5 Tomato Grow Mistakes To Avoid

Tomatoes ARE gardening in my opinion. They're the plant we most often think of when we think of a lush, beautiful garden. So many varieties, so many options...but also some mistakes can be made:

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Intro
1:07 - Wrong Type and Variety
2:25 - Wrong Support Method
4:49 - Improper Watering Technique
6:50 - Pruning Fails
8:48 - Fertilizing Errors
10:27 - Bonus Tip

DISCLAIMER

[epicgardening]

Lemme know your fav variety below! Always looking for new ones to try #addict

[Ostwaldify]

Here’s a tip for starting from SEED. When you pick a particularly perfect tomato, save some of the seeds onto a paper towel. Space them out evenly on the towel and allow to dry. You’ve just created a “seed-strip” that can be stored for use later. When ready to plant, place the seed-strip onto your soil. Next, cover with another, very thin layer of soil, and water. As the seeds germinate and grow, the towel disintegrates. You know what to do next!

[BeastMacin]

Nothing screams “urban gardening” like some garden education with cars screeching in the background. So real 😙👌

[jjbud]

Ah, years ago I had a garden and I had 12 "cages" we made with livestock fencing. They were 6 feet tall. We also had horses and lots of leaves. Each fall we would fill the garden with leaves and manure and dig it in. I ordered a few varieties of tomato seeds, started the plants inside, and planted them in the garden when it was the right time after turning and loosening the soil, and then just watched the plants grow. By the end of the season, the plants had grown out of the tops of their cages and hung over the top and reached the ground. We never did another thing to the plants, except to water when we didn't get enough rain. I supplied our entire neighborhood with tomatoes every year. They were soooo good.

[corneliastaub]

Tipp: I worked in tomato production and what we used to do is cut the lower leaves on a regular basis. That means you only leave up to 4 leaves until the next fruit. Once you harvest that fruit (because the lowest hangin one always ripen first) again you remove the leaves so that from the next fruit to the bottom there remain 4 leaves. This way the tomato ripens faster which is particularly important towards the end of the season.

[lastblow]

Over-watered a foot and a half tall tomato plant couple of weeks ago. The roots were rotting and the plant was loosing its lower leaves. Saved it by half burying it in a bigger pot with dry soil. Started watering again after a few days. Growing, blooming and fruiting now, happy and proud!

[karolina]

My second year growing tomatoes. This year straight from the seed. I can't even say how proud and happy I am watching them grow.

[thimovijfschaft]

I live in the Netherlands and I just tied my tomatoes to my Fence. Works perfectly well. The plant is absolutely huge and produces a lot of tomatoes that taste good. The fence is really shitty, but that actually helps pollinating the plants because the entire fence shakes when it is already a little windy.

[boonedog]

A great speaking voice! A very informative video. You could be a television news announcer, or a radio guy! You are also the genuine article. You have passion and you care. Great job!

[missadams]

I miss the days of grabbing a warm tomato from my grandmas garden, just add salt and ate it like an apple . Trying to grow my own now, thank you for all the great tips 🍅😋

[isabelleblain]

Not a mistake but a tip I learned this year. I had missed some suckers, which grew to about 6-8 inches. I cut them off, planted them in soil and watered them daily. I now have 2 free plants growing well and flowering. Yeah, more tomatoes!

[ericmurphy]

I did an interesting experiment with my tomatoes last season. I had some I watered regularly, but the other group, once they were grown enough, I just let them use the rain cycle. Those tomatoes actually turned out better

[nannaprobe]

This is a brilliant youtube channel! Due to the recent death of my Dad I inherited his greenhouse and some very young tomato plants, but unfortunately I didnt inherit his knowledge. I had to move the greenhouse and the plants (my Dad cultured them) to my home. I don't have a clue what I'm doing but have learned, from this video, that everthing I have done has been wrong. I just wanted to save my Dads plants from perishing which they haven't and they have ripening tomatoes on them but I can see the plants aren't really happy, so I will endeavour to improve what I can and when I grow tomatoes next season I will be armed with good knowledge and experience. Thanks Epic Gardener 😁

[cgandy]

I've been working this summer with a local farmer that has been growing heirloom tomatoes for over 20 years! I helped him plant over 100 tomato plants so far so I have a couple of different tips for ya! In regards to how he prunes he tends to leave as many leaves on the plant as possible, even the ones on the ground. He keeps an eye on them and only removes those if they start to show signs of mold or rot. He is always very big about leaving as many leaves as possible so to protect the tomatoes from harsh sun. He also has a lot of space and uses the poles method but instead of weaving the string in between the plant he sets up a net (I####I####I) which which he strings very taut in between the poles. As the tomatoes grow he has clips that he uses to attach the stem to different areas of the net as the plant crawls upwards.

Love your videos Kevin! I work as a chef in NJ and loved your video for Riverpark Farm!!

[BrendaVen]

Last year was my first experience with tomatoes. I used a combination of starter plants and seeds. I also planted a lot for fear nothing would grow. While I did not prune, water properly, mulch and nor did I properly support the vines I had a measure of success. This time around I am going to try the tips. Thank you

[roblink]

I'm on my 4th year of transforming my urban yard into a working micro farm and I dig what you are trying to do by getting people to grow their own food, outstanding

[sharonawalker]

This is my first try. I’m growing a cherry tomato on my 4th floor rooftop patio near Wrigley Field. Abundonza! My 6 year old grandson loves to water it. He says its the most “precious” plant he’s ever seen. He’s ecstatic that there are now clusters turning red. I’ve always been a flower gardener & have let my grands help. Thanks for your guidance.

[JK-eudu]

The time stamps on the video and titles of each section are EXTREMELY HELPFUL and you're a cool dude for putting that effort in!!! I always watch the whole thing but I often find myself returning to videos to find a specific tip. This makes it really easy, thanks

[eclecticfavors]

Last season, about a month before the end of the growing season for zone 8A, I topped my indeterminate tomato plants as instructed on another channel. The reason being, it stopped the plants from growing endless new blooms/fruit at the top and concentrated energy to ripen the green tomatoes already on the plant before the weather killed it in late Sept/Oct. Prior seasons I did not top the plants before season's end, and the tons of green tomatoes on the plants never ripened. I guess, I would not overlook topping altogether. It sure worked for me. Almost all of my fruit ripened before fall. I think you just have to do it at the right time for your zone and situation. And don't be afraid to lose the small tomatoes at the top. They were never going to ripen anyway.

[parkerbarnes]

10:49 I think the one slight exception to "all tomatoes can be used for all purposes" is canning. Storing tomatoes requires that use you fruits below a specific pH level, meaning the tomato must be acidic. If you want to can and store a very sweet, low acid tomato, you may have to add some lemon juice or other means of lowering the pH.