Park Seed Garden Journal

It’s getting to be tomato time here at Park Seed. If you haven’t started your tomato seedlings, you will soon. We all will. We can’t resist the almighty staple of kitchen gardens everywhere. I thought I might put together a little list of info to help the casual gardener. I started online to compare notes, but Googling “tomato tips” gives you a collection of Top-Tens that would put David Letterman to shame. Most of the info is good, but it seems like these people are just writing about tomatoes to be writing about tomatoes. I will offer you the keys to the tomato palace.

I’ve pulled Park Seed’s culture notes on tomatoes and I’m gonna give it all to you. I’m just going to copy straight from the Park Seed articles, giving you the dirt on germinating and transplanting, tomato care and culture, insects that kill tomato plants, tomato plant diseases, and, finally, a little trouble-shooting list for what’s ailing your tomato plant.

Here’s the first little section:

HABITAT: Native to the Andes region of South America. Zones 3-10.

HABIT: Annual, shrubby and vining plant to 6′ or more, bearing round, oblong, or pear-shaped edible fruits in pink, white, yellow, and red. Size, shape, and color dependent upon varieties. Matures 55-85 days, depending upon varieties. Tomatoes classed in three main types:

1. Determinate: Small, compact plants with 12-18"stems which stop bearing when they reach full size.

2. Semi-Determinate: Slightly larger with 18-24" stems which also cease production at full size.

3. Indeterminate: Vine type plant growing and bearing indefinitely unless killed by frost or disease. Most suited for staking. Growth can be controlled by pinching out top growth and removing side shoots (laterals).

SEED GERMINATION AND CULTURE:

1. Tomatoes prefer soil with a pH of 5.5-7.5.

2. For best results, sow seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before last spring frost on moistened Park’s Grow Mix, covering lightly and keeping moist but not wet and maintaining 70°within the soil medium during germination, which requires 8-10 days.

3. Transplant when large enough to handle to peat pots or sow direct to peat pots or pellets and shift to the garden when weather permits and roots emerge from pot walls.

4. Seed may also be sown outdoors when soil warms and night temperatures remain above 65°.

5. Incorporate 3 pounds of balanced garden fertilizer such as 8-8-8 per 100 sq. ft. into the soil prior to planting.

6. Set out plants when weather permits and plants are well established (preferably 6-10" tall), 18-24" apart, in rows 2′ apart in full sun and a good garden soil with excellent drainage. Set potted plants with the pots approximately 2" below the soil surface. Plants will root along the stem.

7. Tall plants may actually be set by placing the pot and plant on its side, covering all but 4-5" of the top of the plant. Resulting crop will be improved.

8. Stake indeterminate varieties, although if room is not a problem, they may be grown on the ground.

tandrews@parkseed.com