Here’s how to get every last tomato from your plants. Quick Summary: Tomatoes cannot tolerate frost. Extend the season by covering plants when nighttime temps drop below 60°F, removing flowers and small fruit that won’t mature, reducing watering to encourage ripening, and harvesting green tomatoes before a killing frost. Cold-tolerant varieties like Glacier, Stupice, and …
Quick Summary: A salsa container garden needs two 24-inch planters: one with a staked tomato, garlic, onions, and cilantro; one with a pepper plant and more onions and cilantro. Choose meaty, high-acid tomatoes (Opalka, Box Car Willie, Druzba) and jalapeños for classic salsa. Full sun (6+ hours), consistent watering, and regular fertilizing are essential. Harvest …
These are the top 5 seed catalogs for heirloom tomatoes based on selections for flavor, growth habits and cost
Quick Summary: Quick Summary: A French tian is ratatouille’s elegant cousin: thinly sliced eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes arranged vertically in a robust tomato-pepper sauce. This dish showcases late summer vegetables at their peak. Prep: 30 min | Cook: 1 hr 15 min | Serves: 4 Jump to: RECIPE | How is Tian Different …
Quick Summary: LED shop lights cost more upfront but last longer and produce faster seedling growth than fluorescents. For starting tomatoes and peppers indoors, 5000-lumen daylight LEDs positioned about 4 inches above seedlings for 14 to 16 hours daily works well. Read time: 8 min | Experience level: Beginner to intermediate Jump to: LED vs …
Quick Summary: Match tomato varieties to their best use. Slicers (Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, Carmello) for sandwiches and fresh eating. Paste types (Opalka, San Marzano, Amish Paste) for sauces. Colorful varieties (Carbon, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra) for salads. Cherry tomatoes (Sungold, Sweet 100, Matt’s Wild Cherry) for snacking. Read time: 8 min | Experience level: Beginner …
The color of heirloom tomatoes can often relate to a particular flavor profile. This post examines the most popular colors and flavors of heirloom tomatoes
Tips for potting up tomato seedlings to ensure healthy and robust tomatoes and peppers throughout the growing season
Growing tomatoes in pots can be tricky. Here are some tips to help make your container gardening of tomatoes more successful
Detailed tips on how to achieve successful tomato & pepper seed germination, especially with heirloom tomatoes
Quick Summary: Tomato color correlates with flavor. Orange varieties are sweet and fruity. Yellow tomatoes range from mild to tangy. Black/purple tomatoes have rich, smoky, complex flavors. Pink tomatoes offer balanced “old-fashioned” taste. Red tomatoes are bolder with higher acid. This guide covers the best varieties in each color based on 25+ years of trials …
Quick Summary: Comparing four tomato support methods; cages, staking, sprawling, and fencing. After 23 years of trials, I recommend sturdy hog wire fencing for the best combination of yield, easy maintenance, and durability. Cages work for beginners with small gardens; staking suits containers and limited space; sprawling is low-effort but high-waste. Determinate varieties may not …
Quick Summary: Smaller tomatoes (cherries, plums) ripen first. Among larger varieties, black tomatoes like Paul Robeson and Carbon are earliest. Bloody Butcher is consistently my earliest red. Soil temperature above 60°F and ambient temps around 75°F speed things up. Read time: 8 min | Experience level: Beginner to intermediate Jump to: Keys for Earliest Tomatoes …
Tips on preventing cracking or splitting of heirloom tomato skins – why they crack, how to avoid it & best varietites to choose.
How to grow Heirloom Tomatoes Upside Down in the Topsy Turvy Planters for growing edibles in city gardens