When is the best time to plant tomatoes in AV?

One of the biggest gardening gambles in the Antelope Valley is when to plant tomatoes outside.

For years I have used April 17 as the last frost. I realize this is not a 100% guarantee because the last recorded frost is in May. Tomatoes love 80and 90-degree temperatures, so even if the nights are in the forties, the plants seem to not grow much.

Tomatoes seem to be everybody’s favorite garden project and headache. By August you are knee-deep in tomatoes and are trying to find someone to give your extra tomatoes.

The first rule of thumb in growing tomatoes is one tomato plant per person eating tomatoes in your house. The exception to the rule is that you can plant more tomato plants if you are going to make tomato sauce or can your tomatoes.

The second rule of growing tomatoes, or any fruit, is the smaller the fruit, the easier it is to grow and produce. Larger tomatoes take longer to ripen, and you have a greater chance to make a watering mistake or cause problems for your tomatoes. Large tomatoes are best for the advanced tomato gardener.

This is true of all fruit; smaller fruit varieties of peaches, watermelons, squash and tomatoes are always easier to grow than larger fruit varieties. You will find that the patio or cherry tomatoes do much better than larger varieties. Cherry tomatoes might be good in salads, but they are a pain for making sandwiches and tomato sauce. So, move up to a medium-sized tomato, like the early girl or celebrity. Medium-sized tomatoes do well and give you more options for use.

The third rule of growing tomatoes is that heirloom varieties are harder to grow than newer varieties. Heirloom tomatoes may taste better, but they were replaced by tomatoes that are easier to grow. More modern tomatoes usually are more disease resistant, crack resistant, and generally easier to grow.

So try an heirloom or large sized tomato, but plant a modern, medium-sized tomato to guarantee success.

When buying tomatoes, the seed packages, or the plant labels may contain some of the following terms.

Determinate — This type of tomato plant grows to a specific size and stop, also known as a bush tomato. These tomatoes can be grown without cages or stakes, but they probably do better with staking. Determinate tomatoes are easily overfertilized with nitrogen, causing a limited production of tomatoes. All the tomatoes ripen at the same time, making them best for canning or making sauces. Roma or paste type tomatoes are good examples. They are sometimes called patio tomatoes.

Indeterminate — These tomato plants grow throughout the season and must have support. Indeterminate normally do much better if pruned. Pruning is removing any sucker growth or branching of the vines at the ground level. When finished, you should have only two or three branches or vines coming from the plant at the ground level. These branches or vines need to be staked. The tomatoes grow, flower and fruit continuously during the summer. They are sometimes called vining tomatoes.

Semi-determinate — Tomatoes plants that grow very large, but finally reach a maximum size and stop growing. Require staking. They are sometimes called large determinate.

When planting your tomatoes, they need to be planted all the way to the first set of leaves. I dig a four-inch-deep trench and place the tomato plant in the trench with just the leaves above ground. This allows the tomato to produce a large root system. This only works for tomatoes, all other vegetables must be planted at the same level as the vegetable has been grown at.

The most common problem with tomatoes seems to be that they grow but will not produce flowers or fruit. Tomato plants set fruit best if day temperatures are between 80 and 85 degrees and night temperatures are between 60 and 70 degrees.

The most common reason for tomatoes not to set flowers or fruit is too much nitrogen in the garden. If your plants are nice and dark green with thick stems, but not producing very many flowers, the plant is in a growth mode and not a flowering mode. Too much nitrogen causes tomatoes and other plants not to flower. So, hold off on the nitrogen fertilizer in your garden until after the tomatoes have started to bloom.

The second reason that your tomatoes may not be flowering is because they should be pruned. Remove the top of the tomato plant when it gets about two feet tall. This will cause the side buds to grow. Allow the side buds to grow and produce about two or three leaves, then cut the tip of the side branches. This will increase the flowers and fruit for best yields.

Most of the cracks that appear on a tomato fruit are caused by overwatering. If your soil is constantly moist, the tomatoes will continue to take up water and store it in the fruit, causing the tomatoes to crack. I find it best to allow your tomato’s leaves to slightly droop before watering. This prevents you from overwatering your tomatoes.

Tomato hornworms are the most common pest of tomatoes and can easily be controlled. All the nurseries carry a material called BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), which I call the stomach flu for caterpillars. Just dust the material onto your tomatoes, and as the caterpillars eat the leaves, they also eat the BT and die. BT is a natural method of pest control that is considered safe to humans, but always wash your tomatoes before eating.

Good luck and good gardening.