How to Grow Great Tomatoes
Adapted from Presentation created
by Bob Nixon
Kent Phillips
kent.a.phillips@gmail.com
2
Also by these 27 other
Howard County Master Gardeners…
Linda Branagan, Columbia Diane Brown, Westminster
Drenda Collins, Clarksville Linda Decker, Highland
Michelle Domangue, Columbia Aylene Kovensky Gard, Columbia
Leslie Gilbert, Mt. Airy Corliss Glennon, Dayton
Pat Greenwald, Sykesville Joyce Halasz, Ellicott City
Jane Hayes, Clarksville Jerry Kissel, Ellicott City
Paul Kojzar, Ellicott City Chris McComas, Woodbine
Holly McFarland, Columbia Shelley McNeal, Clarksville
Ron Newmister, Dayton Barbara Nibali, Ellicott City
Rosemary Noble, Ellicott City Sylvia Rampini-Huestis, Columbia
Jo Ann Russo, Sykesville Paul Rutter, Elkridge
Carolyn Taggart, Columbia Louisa Rogoff Thompson, Columbia
Barbara White, Ellicott City Jan Marie Williams-Nguyen, Columbia
Lisa Wingate, Ellicott City
Tomato basics/botany
• Member of the Solanum lycopersicum
(nightshade) family
• Other members: peppers, potatoes, tobacco,
& eggplants
• Tomato leaves, stems, & green fruit contain a
glycoalkaloid
Tomato basics/site selection
Tomatoes flourish in (1) good, well-drained soil
and require a (2) minimum of 8-10 hours of
direct sunlight and (3) approximately an inch
of water a week or 6 gallons/week.
Tomatoes have
vigorous root
systems
Tip: Add compost to your garden soil
to improve it from year to year
“Add compost, compost,
and more compost. I use
leaves, grass clippings,
and kitchen scraps to
make it. I incorporate it
into the garden bed after
it has finished aging
(3 to 6 months).”
Shelley McNeal & Lindy
Growing tomatoes in containers
Containers can
solve problems,
such as bad soil &
high-rise living, but
requirements for
the plants remain
the same
*Mention of a brand names is for
purpose of illustration and not
endorsement
You can make your own containers
HGIC Publication 600,
Container Vegetable
Gardening, contains
detailed how-to
information, including
diagrams for making your
own containers from 5gallon buckets.
Paul Rutter
Best time to plant?
• When soil temperature reaches 55 to 60
degrees
• Here, usually mid-May to 1st week of June
• Can plant earlier if plants are protected
• If planted early, plants may grow slowly & be
subject to insect & disease attacks
• But choice plant varieties may not be available
then at retailers, so buy & hold
Transplanting tips
• Chose small sturdy transplants, 5 to 6 weeks old, no
taller than 6 inches
• Plant on cloudy, wind-free day – or late afternoon
• Remove leaves except top-2-3 inches
• Dig shallow trench a little deeper than the root ball,
lay tomato on its side turning up the top of the
tomato
• Plastic mulch will warm soil, otherwise do not mulch
with organic mulch until soil warms
• If May is cool, protect with milk jugs, bottom and lid
removed
Tip: Stake or cage and mulch
your plants to fungl spores from
splashing from soil to lower
leaves of plants
Barbara White
Tomato Resources
• Videos
– www.extension.umd.edu
– Click on Youtube button
– Search HGIC playlist for tomatoes
• Publications
– www.extension.umd.edu/hgic
– Click on “Information Library”, “Publications” and
“Vegetable, Fruit and Herb Gardening”
– See HG 56 – IPM Series - Tomatoes
The mulch often recommended: Straw
… newspaper, compost, plastic …
any barrier between leaves and soil
Paul Rutter
HGIC Publication 70
Recommended Vegetable Cultivars
TOMATOES (* = hybrid variety)
Red: Better Boy*, Big Beef*, Big Boy*, Celebrity*,
Delicious, Early Girl*, Jet Star*, Mortgage
Lifter, Park’s Whopper*, Red Pear, Rutgers,
Stupice, Supersonic*
Pink/purple: Cherokee Purple, Eva Purple Ball,
German Johnson, Giant Belgian, Pink
Brandywine, Pruden’s Purple
Yellow: Golden Queen, Lemon Boy, Yellow Pear
Paste: Amish Paste, Roma, San Marzano, San
Remo, Super Italian, Viva Italia*
Cherry: Gardener’s Delight, Sun Cherry, Sun Gold,
Sweet 100*, Sweet Cherry, Sweet Million
Howard County Master Gardeners
suggest these varieties …
Early: Early Girl* (* = hybrid variety)
Red cherry: Sweet 100*
Orange cherry: Sun Gold*
Small red: Juliet*
Large red: Celebrity*, Better Boy*, & Supersteak*
Heirloom: Brandywine
Paste: San Marzano
Small yellow: Yellow Plum/Pear
Large orange: Kellogg’s Breakfast
Key terms: Determinate and Indeterminate
varieties, sometimes abbreviated (D) and (I)
• Determinate (or bush or patio) varieties grow
to the pre-determined height of the cultivar.
Though plants may be short, they can produce
fruit all summer. This type is great for
containers and small gardens.
• Indeterminate varieties produce fruit at
intervals along their ever-growing stems , with
blooms and fruit in all stages of development
– until frost kills the plant.
