5 Tomato Grow Mistakes To Avoid
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Date: 2022-07-18
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Comments and reviews: 15
Be
Great stuff. Some really good tips here. That said, there is one point that I think deserves a bit of thought which is watering for different climates and seasons. In NM, where I live, we get infested with spider mites by the 2nd or 3rd week of July most years and that will force control measures or severe weakening of the plant to the point of death. The reason being that we have average humidity less than 20%. The spider mite eggs don't hatch well when it is over 35% and not at all when it is 40%. In our case it is better to sprinkle or at least wet the leaves from the bottom on a regular basis. We don't struggle with things like fungus, just the spider mites. Drip irrigation is a recipe for disaster when you have low relative humidity and plenty of wind. In conditions like this, it's better to keep the plants bushy and top water and/or spray the bottoms of your leaves at least twice a week. Just the opposite of what you would do in a wetter climate. Ten year rolling average rainfall here has been 3. 29 so we are in a very different class than many other parts of the country. IMO, if you struggle with spider mites, consider sprinkling. If not, follow exactly what was put out there in this video.
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Great stuff. Some really good tips here. That said, there is one point that I think deserves a bit of thought which is watering for different climates and seasons. In NM, where I live, we get infested with spider mites by the 2nd or 3rd week of July most years and that will force control measures or severe weakening of the plant to the point of death. The reason being that we have average humidity less than 20%. The spider mite eggs don't hatch well when it is over 35% and not at all when it is 40%. In our case it is better to sprinkle or at least wet the leaves from the bottom on a regular basis. We don't struggle with things like fungus, just the spider mites. Drip irrigation is a recipe for disaster when you have low relative humidity and plenty of wind. In conditions like this, it's better to keep the plants bushy and top water and/or spray the bottoms of your leaves at least twice a week. Just the opposite of what you would do in a wetter climate. Ten year rolling average rainfall here has been 3. 29 so we are in a very different class than many other parts of the country. IMO, if you struggle with spider mites, consider sprinkling. If not, follow exactly what was put out there in this video.
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acegeek
I've been growing tomatoes in a container for over 9 years. I choose different tomatoes each year and I start from seedling, which might be why I have so much success. I've almost never had any problems growing and haven't done pruning or adding anything to the soil or mulch.
--I did have one year where aphids took over and killed my plant. I only got a few harvests out of that one, before the aphids killed it: (
--I'm trying pruning and mulch for the first time this year. Curious if anything will change.
I know watering is a huge deal and learned pretty quickly not to water the leaves or the entire plant, just the soil. I've tried a few different self-watering methods (gel beads under the soil that hold water, those glass water bulbs, etc) which helped me out on days when I was running late for work and couldn't water in the morning. I'm trying mulch as another moisture retainer since it's pretty simple to use.
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I've been growing tomatoes in a container for over 9 years. I choose different tomatoes each year and I start from seedling, which might be why I have so much success. I've almost never had any problems growing and haven't done pruning or adding anything to the soil or mulch.
--I did have one year where aphids took over and killed my plant. I only got a few harvests out of that one, before the aphids killed it: (
--I'm trying pruning and mulch for the first time this year. Curious if anything will change.
I know watering is a huge deal and learned pretty quickly not to water the leaves or the entire plant, just the soil. I've tried a few different self-watering methods (gel beads under the soil that hold water, those glass water bulbs, etc) which helped me out on days when I was running late for work and couldn't water in the morning. I'm trying mulch as another moisture retainer since it's pretty simple to use.
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Amber
So I have a question. Where I'm at when we first moved here clay soil everywhere. I addeds a lot of sand to the garden I've added a lot of compost to the garden I mean homemade compost took me a while to build up build up build up but as there was a lot of clay the soil dries up so fast here in the summer do you have any recommendations I could have because we are in such a bad drought and I hate watering three times a day but I do like to keep my soil moist do you have any recommendations I would really appreciate them from you above all thanks. Ps I have done everything at almost no budget do it myself as I do not have money to invest in this as well as I prefer to do things myself because we can always buy things to make things easier but I'm the kind of person that likes to be the tool not by the tools huh you know what I mean
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So I have a question. Where I'm at when we first moved here clay soil everywhere. I addeds a lot of sand to the garden I've added a lot of compost to the garden I mean homemade compost took me a while to build up build up build up but as there was a lot of clay the soil dries up so fast here in the summer do you have any recommendations I could have because we are in such a bad drought and I hate watering three times a day but I do like to keep my soil moist do you have any recommendations I would really appreciate them from you above all thanks. Ps I have done everything at almost no budget do it myself as I do not have money to invest in this as well as I prefer to do things myself because we can always buy things to make things easier but I'm the kind of person that likes to be the tool not by the tools huh you know what I mean
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Caspar
Great tips. Another tip watch out for Tomato horn worms like on my profile picture. I highly recommend Inspecting tomato plants for signs of these green looking aliens, especially when tomatoes are a foot tall, close to producing fruit, and afterward. They usually start eating the top leaves and continue to reap havoc as they quickly grow in size. If leaves near the top of tomato are gone or the leaves show damage this could be the culprit. They love camouflaging and hanging upside down on tomato plants. I've dealt with these for 3 years now and experienced just how quickly they can wreck a tomato plant. Do Not underestimate them.
