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Tomato growing secrets submitted by the ThriftyFun community.
The next most frequent problem is end rot. The best solution is staking and tying up the tomatoes and getting a soil test. The usual problem is Calcium deficiency. Laying on the ground just accelerates the problem.
By Laramay
Mulch will stave off lots of problems. Deep watering will also help. Here in zone 7, we sometimes dig a hole beside the planting hole and set a 2 liter pop bottle with holes punched in the bottom into that hole, and backfill the dirt. Keep the cap. Fill the bottle with water and adjust the cap to allow the water to flow out the holes-- works well. However (isn't there always one of those!), this spring we were rained upon. Like I was asking folks if they'd started their own "ark" and some of my bottles floated out of the ground, funny!
By 2oma
By Maryeileen
By Beth - MA
By Joyce Wis
Related: 
Growing Tomatoes
By
06/04/2010
We keep having rain everyday, so I'm only watering these every other day, as the afternoon showers really don't give them enough rain. I will have some ripe pear shaped tomatoes soon! I also use toilet paper rolls to make peat pots for my plants that I started from seed, which I wish I had started sooner.
By
06/04/2010
I plant my tomatoes in the bottom of milk jugs, with another plant on top such as peppers, and eggplants, I also made two milk jugs into a self watering planter foe my strawberries, and used drink bottles to make a self watering / mini green house for the rose cuttings I'm propagating. I fed my plants used coffee grounds, and they loved it, their stems and roots seemed to double in size! Here is a recent picture of my garden.
By greg (Guest Post)
05/19/2008
I purchase my plants when they are about a foot tall then pull about the first 8 inches of leaves off before planting. Then i bury the stem and root ball on its side with just the last 4 inches sticking up above the soil. When the plants grow to about a foot above the soil i put about 8 inches of mulched leaves which i gather with my bagging mower. As a result my plants produce more fruit and grow to about 8 feet tall without the aid of fertilizer.
By Sue (Guest Post)
09/28/2007
I also use manure. You can add a bit (like a plop!) to a 5 gallon bucket of water, and you have fertilizer for the whole season! Watering is the trick. I use black plastic under all my tomatoes, and when it's dry I water at the roots. Tomatoes need huge amounts of water, I like to count to 10 when pouring water at the root of the plant. Also, having black plastic under all my plants seems to cut down on over watering when it rains a lot. Don't forget to snap off the bottom shoots that grow near the ground, even if they have already sprouted green minis! This will cause the plant to produce better fruit on top. Staking is important, support those stems, especially when using natural fertilizer!
By
09/21/2007
Love tomatoes - Live in North East
I use gallon milk jugs - buried between every 2 plants or plant tomatoes stagered on wide rows and 1 jug will cover 3 plants. Fill jugs every other day or as needed. Add a little fertalizer every other week times 2 or 3 times . I like wire cages to stake with.
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