When someone suggested I blog about growing tastier tomatoes, my initial thought was that I would be happy to -- if I had a clue myself. I quickly filed it away in the 'maybe later but don't hold your breath' file.
Then, at the Allegheny Green Fest a few weeks ago, I chatted with a couple who'd just heard a talk on this topic. They confided that they now knew the secret to tastier tomatoes and that they'd been doing "everything wrong" in past attempts. I found that hard to believe, so I asked them what they planned to do differently this year. Turns out their "different" way was following some basic practices that I was already doing. That encounter was quickly followed by a conversation with a friend who's almost fanatical about "home-grown tomatoes" (I send her a shipment of my tomatoes each year). She told me another friend had shared their tomatoes with her last year, but that MY tomatoes tasted much better. While I assumed that this was a ploy to keep the tomatoes coming, her comment DID make me start thinking more about this subject.
Perhaps sharing some good garden practices for growing tomatoes will help some home gardeners grow better tomatoes, and if you grow better tomatoes, you get better flavor. So, here's my "sharing"!
It almost goes without saying that you need to grow varieties that are known for good flavor. However, before considering flavor, you need to screen varieties to determine tomato plants that will do well in your climate & soil conditions. Great taste means nothing if your growing season is too short for a variety you've selected, or if you're in a climate conducive to diseases and you don't select varieties with good disease resistance. How can you know which varieties taste best? Conduct your own taste test (hard work, I know)...maybe at a farmer's market or by asking your fellow tomato growers to let you taste their favorites. (FYI, I always grow 'Celebrity' tomatoes, but I also pick out something new to try each year. Last year it was 'Jet Star', this year it's 'Health Kick'.)
If you haven't already planted your tomatoes at the recommended spacing (or wider), that's the first step. The next most important thing you can do is to mulch them. Right away. One year I mulched about half my tomatoes within a week of planting them while the rest waited until I could get back to them. Not only was there the expected difference in weed growth, but there was an obvious size difference between those mulched early and those mulched late. This effect remained for the entire growing season. If you don't want to buy mulch, try my method: I use 3 inch thick flakes of straw (because I have it on hand), but half-inch stacks of newspaper work well, as does plastic (though it's a bit harder to monitor the moisture under plastic). Plant size is one benefit; other benefits of mulching include less risk of blossom end rot and disease spreading, and less watering on your part.
Support your tomatoes - don't let them sprawl on the ground. Good support helps avoid a multitude of problems - critter damage and diseases are two. Use sturdy wooden stakes, wire cages supported by stakes, or make your own supports. Have them in place before your plants get big to avoid breaking vines later.
Water - remember to water your plants before they dry out to the point of visable wilting. If you've mulched them, this will be an easier task. Let the water run slowly until it soaks deeply into your soil to encourage deeper roots that can access the water when soils dry out from the top down.
Okay. There's a good starting point - and a good ending point for "Part 1". In the sequel (Part 2) we'll talk about stuff that's a little less basic. Like getting the pH tomatoes prefer... What to do if your tomato plants don't bloom... Foliage issues...
So if you haven't already staked or mulched your tomatoes, get it done after a nice soaking rain or thorough irrigation. Come back in a few days and we'll tackle the next steps.
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