Growing tomatoes & Peppers

Successful seed germination for tomatoes and peppers can be ensured by providing optimal conditions of temperature, moisture and light

When you are ready to select the heirloom tomatoes or peppers you want to grow it is helpful to clarify your end use and select accordingly

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

Signs of Nutritional Deficiencies in Heirloom Tomato Seedlings and solutions to help prevent a range of tomato diseases

Detailed tips on how to achieve successful tomato & pepper seed germination, especially with heirloom tomatoes

This is a summary of the flavor, growth performance and unique qualities of what I consider to be the best heirloom tomato varieties. I have been growing, tasting and testing heirloom tomatoes since 1997 and this guide is based on that cumulative experience. It includes the characteristics of each color category of heirloom varieties. What …

Many people who are new to  growing heirloom tomatoes in the ground start with a tomato plant, a bag of fertilizer and a tomato “cage” purchased at a garden center.  Here are some alternatives to typical cages that will result in more tomatoes, a longer season for tomatoes and higher quality tomatoes. Range of Methods …

When I sell the tomato plants at the Farmers’ markets in early spring, customers are always curious about “when” they’ll get their tomatoes.  The answer is definitely one of those, “it depends”  qualifiers.  Here are a few tips to help answer this question: Criteria for Getting the Earliest Tomatoes (Heirloom or Hybrid) In general, there …

Tips on preventing cracking or splitting of heirloom tomato skins – why they crack, how to avoid it & best varietites to choose.

Blossom end rot is a common disease that occurs in tomatoes, particularly if growing tomatoes in pots. Here are tips for prevention and cures

Buying heirloom tomato plants can be confusing. Here are tips on what to look for in terms of health and growing conditions.

Hardening off young tender plants so they can withstand the heat, wind, rain and cold swings of Spring is the most important thing you can do before transplanting seedlings in your garden, particularly if you started your plants indoors. For me, hardening off young plants is a difficult task because I grow so many of …

For many people in urban settings, growing tomatoes and edible plants in pots is necessary due to space constraints (or lack of an aread with 6 hours of direct sunlight). This video and post explains the 6 key requirements for growing food in containers or pots.  Benefits of Growing Food in Pots As noted above, …

Starting tomato and pepper seeds is a science and an art and this is a “how-to” post for successful seed germination