactly where egg shells and coffee grounds can come to the rescue. Each of the two gives young tomato plants something vital for strong, healthy, early growth.
How Egg Shells Help Tomato Plants
Egg shells contain an enormous amount of calcium. In fact, an egg shell is made up of 95% calcium carbonate. And when it comes to growing healthy tomato plants that produce healthy tomatoes – having enough calcium in the soil is critical.
Calcium is responsible for helping a tomato plant build strong branches and limbs. It also helps the plant move water all throughout those branches and foliage. But of even more importance – calcium is vital for helping to create strong flowering and healthy fruit.
When a tomato plant lacks calcium, it will produce fruit with what is known as blossom end rot. The flowering end of the fruit simply can’t fully develop. Because of that, the tomato that forms will end up with a black, mushy spot that ruins the fruit.
This is exactly where adding egg shells, or precisely, ground egg shells to your soil can prevent this from ever occurring. And, even more, help your plants grow healthier and stronger in the process.
Why Ground Egg Shells?
You might be wondering why it’s important to use ground egg shells and not whole egg shells or small pieces. Unfortunately, larger egg shell pieces take too long to break down. In fact, it can take well over a year for a whole or even large egg shell piece to decompose.
Because of that, if you use large pieces, the plants growing this year really won’t benefit from the shell’s nutrients. But by grinding the egg shells into a fine powder (which can easily done with a coffee grinder), the calcium can absorb into the soil and the plants far faster.
How Coffee Grounds Help Tomatoes
Coffee grounds supply a different nutrient need for tomato plants. Spent coffee grounds contain nitrogen. And early on, nitrogen is very important for the development of tomato transplants. Nitrogen is responsible for helping plants grow strong stems, branches and foliage.
But what really makes the nitrogen in coffee ideal is that it is extremely easy for tomato plants to absorb. As the grounds become wet and decompose in the soil, they quickly leach out the nitrogen. The same goes for the phosphorous and potassium that are in coffee grounds as well – which can quickly get into the plants roots to help with plant and bloom development.
But if all that wasn’t enough reason to use coffee grounds, they are also great for helping to absorb and hold moisture. And for young tomato plants, that can be a huge help! Tomatoes need a lot of water to grow. And since the coffee grounds are “planted” near the roots, they help to hold that moisture right where plants can use it best.
How To Use Coffee Grounds & Egg Shells On Planting Day
So how do you plant both ingredients with your tomato plants? And how much of each should you use? For strong and healthy tomatoes, it’s best to mix in two to three tablespoons of each into every tomato planting hole. Remember with the egg shells to first grind them into a powder to help them work fast
To help your tomato plants as quickly as possible, always mix the two ingredients toward the bottom of the hole. This is where the roots of the plant will be, and it will allow them to absorb much faster.
But don’t just stop with using them in the planting hole. You can also sprinkle both egg shell powder and coffee grounds on top of the soil. The nutrients from each will then soak into the soil slowly every time it rains or you water. For this, sprinkle two tablespoons of each a few inches around the main stem.
Here is to powering your tomatoes this year with egg shells and coffee grounds – and to your best tomato harvest ever!
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Tomatoes
When it comes to how deep to plant your tomato plants – most gardeners are quite surprised to find out how far down their transplants should be placed into the ground on planting day – and just how much difference it can make in how well they perform!
One of the most important days of a tomato plant’s life – if not the most important day of its life – is the day it goes into the ground. Planting day sets the stage in so many important ways for how a tomato plant will grow and produce.
To mature into a healthy, productive plant, a tomato plant needs to get plenty of nutrients and water. That’s exactly why on planting day it’s so vital to fill your planting hole full of powerful food – and why it’s also critical to water it in as well. Just like it’s also important to mulch and support your plants on planting day too.
But as important as those chores are on planting day – there is one more that is even bigger – and that is to plant your tomato plants deep in the ground.
Why? Because as you will see below, planting deep gives your plants the absolute best chance to soak in everything they need – all while protecting them from many of the issues that can injure, harm or even kill of shallow planted tomatoes. And you might just be surprised how far down the root ball needs to go!
How Deep To Plant Tomato Plants
Why Planting Deep Matters
We will get to how deep to plant your tomatoes in just a moment, along with a few tips of what to put in your planting hole to get them off to a fast start – but let’s first cover all of the reasons why planting so far down in the soil is so important.
At the beginning of the article, we covered how crucial it is for a tomato plant to get consistent water and nutrients. A tomato plants absorbs most of the moisture and nutrients it needs through its root system. It can absorb some from it’s foliage, but the largest majority are taken in through its roots.
Because of that, the bigger a tomato plant’s root system can be, the better. Naturally, the more roots that grow in the soil, the more food and water a plant will be able to take in. And not just nutrients from the soil, but also fertilizer and other amendments you might give your plants throughout the season.
So how do you get more roots? The answer is simple – by planting your tomato plants deep! In fact, as it turns out, there are actually two great reasons planting far down in the soil helps to create more roots for your tomatoes.
How Planting Deep Creates More Roots – How Deep To Plant Tomato Plants
The first way planting deep helps is fairly obvious. By simply placing the main root ball of your transplant deeper, it has a lot more room to expand.
Unfortunately, when you plant in a shallow hole, the roots tend to stay near the surface. Not only because the unworked soil underneath is hard for them to expand down into, but even more because they are close to where moisture arrives when it rains or you water.
That may sound like a good thing for tomato plants, but it’s not. Not in the least. Shallow roots at the surface may get water quickly when it rains, but they also dry out quickly in the hot sun. Even worse, without strong roots down deep, they also topple over easily with storms or a heavy fruit load.
The second reason planting deep helps develop more roots has to do with the main stem of a tomato plant. If you look at the leading stem of a young tomato transplant, you will see hundreds of tiny white hairs.
Those “hairs” are actually mini-roots. If the hairs stay above soil, they simply stay as is, tiny white hairs. But when they are placed in the soil and covered, they grow into roots – and a lot of them. And the more roots your plant has, the more energy and moisture it can absorb all summer long!
How Deep To Plant Your Tomatoes
So how deep should you plant? Believe it or not, you should be planting 2/3rds of your entire tomato transplant in the soil on planting day.