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Great tips. Another tip watch out for Tomato horn worms like on my profile picture. I highly recommend Inspecting tomato plants for signs of these green looking aliens, especially when tomatoes are a foot tall, close to producing fruit, and afterward. They usually start eating the top leaves and continue to reap havoc as they quickly grow in size. If leaves near the top of tomato are gone or the leaves show damage this could be the culprit. They love camouflaging and hanging upside down on tomato plants. I've dealt with these for 3 years now and experienced just how quickly they can wreck a tomato plant. Do Not underestimate them.
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DVT
Thanks for the video. We love growing tomatoes and have a few setbacks that we learn from every year. So far, this year, it's going to be a banner crop of beef steak and whoopers, plus we grow black krim variety and a few heirloom versions. I'm wondering. how much space between each tomato plant? The whoopers are growing monsters and get crowded together. Your thoughts on trimming the lower parts are a great idea. We live in Houston TX area and it gets hot sooner than most areas around the country. We water 4x a day (on a timer) but only for 3-4 minutes. Any comments appreciated. I know this was put out in July 2020. Thx again.
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Thanks for the video. We love growing tomatoes and have a few setbacks that we learn from every year. So far, this year, it's going to be a banner crop of beef steak and whoopers, plus we grow black krim variety and a few heirloom versions. I'm wondering. how much space between each tomato plant? The whoopers are growing monsters and get crowded together. Your thoughts on trimming the lower parts are a great idea. We live in Houston TX area and it gets hot sooner than most areas around the country. We water 4x a day (on a timer) but only for 3-4 minutes. Any comments appreciated. I know this was put out in July 2020. Thx again.
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Indigo
Tomatoes are invasive weeds. There is literally no way to mess them up. You can chop the entire bush down and it will just grow back and make more tomatoes. If you've ever had a tomato new ones will sprout from the seeds the next year on their own. Not water it? Still making tomatoes. Bugs on it? Tomatoes. Didn't stake it and it flopped over onto the ground? Well now you've got ground tomatoes. Hey, feeling fancy? You can espalier a tomato bush. Big tomatoes, grape tomatoes, potted tomatoes, hydroponic tomatoes. You. Can't. Mess. Up. Tomatoes.
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Tomatoes are invasive weeds. There is literally no way to mess them up. You can chop the entire bush down and it will just grow back and make more tomatoes. If you've ever had a tomato new ones will sprout from the seeds the next year on their own. Not water it? Still making tomatoes. Bugs on it? Tomatoes. Didn't stake it and it flopped over onto the ground? Well now you've got ground tomatoes. Hey, feeling fancy? You can espalier a tomato bush. Big tomatoes, grape tomatoes, potted tomatoes, hydroponic tomatoes. You. Can't. Mess. Up. Tomatoes.
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Robert
This season I was able to find calcium nitrate as an additive to my tom pots. I give 1 1/2 Table spoon to a gallon of rain water, about every 7 to 10 days. I noticed one of my bottom fruits had a yellowish bottom where the blossom was. I'm pretty sure the dose is correct from what I can gather. I don't mind going a bit weak. At least it's a regular amount each time. Last year I used gypsum, which did a tolerable job of keeping the fruits from getting BER, except the very upper most fruits near the end of the season.
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This season I was able to find calcium nitrate as an additive to my tom pots. I give 1 1/2 Table spoon to a gallon of rain water, about every 7 to 10 days. I noticed one of my bottom fruits had a yellowish bottom where the blossom was. I'm pretty sure the dose is correct from what I can gather. I don't mind going a bit weak. At least it's a regular amount each time. Last year I used gypsum, which did a tolerable job of keeping the fruits from getting BER, except the very upper most fruits near the end of the season.
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Bronwen
Wow, thank you. I had some Big Fails last tomato season. Will try again next year. I grew 7 in pots that weren't great, one that spread over my garden and was great, and one beefsteak style that more or less grew itself right near a little low-growing peach tree and in fact wove itself through the branches for support. I had the best tomatoes from this one, in the garden rather than in pots. And I splashed water all over them all tho did have some mulch round them all. So much to learn! Thank you.
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Wow, thank you. I had some Big Fails last tomato season. Will try again next year. I grew 7 in pots that weren't great, one that spread over my garden and was great, and one beefsteak style that more or less grew itself right near a little low-growing peach tree and in fact wove itself through the branches for support. I had the best tomatoes from this one, in the garden rather than in pots. And I splashed water all over them all tho did have some mulch round them all. So much to learn! Thank you.
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Matt
My mistake this year was being too impatient in hardening off my seedlings. This spring here has been colder than normal with temperatures struggling to reach 10 degrees Celsius. This chill and my putting seedlings out too young has fried so many of them. Fortunately I have a long enough growing season that I may be able to recover. Furthermore my winter project is building a seed starting and seedlings grow room so I can keep them under the grow lights until the temperatures are right.
