Georgia home garden tomatoes
If I conducted a survey on the most popular garden item, tomatoes would have to rise to the top. I think the majority of gardeners will at least grow a few tomato plants in the garden spot.
In many neighborhoods, it may become a friendly competition on who can harvest the first vine ripe tomato of the season. Growing tomatoes is not a hard activity, but there are some cultural basics that can give you a better chance of production and quality success. I will be sharing information from a UGA publication by UGA Extension Horticulturist, Bob Westerfield.
For starters, the sky is the limit on varieties when making selections. Tomatoes can come in different shapes, sizes and colors. For many gardeners, the variety selection is already decided. Our information does state you can try some of the new varieties, but there are varieties that are tried and true for Georgia. I have said often that certain tomato varieties are grown simply based on personal preference and family tradition. My grandfather would seem to always grow Better Boys in the family garden. I am not saying Better Boys are better than the other varieties, but that is what we grew. In the small garden at the house in 2020, my wife added Cherokee Purples to her efforts. You need to have an idea of your goal with the tomatoes.
Many people will do a lot of tomato canning in the growing season. If canning is a big activity, one of the determinate varieties may be more of an option. The determinate varieties grow more compact in a bush type form. These varieties will produce most of their tomato crop at one time with harvest done in two to five pickings. On the flipside, the indeterminate varieties are the ones that need to be staked or grown in cages because they set fruit clusters along vine stems that grow all season.
If you harvest the tomatoes, these plants can produce up to frost in fall. I will add that in selection, you may want to take advantage of the hybridized tomato plants that will have resistance to some of the pest issues in our area. If you are new to growing tomatoes, you may want to do your homework in variety selection. You may want to grow several different varieties until you find what you prefer better.
We are still months away from planting tomato transplants in the garden. Do not be tempted to plant tomatoes in the garden too soon. Tomatoes are a warm season plant that will grow best at temperatures of 70-80 degrees F and needs 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day. This is why it is better to have a garden in a sunny location that can provide the needed sunshine. Just do not plant too early.
Many experienced gardeners will easily wait till after that last expected frost date of spring before planting. Some will wait till late April or early May to put transplants in the ground. If you want to commit the time, you can grow your own transplants from seed indoors. Many people find it much easier to purchase healthy transplants instead of growing their own. If you do want to grow from seed, you have to start 4 to 7 weeks indoors before planting the resulting transplants in the garden. Indoors, you will need a light soil mix and give the plant plenty of light. Westerfield adds that you may need to use supplemental light if a south facing sunny window is not available for growing. Do not forget that about a week before transplanting, you will need to “harden-off” indoor grown tomato plants by gradually exposing them to an increasing number of hours of light each day.
I will add that you still have plenty of time to take properly taken soil samples for mixing and shipping to the UGA Soil Test Lab for only $9. This is the best way to obtain exact liming and fertilizing recommendations for your garden spot. Tomatoes need a soil pH of 6.2 to 6.8. Much of our soil in Northwest Georgia is lower in pH or more acidic. If your soil pH is low, a soil test will give you a liming recommendation. Since lime interacts with soil slowing, you can go ahead and do that if the weather allows. Dolomitic lime will also provide calcium and magnesium to the soil.
These elements are important for plant growth and health. Westerfield adds that if the pH test comes back normal, but the report states the calcium level is low, you can apply gypsum at the rate of 1 pound per 100 square feet.
Preparing for irrigation needs when the weather becomes hot and dry is important too. We suggest drip irrigation or soaker hoses to irrigate more efficiently and to reduce chance of disease establishment. I will share more tomato gardening information in a future column.