gardening tips for tomato plants?

[ballrific]

have a small garden with tomato, jalapeno, chilip peppers, etc..not a real complex batch; ive had so many different suggestions, just curious to hear some more. I don't mean from the start since all these plants are fully grown; just watering and fertilizing suggestions, etc...

ps Ive heard you should water tomatos every other day.

thanks in advance.

 

[Mrmyke709]

Cages will help when they get too big.
Lightly thump the blooms to increase pollination.
Use a good fertilizer every other week when you water.
I would water every day if it's hot. But, it depends on the drainage of your soil.

 

[Hornin NYC]

i ate my first home grown tomato last night. Awesome.

 

[LazyEngineer]

Hornin NYC - I hope you are 3 years old - otherwise you have wasted a lot of your life having never eaten homegrown tomatoes.

If you aren't an organic gardener, I would keep the tomatoes sprayed regularly to prevent spider mites and other insects from ruining your yield. I use "Seven" insecticide about once every two weeks. This is especially important when the plants are young as there are a lot of bugs that like to eat the tender new leaves.

I have also had problems with birds eating the tomatoes once they are bright and red. One mockingbird ruined quite a few of my Roma tomatoes earlier in the year. Thus, I set up some bamboo cages with bird netting around the tomatoes and the problem is solved.

I know it's too early this year, but you should plant tomatoes that still set fruit in the extreme Texas heat. Right now my "Better Boy" tomatoes are still setting fruit. I have around 12-15 tomatoes per plant.

Another suggestion is to plant the tomatoes where they get morning sun, but are in at least partial shade by the time 4-5 p.m. rolls around. Otherwise, you may get tomatoes that are split open.

 

[ballrific]

I have a "drip" hose that goes throughout the garden; with all the rain we've received lately, Im just not certain how much water they need; Ive been turning on the drip hose for about 20 minutes every other day; I have no idea if that's enough b/c sometimes when they get too much water from irregular rain, the leaves can look as if they are drying up, needing water, but that's not the case.

 

[7Titles]

mulch, the plants will appreciate the cooler soil.

 

[hornian]

I've heard that after you get your first batch, you can prune them back int he lower "branches"/ones that have already produced for better results. Is that right?

 

[Mrmyke709]

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[LazyEngineer]

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[Mrmyke709]

Long term exposure breaks down the connection between nerve endings.
Symptoms are similar to Parkinson's Disease.

 

[LazyEngineer]

I guess the question is: How much exposure is bad?

Exposure to butter leads to heart disease if you eat two sticks a day.

 

[K-Man]

If you have a baby put the placenta in the ground under the tomato plant.

 

[LazyEngineer]

The wife is having our first child in about 5 weeks. I'm going to have to talk to the doctor and request that placenta...