A typical tomato transplant measures somewhere between 12 and 18 inches from the bottom of the root ball to the top of the plant. That means that when planting, 8 to 12 inches of the plant should go in the ground. And don’t worry about any leaves you might bury, it won’t harm the plant in the least!
It may sound like a lot, but it’s actually the perfect way to set your plant up for success. Roots will quickly establish along the stem and deep in the hole. Down deep in the soil, moisture will not dry out nearly as quick as it does on the surface. And all of those extensive roots make it easy for the plant to soak up both water and energy to power the plant.
A Few Planting Day Tips! – How Deep To Plant Tomato Plants
In addition to planting deep, it’s important to fill that planting hole with big power. One of the biggest things you can add to do just that are worm castings.
Worm castings have the perfect balance of nutrients to power young tomato plants. Even more, they help to absorb and hold moisture at nearly 10 times their weight! Affiliate Link: 100% Pure Organic Worm Castings Fertilizer, 15-Pounds
As you plant, add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of castings into the bottom of every planting hole. In addition, adding ground egg shells, compost and coffee grounds can help fill your planting hole with even power.
And speaking of that planting hole, always loosen the soil a few inches below from the bottom. This will allow the roots of your plant more loose soil to expand even deeper. See: 4 Must Add Ingredients To Put In Every Tomato Planting Hole!
Finally, don’t forget to put in your tomato supports the day you plant. This not only allows you to support tender young plants right from the start, but also prevents damaging growing roots if you wait until a few weeks later to put them in.
Here is to planting your tomatoes deep this year – and to having your best tomato harvest ever!
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Tomatoes
Looking for a few simple solutions to keep tomato blight away and keep your tomato plants safe from damage – for good?
There is little doubt that tomato blight can all but ruin a tomato harvest. Although there are several types and versions of the disease, blight is a fungal condition that can devastate and destroy otherwise healthy plants.
Although blight can infect potato plants, egg plants and even pepper plants – it is most notorious for striking the beloved tomato plant. Unfortunately, once it does, it can be nearly impossible to keep it from eventually wiping out the plant.
It usually starts out with the browning of leaves. From there, it quickly spreads to all of the foliage on the stems and branches – eventually, damaging and ruining the fruit as well. If that wasn’t enough, once it appears, it also spreads easily to neighboring plants, wiping out an entire crop in the process.
How Blight Spreads – How To Stop Tomato Blight
Blight is spread via spores that live in the soil. The spores can get into the soil by several different means. They can be blown in from the wind, carried in and left by insects or animals, or dropped by infected plants down to the dirt below.
Blight can also more easily occur when conditions are overly wet and cool. In fact, it’s usually far more prevalent when garden seasons are filled with lower temperatures and more rain as it helps feed and fuel the pace of the spread. As you will see below, it can also be made worse by improper watering.
Beyond heavily damaging and/or destroying tomato plants, once blight occurs, it unfortunately damages the soil where the crops grew as well. And it does so for several years afterwards. That is because once the spores appear, they can live in the soil below for as many as four to five years.
As you can see, the best defense against blight is prevention. After all, if you can simply keep it away from your plants and soil – you can keep your tomato plants safe.
The good news is that armed with a few simple tips, you can all but ensure blight stays far away from your tomatoes. With that in mind, here is a look at the three types of blight that can infect plants, and how to keep it out of your garden and off of your plants.
How To Keep Tomato Blight Away From Tomato Plants
There are actually three distinct types of tomato blight. Early blight, Leaf spot blight, and Late blight. Although they can all bring damage, it’s important to know the difference between the three and when and how they strike plants.
Early tomato blight will appear after the tomato plants have set fruit. This type of blight doesn’t directly damage the fruit. Unfortunately, it will destroy all of the foliage. When that occurs, the tomatoes that are left on the plant have to endure the scalding hot sun without protection. This usually leads to the majority of the fruit simply rotting away.
The second type of blight that can infect plants is Leaf spot blight. Leaf spot blight is by far the most common in the home garden and begins to appear in late June to early July.
Leaf spot starts with the lower leaves turning brown, then black, and they then finally rot away. It will steadily begin to destroy all of the foliage of the plant. Usually within 30 days of first appearing, the plant is gone, resulting in an entire loss of the harvest.
Last but not least, there is Late blight. Late blight starts as tiny, light-colored spots on the foliage of plants. It quickly progresses until the stems, leaves and tomatoes turn black.
Late blight is spurred on by cool, damp temperatures. It tends to be more of an issue in cooler climates, or in growing seasons that are extremely wet and rainy. Left to its own accord, Late blight will eventually spread to the fruit as well, ruining it in the process.
So now that we have covered the three types of blight that can harm your plants, let’s look at a few simple ways to stop it before it ever happens!
2 Simple Ways To Keep Tomato Blight Away – Why Prevention Is The Key!
The bad news is once any of the above tomato blight symptoms arrive, it’s usually too late to help. There simply is no viable cure to stop or kill the spores or blight. Although you can remove the damaged leaves and fruit as soon as you see them, blight will almost always win out in the end.
The real key is prevention. And although there are actually quite a few extra things you can do that will help to avoid tomato blight – there are two must-do’s that are huge in preventing the deadly disease from ever showing up – rotating your crops, and protecting your plants from the soil below with a thick layer of mulch!
Rotating Where You Grow Your Plants – 2 Simple Ways To Keep Tomato Blight Away
The number one way to keep tomato blight and disease from finding your tomato plants is by rotating your plants every year to a new location. Or, if you grow in containers, changing out the soil where you grow your plants each season.
Growing tomatoes in the same soil or garden space every year is an open invitation for blight. Tomatoes are highly susceptible to soil-borne disease. Especially spores. And when they grow in the same space year after year, it increases the likelihood spores might be lying in wait.
If growing in a traditional garden or raised bed space, rotate where you grow tomatoes each year for a minimum of 3 years. If you are growing tomatoes in containers, replace the soil each season with new potting soil.
Not only does this help to prevent blight, it also keeps a fresh supply of nutrients in the soil. Those fresh nutrients don’t only help propel strong growth, but they help the plant to better fight off disease as well.