Disease ID codes help you select
resistant hybrid varieties
Totally Tomatoes
Early Girl Hybrid VFF
Totally Tomatoes
Ron Newmister
"Early Girl is dependable, has few
disease problems, and is better
adapted to varying weather
conditions than other early varieties
I've tried. It has very good flavor for
an early tomato“ – Barbara White
Sweet 100 Hybrid VF
Totally Tomatoes
August 23
Photo: Paul Kojzar
“Sweet 100 has true tomato flavor
as well as sweetness. It’s an
incredibly vigorous vine growing 6’
tall or more and producing
hundreds of tomatoes”
– Louisa Rogoff Thompson
Sun Gold Hybrid
Totally Tomatoes
“’I put a bowl of those little
orange tomatoes on the
counter,’” my neighbor said,
“’and they were gone in less
than an hour’”
– Bob
Nixon
Juliet Hybrid
Totally Tomatoes
“A great munchable – meaty & not
too sweet. A great treat to take to
the office. Resists cracking. One of
the first I pick in early summer, one
of the last in the fall” – Bob Nixon
Celebrity Hybrid
Totally Tomatoes
“Celebrity meets all my needs –
a long-season fruit, 4-oz.
tomatoes small enough to use
all of at one meal” – Louisa
Rogoff Thompson
Better Boy Hybrid VFN
Totally Tomatoes
“Great taste. Fruit to 1 lb. A
great slicer with disease
resistance. Call this one ‘Old
Faithful.’ A great choice for a firsttime tomato grower”
– Bob Nixon
Supersteak Hybrid VFN
Totally Tomatoes
“Supersteaks are great for
making sandwiches. One slice
and your job is done”
–
Paul Rutter
Paul Rutter
Brandywine
Totally Tomatoes
Paul Rutter
“Brandywines are big, pink,
heirloom tomatoes with a fabulous
old-fashioned taste. One slice per
BLT! But they don’t do well in the
dry, hot summers we’ve been
having” – Jane Hayes
San Marzano
Totally Tomatoes
Jane Hayes
“San Marzanos are prolific, rich
tasting, and their thin skin
allows for canning or freezing
without peeling” – Jane Hayes
Yellow Plum/Pear
Totally Tomatoes
“Our family has used Yellow
Plums or Yellow Pears for more
than 100 years to make tomato
preserves. They tend to split
after rains, so keep them picked”
– Bob Nixon
Kellogg’s Breakfast
Totally Tomatoes
Diane Brown
“Kellogg’s Breakfast is big &
delicious. It has a thin skin that
tends to split, so keep an eye on
it. Mine won the Third Premium
ribbon in the Large Tomato
category at the 2007 Howard
County Fair. It weighed 1¾
pounds” – Diane Brown
What can go wrong?
Marianna’s Peace
4 common problems:
• Damping off
• Blossom-end rot
• Leaves die,
beginning near soil
• “Bugs” attack
Most solutions are
simple & non-toxic
Blossom-end rot: Fruit tissue
disintegrates at blossom end
Tip: Time, lime, and water generally
solve blossom-end rot
• Generally it’s an early-season problem that “naturally goes
away”
• Remove affected fruit as soon as possible
• Add handful of ground limestone to planting soil
• Mulch to conserve moisture
• Drip irrigate deeply 1 to 2 gallons/plant per week
• Establish pH of 6.3 to 6.8 after soil test*
*Test your garden soil every 3 to 5 years. Call or email the Home
& Garden Information Center, and they will tell you how to do it
and where to get your soil analyzed.
Tip: Drip irrigate, mulch, prune,
select resistant varieties to prevent
leaf die-back diseases
• Mulch and drip irrigate to prevent soil
splashing onto leaves
• Prune lower 12”+ of leaves as plants grow
• If disease is severe, spray with a fixed
copper fungicide to slow or stop disease
• No cultivars have genetic resistance,
though some are more susceptible than
others
• Ignore: Generally late season before plant
adversely affected
• Rotate location of tomato patch
• Remove all debris after season
Tip: Make simple drip irrigation
system from jugs & buckets
Tip: Beneficial insects and simple
remedies usually control “bad
bugs” so avoid toxic chemicals
• Aphids: Predators & parasites, such as lady beetles & small
wasps, generally control. Or blast them off with your watering
hose.
• Whiteflies: Predators and parasites usually control. Or use
insecticidal soap, pyrethrum, or a combination, as directed on
the label.
• Hornworms: Hand pick and squish underfoot or drown in jar
of soapy water. Or use them as fish bait.
• Warning: Toxic sprays that kill the “bad guys” generally kill the
“good guys” too.
Hornworm saga, Part 1: You notice
droppings or missing leaves
Hornworm saga, Part 2:
You look closer …
Paul Rutter
Hornworm, Part 3:
The braconid wasps win
Photo: Rosemary Noble
How to choose good plants
• Look for short, stocky plants with dark-green leaves
• Avoid plants that evidence disease (yellow leaves) or
damage (lack of water)
• Check label for resistance to diseases & pests (VFN…)
• Check label (or catalogs) to see if variety is
determinate or indeterminate
• Shop when new plants have arrived, probably just
before the weekend
Pick up a brochure to find
out how you can become a
Master Gardener
Other resources
635
At libraries using Dewey Decimal
Classification, you can find gardening
books at this & nearby numbers.
Resources
• Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC)
– 800-342-2507
– http://extension.umd.edu/hgic
• Grow-It-Eat-It website
– http://extension.umd.edu/growit
• Master Gardener state website
– http://extension.umd.edu/mg
This program was brought to you by
Maryland Master Gardener Program
Howard County
University of Maryland Extension