How to Grow Tomatoes: From Planting to a Big Summer Harvest

Tomatoes are the most popular plant in American vegetable gardens, and for good reason: nothing from the store tastes like a ripe tomato picked warm off the vine. They're not difficult to grow, but they reward a few good habits.

Choose the right variety

Determinate (bush) tomatoes grow to a set height, ripen most of their fruit within a few weeks and suit containers and canning. Indeterminate (vining) tomatoes keep growing and producing until frost, but need tall stakes or cages. For beginners, a cherry tomato such as 'Sungold' or 'Sweet 100' is the most forgiving choice. Look for disease-resistance codes on the label (V, F, N, TSWV), which signal resistance to common wilts, nematodes and viruses.

Planting

• Timing: plant outdoors after your last frost date, once nights stay above about 50°F and the soil has warmed to around 60°F.
• Sun: at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sun. More sun means more fruit.
• Plant deep: strip the lower leaves and bury two-thirds of the stem. Tomatoes grow roots along buried stems, which gives a stronger plant.
• Spacing: about 18 to 24 inches for determinate types and 24 to 36 inches for indeterminate types, so air can move between plants.
• Support: put stakes or cages in at planting time so you don't damage roots later.

Water consistently

Tomatoes need about 1 to 2 inches of water a week, delivered deeply at the base of the plant. Inconsistent watering, dry spells followed by heavy soaks, causes most tomato troubles: blossom end rot (a dark, leathery patch on the bottom of the fruit, linked to poor calcium uptake) and cracked fruit. A 2- to 3-inch layer of straw or shredded leaf mulch keeps soil moisture even and stops soil from splashing onto leaves, which spreads disease.

Feeding and pruning

Mix compost into the planting hole and use a balanced or tomato-specific fertilizer according to the label. Too much nitrogen produces lush leaves and few tomatoes. On indeterminate plants, pinch off some of the suckers (shoots in the joint between the main stem and a branch) to keep plants manageable and improve airflow. Remove lower leaves that touch the soil.

Harvest

Pick tomatoes when they're fully colored and give slightly to a gentle squeeze. If a heat wave or heavy rain is coming, you can pick them when they first show color and let them finish ripening on the counter, stem side down. Never refrigerate tomatoes you plan to eat fresh; cold dulls their flavor. Growing in a raised bed? Our raised bed guide covers the soil mix.

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