Mulching Tomato Plants – 2 Simple Ways To Keep Tomato Blight Away
When it comes to preventing blight, mulch also plays an extremely important role. As soon as you put your tomato plants in the ground, you need to mulch the area around your plants.
Spores that are alive in the soil can easily splash up onto the foliage. Especially if the soil is bare, making for an easy route for the spores to get to your plants. Every time a hard rain hits or when you water, your plants have the chance to become infected by the spores splashing up. But with a heavy application of mulch covering the soil, the dirt can’t splash.
In addition to applying mulch, it’s important to prune and remove the bottom 6 to 12 inches of your plant’s foliage for this same reason. Keeping the plants up off the ground will help to keep disease away by keeping the soil from directly touching the foliage.
Finally, don’t allow your plants to sprawl on the ground without support. Supporting plants with stakes or a tomato cage will help keep soil and the foliage from coming in contact. And the less the soil touches your plants, the better.
A Few Extra Ways To Protect Plants – 2 Simple Ways To Keep Tomato Blight Away
Beyond crop rotation and mulching your plants, there are a couple of other easy ways to help prevent blight from appearing. And believe it or not, how you water your tomatoes is one of them. See: The 3 Biggest Garden Watering Mistakes – And How To Avoid Them!
Watering is one of those mundane tasks that seems simple, but can cause immense damage if done incorrectly. For starters, don’t water your plants from overhead or with a heavy sprinkler or stream of water. Why? Because it can easily splash spores onto your plants!
It’s also important to water in the early morning so tomato plants have time to dry off. Wet and damp leaves are the ideal ingredient for spores to grow. Watering late in the day or at night will keep plants moist for extended periods. That can lead to heavier dew levels in the morning, making plants even more prone to disease.
Act Fast If You See Signs Of Blight – 2 Simple Ways To Keep Tomato Blight Away
Once planted, keep a careful eye on your tomatoes for any early signs of blight. If you do notice leaves or stems browning off, act fast to remove them to contain the spread.
By removing these fast, you may be able to save the plant. More importantly, you will keep the spores from dropping off the plant and infecting more soil and more plants. Always clean and disinfect your pruning blades before pruning a new plant to prevent cross-contamination.
Be careful not to place any of these trimmings in your compost pile. Instead wrap them in newspaper or a bag and put them in the trash. When placed in a compost pile, they can easily survive, infecting plants wherever the compost goes.
You may not be able to treat tomato blight effectively once it occurs, but you can definitely help prevent it! Here is to keeping tomato blight far away from your tomato plants this year!
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Tomatoes
Looking for the easiest and best ways to use coffee grounds to power your tomato plants to a bigger and better harvest than ever this year?
Coffee grounds have all kinds of uses when it comes to improving soil and helping plants grow. From fertilizing houseplants to heating up compost piles, powering potting soil and more, there seems to be no limit to what the leftover grounds from a cup or pot of coffee can do for a gardener.
But as beneficial as spent grounds can be for all of the above situations, it’s perhaps with the beloved tomato plant where they truly take their powers to the next level. And not just with young tomato plants, but at nearly all points of a tomato plant’s lifecycle – from helping a tiny sprouting seed, to aiding a fully mature adult plant loaded with ripening tomatoes!
How Coffee Grounds Help Tomato Plants
So why are coffee grounds so special for tomato plants? And how exactly do they help them grow better from start to finish? As it turns out, leftover grounds have two key attributes that are extremely beneficial for both tomato seedlings and adult tomato plants.
The first is that once run through the coffee making process, the grounds left behind contain 3 essential nutrients that tomato plants love – nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Even better, those nutrients happen to be in a form that when used in the soil around plants, they can absorb quickly into the roots of a tomato plant.
Coffee Grounds & Moisture
But the benefits of coffee grounds don’t stop with just giving tomato plants great energy. Spent coffee grounds also have the ability to retain a tremendous amount of moisture. And if there is one thing tomato plants need to survive and thrive – it’s water!
Tomato seeds need water to swell and sprout. Likewise, they need even more moisture to grow into tiny seedlings and spread roots under the soil. But the need for water continues as a tomato plant grows beyond a seedling. First, it needs water to grow healthy stems, roots and foliage. And finally, water is once again needed to form the plant’s fruit.
Believe it or not – tomatoes are made up of 95% water. And if there isn’t enough moisture in the soil to absorb into the plant – your plant and your harvest will suffer. The good news? As you will see below, coffee grounds can more than help with that issue!
Perhaps the best part of all for using coffee grounds is that you can get them for free. All by simply saving your leftover grounds each morning. And are they ever easy to save to use later. See our article: 2 Easy Ways To Save Coffee Grounds In Winter – Without Molding.
Now let’s take a look at three great ways to use all of those leftover coffee grounds (and coffee too) to help your tomato plants grow better than ever this year!
Coffee Grounds & Tomato Plants – 3 Great Ways To Power Tomato Plants With Grounds!
Using Coffee Grounds When Starting Seeds
Coffee grounds can be tremendously helpful when starting seeds indoors. Especially when it comes to getting tomato seeds to germinate. And they are equally adept at helping young seedlings to develop strong roots and stems as well.
Mixing in a few tablespoons of spent coffee grounds into your seed starting soil is all it takes! The grounds help to hold moisture in around the seed, allowing it sprout quickly. But even better, the trace amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium power up tiny seedlings fast!
Listen In Below To Our Podcast On How To Use Coffee Grounds & Egg Shells All Over Your Garden!
When mixing in coffee grounds with seed starting soil, mix two tablespoons for every 3 cups of seed starting soil. Your seeds and seedlings will thank you!
Using Coffee Grounds When Planting – Coffee Grounds & Tomato Plants
Coffee grounds can really help power young transplants on planting day! Once again, it’s that double combination of energy and water retention that are perfect for helping young plants establish outdoors.
When planting, mix in three to four tablespoons of coffee grounds into the soil in each planting hole. The grounds will blend with the soil to help it absorb and hold more moisture around the roots. At the same time, they will slowly release all of their nutrients to power strong, early root growth.
If you really want to load up on the power of grounds, finish by adding a few more tablespoons on top of the surface of each plant after planting. Every time it rains or you water, the nutrients will leach out of the grounds. And when they do, they go down into the roots of your tomato plants, continuing to power them in the process.