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My mistake this year was being too impatient in hardening off my seedlings. This spring here has been colder than normal with temperatures struggling to reach 10 degrees Celsius. This chill and my putting seedlings out too young has fried so many of them. Fortunately I have a long enough growing season that I may be able to recover. Furthermore my winter project is building a seed starting and seedlings grow room so I can keep them under the grow lights until the temperatures are right.
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Amber
Here's a fun story I thought I'd share so last year was my first year growing and wow it was like a forest my garden LOL and so all of my tomatoes that kind of went a little mush maybe bruised or we didn't eat fast enough I put in my garden soil to make it healthier for this year well this year I've got tomatoes sprouting everywhere hahaha I mean it's cool it's exciting I've gently plugged them out and put them aside to grow but I don't know I just thought I would share that for fun
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Here's a fun story I thought I'd share so last year was my first year growing and wow it was like a forest my garden LOL and so all of my tomatoes that kind of went a little mush maybe bruised or we didn't eat fast enough I put in my garden soil to make it healthier for this year well this year I've got tomatoes sprouting everywhere hahaha I mean it's cool it's exciting I've gently plugged them out and put them aside to grow but I don't know I just thought I would share that for fun
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Marianne
This year was my first year planting a garden (Im 50) I didnt realize it until I transplanted a hybrid Early Girl tom that there were two plants. I figured it out after the fact but now theyre two feet high and better than any other toms I have. I cant bring myself to destroy one of them since theyre both so healthy. Can I keep them that way and feed them a little extra if needed? They are in a four foot square area with only basil and a marigold in the front of the bed.
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This year was my first year planting a garden (Im 50) I didnt realize it until I transplanted a hybrid Early Girl tom that there were two plants. I figured it out after the fact but now theyre two feet high and better than any other toms I have. I cant bring myself to destroy one of them since theyre both so healthy. Can I keep them that way and feed them a little extra if needed? They are in a four foot square area with only basil and a marigold in the front of the bed.
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James
I would say the biggest mistake is trying to grow too many plants. There are so many varieties that you might want to try but buying too many and crowding them in too small a space is a big mistake. This year I had some discipline and limited myself to 5 - one each of Rutgers 250, Jetstar, Pink Brandywine (Sudduth), Supersweet 100 and Sungold. For my money the four hybrids are all super delicious - the cherries are like red and gold candy off the vine.
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I would say the biggest mistake is trying to grow too many plants. There are so many varieties that you might want to try but buying too many and crowding them in too small a space is a big mistake. This year I had some discipline and limited myself to 5 - one each of Rutgers 250, Jetstar, Pink Brandywine (Sudduth), Supersweet 100 and Sungold. For my money the four hybrids are all super delicious - the cherries are like red and gold candy off the vine.
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Kitty
Thanks for this video. In previous years Ive only ever grown grape tomatoes and for whatever reason I swear if you just leave them alone they do amazing. Not the case with bigger tomatoes so I struggled last year. Basically only my grape tomatoes did well. Im trying very hard to make sure this year I get it right with my Romas and bigger tomatoes. Super nervous but Im going to watch all your videos and do my best!
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Thanks for this video. In previous years Ive only ever grown grape tomatoes and for whatever reason I swear if you just leave them alone they do amazing. Not the case with bigger tomatoes so I struggled last year. Basically only my grape tomatoes did well. Im trying very hard to make sure this year I get it right with my Romas and bigger tomatoes. Super nervous but Im going to watch all your videos and do my best!
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Bethany
This will be a new task my child brought a tomato plant home that was starting to die not growing so fragile so I got a new pot and dirt not knowing what plant at first then it got healthy after them my daughter said we need a bigger pot she says its a tomato plant not sure what kind I got the Wong soil at first she naver told me so Ill see what happens just watch tips and hope to get some tomatoes this yr
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This will be a new task my child brought a tomato plant home that was starting to die not growing so fragile so I got a new pot and dirt not knowing what plant at first then it got healthy after them my daughter said we need a bigger pot she says its a tomato plant not sure what kind I got the Wong soil at first she naver told me so Ill see what happens just watch tips and hope to get some tomatoes this yr
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Sam
6) Never plant tomatoes in the same spots the following year. Always rotate, to reduce the chance of disease.
7) Never water with cold tap water on a hot sunny day. Never water the leaves, only the base.
p. s. I gave up trying to grow heirloom varieties. Totally a waste of time and resources. Poor production and always sick with something. Mine always die, some early some late. None survive.
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6) Never plant tomatoes in the same spots the following year. Always rotate, to reduce the chance of disease.
7) Never water with cold tap water on a hot sunny day. Never water the leaves, only the base.
p. s. I gave up trying to grow heirloom varieties. Totally a waste of time and resources. Poor production and always sick with something. Mine always die, some early some late. None survive.
reply
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