Tomato Varieties, Planting Tips, and Common Pests

Tomatoes are a garden favorite, offering a variety of flavors, colors, and sizes. Whether you're growing them for fresh use, canning, or just for fun, there are numerous types to explore, as well as techniques to ensure they thrive in your garden.

Interesting Tomato Varieties to Try
Tomatoes come in a wide array of shapes, colors, and flavors, making them perfect for experimentation in the garden. When choosing varieties, it’s important to understand the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes. Determinate tomatoes tend to set all their fruit at once, making them ideal for canning, while indeterminate tomatoes provide a continuous harvest throughout the season.
Some tomato varieties worth trying include:

• Sweet Varieties: If you love sweet tomatoes, try varieties like Watermelon, Dad's Sunset (orange), and Kellogg's Breakfast. These varieties have higher sugar content and less acidity, giving them a sweet, rich flavor.
• Roma and Paste Types: For canning, Roma tomatoes like San Marzano produce thicker fruit with less gel and fewer seeds. Oxheart type tomato is another great option, offering a similar shape to Roma but larger, and with more flavor.
• General Purpose Tomatoes: Varieties like Big Zac and Beef Master produce large, reliable harvests, making them ideal for gardeners looking for an all-purpose tomato.
• Unique Colors: Tomatoes come in various colors, including purple, yellow, and even green. Try varieties like Cherokee Purple, Kellogg's Breakfast, or Anna’s Noir for something a little different.

Experiment with different varieties to find which ones taste the best to you and grow well in your garden. Tomato varieties vary in flavor, heat tolerance, and disease resistance, making trial and error part of the fun!

How to Plant a Tomato Plant
When planting tomatoes, it’s important to consider the timing and technique to give your tomato plant a good start. Tomatoes prefer nighttime temperatures above 50°F to avoid stunting growth. The key to healthy tomato plants is a strong root system and a thick stem, which can be encouraged through proper planting techniques.
Here are some helpful tips:

• Soil Preparation: Before planting, ensure the soil is loose and well-draining. You want to burry most of the plant’s stem. All along the stem the plant will sprout new roots. Laying the plant down in a trench and covering most of the stem with soil allows the stem to sprout roots.
• Pruning: Before planting, remove any lower leaves from the tomato plant, as they can touch the soil and become a source of disease. This helps the plant focus its energy on growing strong roots. Also, removing some of each of the top leaves helps the plant shed water and not get beaten into the ground.
• Watering: Water the plant thoroughly before planting to prevent root dehydration. After planting, continue watering to keep the soil moist, but avoid waterlogging.

For those looking to get an early start, some gardeners use a “trench method” in a bucket. Cut out most of the bottom of the bucket and place a piece of cardboard over the hole. This allows you to bring in the young plants on cool nights, but later in the season the roots can grow through the now decomposing cardboard to reach the soil below. Regardless of the method, ensure the plant receives enough sunlight (at least six hours per day) for optimal growth.

Common Pests That Love Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a magnet for pests, and it’s important to stay vigilant to protect your plants from damage. Some of the most common pests that target tomatoes include:

• Cutworms: These nocturnal feeders can damage seedlings by cutting them off at the base. To prevent cutworm damage, create a barrier around the base of your plant using aluminum foil or a ring diatomaceous earth.
• Aphids: These tiny pests feed on the tender leaves and stems of tomato plants, causing the leaves to curl and distort. Aphids reproduce rapidly, so early intervention is crucial. You can remove them manually by spraying the plant with a strong jet of water or by allowing natural predators like ladybugs to come and take care of the problem for you.
• Hornworms: Tomato and tobacco hornworms are large caterpillars that can cause significant damage by consuming tomato foliage. They are difficult to spot due to their camouflage, but regular checks will help. If you find them, simply pick them off by hand or use a safe targeted insecticide like Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which targets caterpillars without harming beneficial insects.

By monitoring your plants regularly and using organic control methods when necessary, you can keep pests at bay and ensure a bountiful harvest.
Conclusion
Growing tomatoes involves more than just planting the plant. Choosing the right variety, understanding planting techniques, and staying on top of pest control are important for a successful tomato harvest. Whether you prefer sweet, tangy, or unique-colored tomatoes, experimenting with different varieties and methods can help you discover the best tomatoes for your garden.

We have a large catalog of videos and information, you can use the links below or visit the list on a separate page here.

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