The practice of top dressing with grounds is actually great to use all season long. Every two to three weeks, simply spread out a few more tablespoons of grounds around the base of each tomato plant. It will give a continuous low-and-slow feeding to your plants, which can serve as a great boost to regular fertilizing.
Perhaps best of all, as the grounds break down and absorb into the soil over time, they add valuable structure and humus. With each succeeding garden season, you are left with richer, healthier soil.
Using Coffee Grounds (And Leftover Coffee) As A Fertilizing Tea – Coffee Grounds & Tomato Plants
Perhaps one of the easiest of all ways to use your spent coffee grounds, or even leftover coffee for that matter, is as a fertilizing tea on your tomato plants all spring and summer long. Just as the grounds contain nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and other helpful trace nutrients, so does the water that runs through the grounds.
After brewing your morning coffee, simply run another pot of water through your spent grounds in the coffee maker. The weak coffee, once cool, makes for a great liquid fertilizers for plants.
Likewise, if you are left with some leftover morning coffee, add an equal amount of water to dilute, and water away. The liquid will give a trace boost of nutrients to your plants. Even better, it will help water them at the same time!
Here is to using coffee grounds to help grow your best tomato plants ever this year. Not only are they incredibly powerful and all natural – they also happen to be free!
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Tomatoes
Did you know that planting and growing marigolds with your tomato plants can be one of the best ways to keep your tomatoes healthy, happy, and most of all, incredibly productive?
Believe it or not, one of the best examples of companion planting is growing marigolds right by your tomato plants. Not only do these prolific flowering annuals add big color wherever they grow, they also bring huge benefits along with them. And when it comes to helping tomatoes – they are pure gold!
Marigolds really are the rock star of annual flowers. For starters, the plant is one of the most drought, pest and heat resistant flowers you can grow. Unlike petunias, impatiens and other more vulnerable annuals, marigolds stand up strong to the most brutal of conditions.
The plant’s sturdy stems and foliage can take a lot of abuse before they ever begin to show signs of wear and tear. That includes intense sunlight, a lack of rain or watering, and even strong winds that easily damage other annuals.
But if that wasn’t enough, marigolds actually repel a long list of pests and animals as well. Both rabbits and deer are not fond of them in the least. Nor are squirrels and chipmunks. And as you will see below, they also have the same repelling effect on many damaging insects as well.
But plain and simple – where the benefits of growing marigolds really shine through is when you plant them with your tomato plants. And that is exactly what today’s article is all about!
3 Great Reasons You Should Be Growing Marigolds With Your Tomato Plants
So why are marigolds so incredible to plant around your tomato plants? The truth is, they actually help growing tomatoes in a whole slew of ways – and it all starts with attracting some of the most beneficial insects right to your tomato plants!
#1 Marigolds Attract Beneficial Insects
With their prolific blooms and brightly colored flowers, marigolds lure a long list of helpful insects near your tomato plants. And at the top of the list are honey bees, butterflies and wasps.
Although tomatoes are self fertile and can pollinate themselves, they need movement to move the pollen around to fertilize their flowers. As it just so happens, when bees, butterflies and wasps feed on the tomato plants nectar, all of that buzzing around is an excellent method to spread the plant’s pollen.
But attracting wasps also has an important additional side benefit for tomatoes. Paper wasps love to lay their eggs on tomato hornworms, which is a near mortal enemy of a tomato plant.
Hornworms usually appear in mid summer and can devour tomato plants quickly. Not just the foliage, but the fleshy meat of the fruits as well. But when parasitic wasps lay their eggs on the back of hornworms, they feed from the worm, killing it eventually in the process. See: How To Find Tomato Hornworms – And Save Your Tomato Plants!
Bringing In Even More Help…
But it doesn’t stop there for marigolds attracting helpful insects. Their bright flowers are also a major lure for ladybugs and lacewings. Both of these insects also happen to keep a watchful eye out for tomato plants as well protecting them from aphids and whiteflies.
Aphids and whiteflies are two pests that can decimate tomato plants. Especially when they go unchecked and begin to lay more and more eggs. Both pests multiply at an alarming rate and quickly take their toll on a tomato plant’s health. In fact, if an infestation is bad enough, they can kill tomato plants quite easily.
But when marigolds are growing nearby, rest assured, ladybugs and lacewings will be in the area as well. They visit the bright flowers of the marigolds often. When they do, they are more than happy to take care of the aphids and whiteflies on nearby tomato plants.
#2 Marigolds Repel Pests That Attack Tomatoes
If it wasn’t enough that tomatoes bring in helpful insects for tomato plants, they also keep a few bad insects far away. The strong scent of marigolds are well known to repel whiteflies. Even better, they also repel mosquitoes – helping to keep you safe as well when working in the garden.
But perhaps the most important pest of all that marigolds help to repel is the tomato hornworm. Yes, marigolds not only attract the wasps that attacks the pest that attacks tomato plants, they also help repel the actual pest from getting near them in the first place!
#3 Controlling Nematodes With Marigolds – Growing Marigolds With Tomato Plants
One of the biggest pests in the soil that can cripple tomato plants are root-knot nematodes. The tiny creatures live in the soil and attack the roots of a tomato plant. In mild cases, it can yellow the leaves of a tomato plant and lower the plants ability to produce a full harvest. But in severe cases, it will kill the plant entirely.
The good news? Marigolds produce a compound that kills nematodes in the soil. And when you grow marigolds right near your tomatoes for the season, they will help keep this pest at bay with ease.
How To Plant Marigolds With Tomato Plants
One of the best things about planting marigolds with tomato plants is how easy and inexpensive it can be to do. Although you can purchase transplants in local nurseries and stores, marigolds grow so easily from seed there is little need to.
Marigolds are fast growers. In fact, by simply planting seeds in the soil nearby when you plant your tomato plants in late spring, the annual will quickly germinate and be a few inches tall within a few weeks. Marigold seeds are also easy to save from spent blooms. That, of course, means you can save them to sow for free year after year!
