9 Tomato Growing Tips (That Actually Work)

After busting some tomato myths, it's time to look at tomato growing tips that ACTUALLY work. Join @jacquesinthegarden @Fluent Garden and Kevin as they get into some of their favorite tips for juicy, sweet tomatoes.

00:00 - Intro
00:24 - Use Less Nitrogen When Fertilizing
01:21 - Fermenting Tomato Hack
02:56 - Ethylene Ripen Fruit
04:04 - Stagger Harvest Windows
05:31 - Planting Deep
06:44 - Topping Tomatoes
08:06 - Large Fruit = More Sun
08:57 - Cloning Your Tomatoes
10:18 - Growing More Varieties
11:18 - Bonus Hack

IN THIS VIDEO

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[Clickster]

Hey Kevin, what I like to do with my TOO MANY tomatoes is clean and store them in the freezer in ziplock bag. When I'm ready to make a sauce I pull out the bag, let them thaw completely and the skin slides right off the flesh (easy peasy). Then I proceed with making my sauce. This freezing method at their ripe stage can make the sauce give a slightly sweeter profile, depending on the variety of the tomat. This works Great for my San Marzano and Romas. Good Luck!

[katrinagarland]

I love Jacques garden tips BUT I am not sure the procedure of fermenting seeds as he explained it. I was left going "What am I supposed to do after I squeeze the tomatoes". Please have him elaborate on this. I really want to know how to do. Thanks much!

[deee]

Years ago in California I always had a garden. The man across the street from us had a HUGE tree with enormous leaves. I would collect all the fallen leaves I could and dig them into the soil. I know it sounds like I’m telling a tall tale but….I had the biggest and best tomatoes I’ve ever seen. Not only were they huge but so sweet and delicious. Never bought fertilizer just used those pesky leaves. 😊. Of course California is a great place to grow anything. I was a great gardener in the “old” days. Miss it.

[jeannamcgregor]

If you plan on canning your tomatoes, having a lot ripen at once is the goal. I highly recommend learning to can; it's incredibly satisfying, not to mention delicious!

[zmavrick]

I have been gardening for 50 years and never watered or fertilized tomato plants (except watering in transplants). I do mulch well with whatever I can get my hands on that year, and the years I was in hotter parts of the country I planted in locations with shaded afternoon sun. A few years ago (a drought year with 15 inches) I drove my neighbor crazy as he was soaking his every 2 days and mine were actually doing better. I believe that the better root system can help against cold weather as I have occasionally had plants survive light frosts. The down side is any time it rains they split quite a bit, so I pick any fruit starting to ripen before it rains to ripen inside.

[sstills]

This year was one of my best tomato seasons. I used 10-10-10 and a big metal barrel of wood ash that I got from somebody that used a wood stove all winter. Early in the season, I cut off the lower branches but there was a quick growth spurt and all of the plants grew into monsters in a matter of days. I decided to withhold pruning and still have hundreds of tomatoes. The biggest problem is I am forced to share my huge lower tomatoes with the many chipmunks that live in the yard and Hank the woodchuck that lives under the shed.

[bjwashndry]

LOVE that you mentioned that philosophy in viticulture of “stressing the plant out” a little bit… it’s kind of weird, but if the plant senses it might not make it, it will put all its energy into producing fruit that will hopefully sustain the species. I guess it works. Plants have us trained

[loriki]

You don't have to use a sucker that small. Twice this season, I've accidently broken huge branches off my tomato plants. I plucked all the tomatoes off them. Put them in water for a few days till I seen roots and then back to the garden they went. They are producing as many tomatoes as the other plants.

[katiediane]

Thanks for all the hacks! I’d love to learn more about fermenting the seeds, though. It wasn’t explained exactly how to do it. Maybe a video from where Jacque left off to show what to do next?

[jeangraze]

I did not garden this year but I have 2 beds of volunteer tomatoes. I get about a handful or two of tomatoes everyday. No fertilizer, no watering or pruning. I have a volunteer tomato that's probably a cross between sungold (only small tomato I had last year) and black krim taste and coloring, slightly sweeter. Holy cow was it good! Probably best tasting tomato I've ever had.

[MMuraseofSandvich]

If you end up with way more tomatoes than you can eat, consider getting a canning setup (mason jars, a big ol' pot, and some tools). You'll need some citric acid to get the correct pH for canning, but this will help ensure you have tomato sauce or tomato chunks all year round. Remember, the best store-bought tomatoes actually come in cans because those are harvested when they're fully ripe.

You can also freeze them, but you'll want to prep them into sauce first. I don't know if frozen sliced tomatoes are any good.

One of the first tomato tips I learned was from a local expert being interviewed by the local NPR member station, and it's the deep planting tip. He would just cut off all but the top leaves of a seedling, bury that sucker way way deep, and go from there. When I did that, I started getting my first tomatoes.

[leilaniponcedeleon]

I have never grown tomatoes but this makes me want to grow them 😋

[baronthiessen]

There's only two thing that money can't can't buy, that's true love and home grown tomatoes!

[silverskyranch]

I've actually never heard of 'dry farming', yet that's kinda what I unintentionally do with my plants. I'm in Texas, where we have heavy clay soil, and heavy winter/spring rains, but dry summers. My tomatoes do amazing in the spring, but get very stressed in summer due to heat & drought. I give them just enough water to keep them alive in the hot summer, and little to no fertilizer, but then once late summer/fall rains hit, I re-apply the fertilizer, and end up with a 2nd crop of tomatoes in November! Right now I have a literal wall of tomato and pepper plants that are producing like crazy.

[vanessaadams]

Never had an issue with my tomatoes not ripening fast enough but this season has been a mess! Thank you for that I have been gardening for 3 years and had not heard about topping the plants. I literally have 4 weeks to last frost and a bunch of massive green tomatoes lol so I just paused the video and went out to top them all hahaha carry on now

[PegsGarden]

Just started another round of cherry tomato seeds a few weeks ago here in West Central Florida, zone 9b, Fall is the best time for cucumbers and tomatoes, less pest pressure 🍅🍅🍅🍅🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱

[saal]

Ive had tomatoes come up everywhere this year. Turns out the seeds survived the “almost done” compost. I found one clump of about 40 seedlings that all sprouted from a not quite broken down cherry tomato 😅

[nickadams]

A lot of times I get these huge healthy tomato plants that grow right out of the compost after being in there for years

[doncook]

Jacques talked about fermenting tomato seeds and showed squeezing into jar….but jumped right into the advantage without explaining what to do once in

[renestewart]

Thank you. Can’t wait for our growing season (southern hemisphere - South Africa)