Top tips for growing tip-top tomatoes

By ERIC BARRETT

Ohio State University Extension

The tomatoes are in the ground. Hopefully, you know you are not done until picking time.

Here are my tips for great tomatoes this season:

Staking: Stake your tomatoes now. Remember where the roots are and avoid driving a stake through them. Know how you are going to tie before staking.

You can use a cage in place of staking, but you’ll need to train stems to the cage and prune out the massive foliage in the center of the cage to improve airflow and reduce disease.

Mulching: Mulching makes the life of the tomato and the gardener easier all summer long. It reduces splashing of soil-borne diseases onto the leaves, reduces weeds, and conserves moisture. I love using flat newspapers, held down with a sprinkling of bark mulch. It works great all year and decomposes by the next growing season.

Pruning/Suckering: The small branch starting between the main stem and the current branch is the sucker. Get it out of there. You can use your fingers, but if you don’t have strong nails, you can tear the main stem. Pruners are a great option. Use them to remove large branches and leaves against the ground, allowing for better air flow to dry dew/water off the leaves in the morning. This will reduce the effects of early blight.

Watering: Apply at least 1 inch of water per week and 2 inches once you get fruit. Otherwise, you are likely to see blossom-end rot or smaller fruit.

Pick nearly ripe fruit before a heavy rain: Heirloom tomatoes are famous for cracking. Pay attention to fruit ripening and the weather to reduce this cracking phenomenon.

Diagnose problems early: Bring the samples of diseases or other issues into our clinic at 490 S. Broad St., Canfield. Master gardener volunteers staff the clinic Mondays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon. For a complete list of tips, go to our new OSU Extension factsheet at http://go.osu.edu/tomatotips .