The Power Of French Marigolds
As for the best varieties of marigolds to plant to help tomatoes, although all marigold types are useful, French marigolds seem to be the most effective when it comes to repelling bad insects and bringing in beneficial ones. Affiliate Seed Link: French Marigold Seeds
It is thought that the particular scent of this variety is especially helpful. Again, all varieties work to bring in pollinators and help with repelling some key pests, it’s just that the French marigold variety seems to be the best.
When planting any marigolds around your tomato plants, there are several options that work well. If you have a row of tomatoes you can plant them as a border on the outside of the row.
You can also grow a few plants around the perimeter of each plant. To do this, sow seeds about 18 inches from the main stem. As another alternative, many gardeners simply grow their marigolds in pots, then place them right near their tomato plants.
No matter how you plant them – the key is to get those marigolds as close as possible to your plants to maximize their benefits. Here is to planting marigolds with your tomato plants this year – and growing your best crop of tomatoes ever!
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Tomatoes
If there is one task that gardeners often worry about more than any other in late winter, it’s trying to figure out when to start their tomato plants indoors from seed at just at the right time!
Unfortunately, if you start your seeds indoors too early, it can create all kinds of issues. There is nothing worse than having plants that have already outgrown their space indoors and you still have weeks to go before the weather will allow you to plant outdoors.
Quite often, it forces gardeners to transplant their seedlings into larger containers. In addition, it becomes more and more difficult to get your plants the proper light, let alone find enough space indoors to keep the massive jungle of plants alive and well.
Of course, on the flip side, it can be just as frustrating when you start your seeds too late. If plants are still weak and small, they simply can’t handle the stress of going into the garden outdoors. And even if they somehow survive, it can delay a tomato harvest by weeks – and certainly lower yields as well.
As you can see, getting the timing down really can be critical to your tomato plant’s long term health and success. So how do you get it right? How can you plant your seeds indoors to have your plants the perfect size for planting outdoors?
The solution is actually easier than you might think! Success really comes down to following one basic timing formula – and then making sure you have the right lighting in place indoors to help control and regulate the growth of your plants until they are ready for planting day.
How To Know When To Start Tomato Plants Indoors
Knowing Your Average Last Frost Date – How To Know When To Start Tomato Plants
The very first key to success is to find out your specific areas last average spring frost date. This date will be the normal time your location gets a light frost or freeze for the last time in the spring.
It’s important to realize that this is not a guarantee. This date is only the average date for a last frost. However – it’s a great starting point for knowing when to start your seeds. One thing is for sure, it’s best to never use this date to actually plant your transplants outdoors!
One of the biggest mistakes gardeners make is planting too early in the growing season. Even if you avoid frost, the soil is simply too cold early on for plants to develop. As we will cover later in the article, the actual date you want to plant outdoors will be several weeks after your average last spring frost date.
So how can you find your last frost date as your starting point? One of the best resources around for this is the Farmer’s Almanac website. Simply type in your city or zip code and it will instantly tell you the last average spring frost. It will even give you the first average fall frost for your area too! See: Farmer’s Almanac 2024 First and Last Frost Dates
A Simple Formula For Starting Tomato Plants
Now that you have your last average frost date in hand – it’s time to use a very easy and simple formula for knowing when to start your seeds. Simply take your average last frost date and subtract seven (7) weeks from it. This will be the day you want to start your seeds indoors. And here is how and why the formula works:
On average, it will take tomato seeds about one week to germinate. It then takes about eight full weeks of growing before they are big enough to be healthy, strong transplants. This accounts and leaves enough time for strong indoor growth as well as time outdoors to harden your tomato plants off before planting day. See: How To Harden Off Seedlings & Transplants Before Planting
Using the timing above, you need to have nine weeks of growth from the day you plant your seeds. So why start them only seven weeks before your last average frost? Because you actually want to aim to plant outdoors two weeks after your areas average last frost date.
Getting Your Planting Date Perfect
As an example, if your average last frost date is May 14th, you will want to aim to plant outdoors on May 28th. By counting back nine weeks from May 14th and starting seeds on the 26th of March, your plants will have 9 full weeks of growing and be ready to rock!
Allowing an extra two weeks for plants to grow after the average last frost day lets the soil warm up. And warm soil is vital to strong, early root growth. But that additional two weeks also greatly helps lower the risk of plants getting hit by a late frost.
Proper Indoor Lighting – How To Know When To Start Tomato Plants Indoors
Last but not least, to get your plants to grow both strong and steady while indoors, it’s important to provide your indoor seedlings with a proper source of light. Strong, steady light will keep plants on track perfectly for 9 weeks of growth. And for tomato seedlings, that means artificial light and not light from the sun.
Growing in windows or sunny rooms will not allow your plants to develop correctly. Instead of strong, healthy transplants, you will end up with crooked, weak, long-stemmed plants that spent their weeks indoors stretching for the far away sun.
Listen In To Our Podcast Below On How To Jump Start Your Tomatoes After Planting!
By using simple LED or fluorescent lights a few inches over your seedlings, seedlings will grow strong, steady and healthy. You do not need expensive grow lights, but you should be placing your plants under artificial lighting twelve to fourteen hours each day. See: The Best Lights To Use For Starting Seeds Indoors
This simple approach of starting seeds while giving them perfect lighting will all but ensure tomato plants that are strong and healthy for planting day. Here is to knowing just when to start your tomato seeds indoors. And, of course, to growing your best tomato crop ever this year!
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Tomatoes
One of the best and easiest ways to power up and energize your tomato plants is with egg shells – but how, when and where you use them to help grow your tomatoes is the real key to powering healthy plants and an amazing harvest!
There are certainly a lot of great pairings when it comes to tomatoes and eggs. For instance, can it really get any better than a bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato sandwich? Or when the freshest of fresh tomatoes ends up in the perfect vegetable omelet?
But perhaps the greatest tomato and egg pairing of all is using the leftover shells of an egg to help power and energize tomato plants as they grow. Not only can egg shells provide tomato plants with amazing nutrients, but they also can keep the plants and fruits healthy.
Egg shells are teeming with the nutrients that tomato plants need most. Nutrients like calcium, phosphorous and magnesium. In addition, they also contain trace but key amounts of zinc, potassium, iron and zinc. All of which happen to help with tomato growth and productivity as well.
But as incredible as egg shells can be for tomatoes – they can only help growing plants with their nutrients when they are used in the right way. Unfortunately, all too often, they simply aren’t. So with tomato growing success in mind, here is a look at how to best use egg shells to help your tomato plants this year!
How To Use Egg Shells To Grow Incredible Tomatoes
Let’s first take a look at how the nutrients in egg shells help tomato plants grow better. Then, we will cover exactly how you can use them to make the most of their power as your plants grow.
How Egg Shells Help Tomato Plants
The Power Of Calcium
The lion’s share of the nutritional makeup of an egg shell consists of calcium. In fact, nearly 95% of an egg shell is made from calcium carbonate. And calcium is extremely important to both the health and productivity of a tomato plant.
When a tomato plant first begins to grow into a mature plant, it uses calcium to build the cell structure in its stems and branches. Quite simply, without enough calcium from the start, your tomato plant won’t reach its full growth potential.
But that is not the only time calcium plays a role in your tomato plant’s health. Tomato plants also need calcium to enhance their ability to pollinate and for good enzyme production. Again, without enough calcium in the soil, the plants simply won’t be able to produce as many tomatoes as they should.
Calcium and Tomato Blossom End Rot
But perhaps the biggest area where calcium plays a role with tomato plants is in preventing blossom end rot. Blossom end rot is a common problem for many gardeners and can decimate a crop. Many think of blossom end rot as a disease, but it actually occurs when there is not enough calcium in the soil.
When this happens, the flowering end of a forming tomato cannot form properly. Because of this, it slowly turns brown on the end and rots. When it does, it ruins the fruit in the process. If severe enough, blossom end rot can ruin a plant’s entire crop.
Obviously, calcium is huge for tomato plants. But not to be lost are tomato plants’ need for phosphorous, magnesium, and other trace minerals that are in egg shells as well.
Listen In Below To Our Podcast On Using Egg Shells & Coffee Grounds!
Magnesium powers a tomato plant’s photosynthesis process. Meanwhile, phosphorous is huge with helping bloom production. And all of the other trace elements in egg shells also help tomato plants with health, vitality, and the ability to absorb water and energy from the soil too.
It’s easy to see how much power egg shells have to give your tomato plants. But, and this is key, you need to unlock that power just right to get it to them quickly. And here is exactly how to do it with ease!
How To Use Egg Shells To Help Tomato Plants
So how do you get the power of egg shells to help tomato plants and the soil they grow in right away?
Unfortunately, egg shells take a long time to break down. Although they contain all kinds of mineral power, until the shells break down and leach out their nutrients, they are of little value for powering up soil or the plants that grow in it.
Simply crumbling up egg shells into small pieces and putting them in your planting hole, or crumbling them on top of the soil will not help this year’s plants very much – if at all.
As the egg shell pieces break down over the summer months, they will eventually add calcium to the soil. That might help next year’s plants, but it won’t do much for powering the plants growing now.
This is exactly why whenever and wherever you use egg shells, the secret is to first grind and pulverize them into a fine powder. By grinding the egg shells down, you help them release their power almost instantly into the soil.
The good news – it’s easy and effortless to do. All you need is an inexpensive coffee grinder. With a few minutes of grinding, you will be left with fine egg shell powder. And that powder is perfect for powering your tomato plants in 2 great ways! Affiliate Link: Basics Stainless Steel Electric Coffee Bean Grinder
2 Ways To Use Egg Shell Powder – How To Use Egg Shells To Grow Incredible Tomatoes
There are two ways and times to use egg shell powder to power your plants. The first time is right when you plant your transplants. When planting, mix two to three tablespoons of egg shell powder into every planting hole.
This will put the power of egg shells right where your roots need it most. Of course, this is also the perfect time to mix in compost, worm castings and even coffee grounds as well to your planting hole. Together with the egg shell powder, it will provide a huge boost of power for your plants. See: How To Plant Tomatoes Right! 6 Simple Secrets To Grow Your Best Crop Of Tomatoes Ever.
The second time to use egg shell powder is right after you finish planting your tomatoes. Simply sprinkle a few more tablespoons of powder around each plant on top of the soil. Now, every time it rains or you water, the nutrients from the powder will leach down to the soil and roots.
This double dose of egg shell powder is the best way to get nutrients to your tomato plants fast. But with that said, there is still one more way to use egg shells for your tomatoes – and this time it is with egg shell pieces, and not powder!
Using Egg Shell Pieces – How To Use Egg Shells To Grow Incredible Tomatoes
Although egg shell pieces won’t release instant nutrients for your tomato plants, they can help protect them from slugs. A few crushed and broken egg shells circled in a ring around plants can keep slugs from getting to your stems.
The slug’s slimy body has a hard time crossing the jagged shells. When they do, the shells often slice through the skin of the slugs, killing them in the process. Even better, eventually, those egg shell pieces will also break down as well. Of course, when they do, they will give back their nutrients to the soil to help next year’s plants.
Here is to using egg shells to power your tomato plants this year. And to having your healthiest and most productive crop of tomatoes ever!
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Tomatoes
Did you know that you can enjoy growing and harvesting cherry tomatoes indoors all winter long?
Cherry tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetable choices to grow for home gardeners. Not only can you get a huge harvest from just a few plants, they also produce much faster than their larger slicing counterparts. And are they ever good!
Cherry tomatoes are perfect for eating fresh in salads or for adding to salsas, juice, and sauces. And with so many different cherry tomato varieties available on the market today, there are near endless options when it comes to color and flavor.
While it is quite difficult to grow larger slicing tomato inside, cherry tomatoes are actually the perfect size and shape for growing inside year-round. And since they also happen to be self-fertilizing, there is no worry about the need for pollinators like bees and butterflies to find your plants.
In fact, all you really need for indoor tomato growing success is a warm room, a little bit of light and a few tomato seeds – and you’re ready to grow!
How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
Selecting The Best Variety To Grow
When growing cherry tomato indoors, success all starts with selecting a variety that is well suited to small spaces.
It’s best when growing indoors to look for varieties that are labeled as being “patio” or “container” friendly. There are also newer dwarf type cherry tomatoes that are even smaller and perfect for indoor growing. (For specific varieties to grow, we included a few great selection at end of the article to try)
All of these “smaller” types are usually much more compact and don’t need large containers to grow extensive roots. Their smaller plant size makes them perfect to sit on shelves or in any space where the lighting is just right.
What You Need To Start Cherry Tomato Seeds Indoors
In order to grow tomatoes indoors, you will need a few basic supplies beyond your seeds, including potting soil, a good container or pot – and depending on the lighting in your house, an inexpensive fluorescent or LED shop light.
Selecting Your Potting Soil
Just as if you were growing tomatoes outdoors, you need to have good soil to produce great plants. The soil needs to be light, airy, and retain moisture well.
A good all purpose potting soil is great for this, especially if you add in some additional worm castings and coffee grounds to the mix. These help to add even more energy to the soil to help plants reach their full potential and yields.
Since you are growing indoors in smaller containers, you can start your seeds right in the final growing container. This eliminates the need for transplanting and keeps the seedlings growing fast. See: How To Create The Best Potting Soil For Potted Plants – The Perfect Potting Soil Recipe!
Choosing The Right Container – How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
When selecting your pot or container, it’s first important to make sure it has plenty of holes for drainage. Poor drainage can lead to the roots becoming waterlogged. For indoor plants, and especially tomato plants, that can spell big trouble.
As for size, if the cherry tomato plant is less than a foot tall at its mature height, a container of around 6 to 8 inches in diameter and at least 4 to 6 inches in depth is ideal.
For larger cherry tomato varieties, aim for a final container that is at least 12 inches in diameter and 8 to 10 inches in depth. The larger you can go, the better as it will allow for a more extensive root system to develop.
Lighting Requirements – How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
When growing tomatoes indoors, lighting is usually the biggest key of all. Tomato plants require at least 6 to 8 hours of direct daily light in order to grow healthy and strong. They will still grow with less light, but not as well – and certainly not as productively.
You can grow tomatoes in a sunny, southern facing window. But in most cases, it’s far better to give your indoor tomatoes a dose of daily artificial light to really get them to produce.
The good news – it doesn’t have to be fancy, expensive or hard to do. There is no need to purchase expensive grow lights. Tomatoes do not require a special spectrum of light to grow, which means ordinary fluorescent or LED lights will work perfectly fine.
To use, keep the lights a few inches above the tomato plants at all times. Leave the lights on for around 12 to 14 hours each day. If you are supplementing window light, adding 4 to 6 hours of artificial light will help.
Unfortunately, using only window light will usually leave plants leggy and thin. It’s better to use a combination of both if possible – as it will lead to better overall plant growth.
When your plants are growing in window light, always make sure to rotate the plants so all sides of the plant get sufficient light. When using overhead artificial light, all that is necessary is to keep the lights overhead.
Water, Fertilization & Pollination – How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
So how do you keep indoor tomatoes growing strong? The first key is to water smart. It’s best to keep the soil of your growing cherry tomato plants moist but not overly saturated. Only water after the top two inches of soil is dry to touch.
Tomatoes are heavy feeders, so be sure to give your indoor plants half a dose of all-purpose liquid fertilizer every two weeks. As an alternative, you can apply compost tea or worm casting tea weekly for a more natural, slow-release fertilizer option.
As mentioned earlier in the article, cherry tomato plants are self pollinating so they do not require pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Outdoors, they rely on wind and even the flapping wings of wasps, bees and butterflies to spread pollen. But indoors, it’s easy to mimic this quite easily in order to help them out.
The first method to help pollination is to add an oscillating fan to the growing space. This helps to move pollen around, and just a few hours a day of a fan will work wonders. You can also gently shake the plant every day when there are blooms present.
Lastly, you can also hand pollinate to help transfer pollen from one flower to another. All methods will work, and it really comes to down to finding the one that is easiest and most effective for you.
Harvest Early And Often – How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
The best way to encourage your plant to keep producing cherry tomatoes when growing indoors (or anywhere for that matter) is to harvest the fruit early and often.
Thankfully, with indoor growing, you don’t have to worry about pests, bugs, or most diseases ruining your plants or tomatoes. But harvesting the tomatoes regularly will still help in overall production. Not only will it let you enjoy fresh cherry tomatoes right away, it also helps to encourage plants to send resources to produce new blooms for future fruit more quickly.
When it comes to overall harvest, the type of plant you are growing matters. If you are growing an indeterminate variety of tomato, it will continue to produce as long as you keep watering and fertilizing. Determinate varieties will produce most of their crop all at once and then begin to die off.
So what are some of the best varieties of cherry tomatoes to grow indoors? Luckily – we just happen to list 6 of the best of the best below!
The Best Cherry Tomato Varieties To Grow – How To Grow Cherry Tomatoes Indoors
Determinate Varieties To Grow:
Tiny Tim Tomato – Despite being compact in size, this determinant variety features large clusters of 1-inch-sized fruit. It grows well in containers as well as in hanging baskets and requires no staking or support. Days to Maturity: 60 days. Affiliate Product Link: Tiny Tim
Yellow Balcony Tomato – This small cherry tomato variety is the ideal dwarf size for growing indoors and yes, on balconies in the summer too! It grows to a total height of around 20 inches, but produces tons of small yellow fruit with a delicious sweet tomato flavor.
It is a determinate variety, so you can plant a new plant every few months to keep fresh tomatoes coming on!. Days to Maturity: 85 days. Affiliate Seed Link: Yellow Balcony Tomato Seeds
Red Robin Tomato – This dwarf tomato variety is perfect for small space growing. It is a determinant cherry tomato cultivator that reaches only up to a foot tall. The fruits are around 1 inch in diameter and feature a mildly acidic flavor profile. Days to Maturity: 55 days. Affiliate Seed Link: Red Robin
Patio Choice Red Hybrid Tomato – This determinate cherry tomato variety produces a large yield of half-ounce-sized red fruit. The vines only reach between 24 to 30 inches, which makes it a great choice for hanging baskets or small trellises. Days to Maturity: 65 days. Affiliate Seed Link: Patio Choice Red Hybrid
Indeterminate Tomato Varieties To Grow
Small Red Cherry Tomato – This variety is an indeterminate plant that stays fairly compact. It is great for growing in hanging planters or in containers. The fruit is on the sweeter side with a slight tartness. It features a high water content which makes it great for juices. Days to Maturity: 60-90 days. Affiliate Seed Link: Small Red Cherry
Tidy Treats Tomatoes – Not only is this an indeterminate tomato variety that will produce heavily for you for a long growing season, but it also has the growth patterns of a more compact determinate variety. Basically, it’s the best of both worlds! You get tons of sweet cherry tomatoes while not taking up a lot of space in your home. Days to Maturity: 50-55 days. Affiliate Seed Link: Tidy Treat
Here is to growing your own tomatoes indoors this year in the winter – and to enjoying that fresh tomato taste even as the snow flies outdoors!
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Tomatoes
Looking for a simple method using your oven to make sun dried tomatoes from the fresh tomatoes growing in your garden this summer?
Harvesting fresh, ripe tomatoes from your garden and turning them into sun-dried tomatoes has a certain magical quality. Being able to concentrate and save the fresh taste of summer the whole year round really is special.
The good news is that when it comes to preserving tomatoes – it honestly doesn’t get much easier than creating delicious sun dried tomatoes in your oven. And when dried, the super sweet flavor of the tomatoes rises to a whole new level. And can it ever add all kinds of amazing versatility to your meals, appetizers and more!
How To Make Sun Dried Tomatoes In The Oven
Choosing the Best Tomatoes
First, more than anything else, it’s important to pick the best of the best tomatoes before you start the dehydration process. Always be sure to select tomatoes that are firm, ripe, and meaty. Meaty tomatoes are not only thick and full of flavor, they also usually have far less seeds.
San Marzano, Roma, Grape and cherry tomatoes are all great examples of tomato varieties that are perfect for making sun dried tomatoes. All are meaty and sweet – and all typically produce an abundance of tomatoes throughout the summer months.
These features are essential for getting the best sun dried quality while in the oven. Because of their smaller size, the cherry and grape tomatoes have the added advantage of taking slightly less time in the oven.
Preparing The Tomatoes – How to Make Sun Dried Tomatoes in the Oven
Once you’ve chosen your preferred variety, it’s time to clean them. Gently rinse the tomatoes to eliminate any dirt and debris. With a fresh kitchen towel or paper towel, carefully pat them dry.
Next, cut the tomatoes in half. If they are small cherry or grape tomatoes, that is more than enough for drying in the oven. If using slightly larger varieties, cut into smaller but equal size pieces. Quartering or even cutting into eighths can usually produce the perfect size for dehydrating.
Removing Excess Moisture and Seeds – How to Make Sun Dried Tomatoes in the Oven
The next important step is to remove the seeds from the tomato slices before drying them. The watery membranes that surround the seed area holds a lot of moisture – and all of that excess water will greatly delay the oven’s drying effects.
With a tiny spoon or by using your finger, carefully scoop out the seeds and remove the core. Be careful not to harm the flesh while doing this step.
To pull out additional moisture, lightly sprinkle the tomatoes with salt. Give the salted slices roughly 30-40 minutes to sit. Blot them dry with a paper towel after they have rested. This technique will not only improve the flavor of your sun-dried tomatoes, it will also help the drying process to go smoother and faster.
Preheating The Oven – How to Make Sun Dried Tomatoes in the Oven
Now it’s time to heat up the oven! Preheat to 225°F (107°C) – this “low and slow” temperature is always best for making sun dried tomatoes in the oven. The low temperature and longer cooking time may take longer to dry them out – but it is exactly what gives your tomatoes great flavor!
The tomatoes’ bright color and flavors are preserved by the low heat, which allows for a gradual drying process.
Adding Additional Flavor
As we know, the tomatoes themselves are already crammed with flavor. This can more than make them fantastic on their own. Because of this, when considering adding additional ingredients into the mix, it’s important to keep it simple.
One option is olive oil. Once the tomatoes are cut side up on the parchment lined baking sheet, add a small drizzle of good quality olive oil. This small addition can add big flavor and can elevate the dish nicely.
Another potential choice is adding Italian seasoning. The fragrant mixture of basil, thyme and oregano is very complimentary to traditional Italian flavors. Again, don’t overpower with too many additional ingredients. With the dynamic flavor of the tomato, simple is always best.
The Drying Process
Now that your tomatoes are ready and your oven is preheated, it’s time to start drying. Begin by lining a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Be sure none of your tomatoes overlap on the baking sheet. It’s very important to have one even layer.
In addition, leaving a little room between each slice will ensure a nice, even drying of all of the tomatoes. On average, the tomatoes should dry in the oven for 3-4 hours. Depending on the temperature of your oven and the thickness of the tomato slices, the drying time may change.
Because all of these factors vary, begin checking your tomatoes at the 2.5 hour mark. Continue to leave in the oven if you still see pockets of moisture and monitor frequently from outside the oven. Using the oven light helps to check when ready without letting the heat escape. When done, the tomatoes should look shriveled, leathery and dry.
Cool and Store – How to Make Sun Dried Tomatoes in the Oven
When the drying process is complete, carefully remove and allow the tomatoes to finish cooling on the baking sheet. Once the tomatoes are at room temperature, transfer them to an airtight container or a glass jar.
The tomatoes themselves can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 weeks. Adding a nice olive oil into the container before storing can make them last for an additional couple of weeks when refrigerated.
For longer lasting sun-dried tomatoes, freezing is the way to go. You can freeze them in a resealable bag or freezer container. When kept in a sealed container, frozen sun dried tomatoes can last for more than a year.
Enjoy the Flavor!
One thing is for sure, making sun-dried tomatoes in the oven really is a simple process. And while the ingredients are simple as well, the flavor is pretty extraordinary! The tastes and textures will certainly up the level of your dishes and add a nice touch of summer no matter the time of year.
So, if you happen to have extra tomatoes from your harvest this year – be sure to not let any go to waste. Indulge in the satisfaction of sun-drying your tomatoes in your oven, and enjoy a bite of summer every time you open them up. They even make great presents too!
For more great recipes from the garden, check out our garden recipe tab on the website! See : Garden Fresh Recipes
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