If you’re growing heirloom tomatoes this summer, then it’s a simple September garden job to save tomato seeds so you can grow free plants next year. What’s more, harvest tomato seeds and you won’t only save money but create plants that are perfectly suited to the growing conditions in your garden or greenhouse. Save your own tomato seeds every year and you will create stronger, happier, healthier plants. And you know what that means: you'll grow even more tasty tomatoes, year after year!

One average-sized tomato typically carries a hundred or more seeds, so you don’t need to sacrifice much of your precious crop. Strong tomato seed – and this method magically separates the strongest seeds to harvest – remains viable for five years, too.

You can only save seeds from heirloom or open-pollinated tomato varieties (those that are pollinated naturally by bees) but this encompasses most of the tomatoes we all love to grow at home from Brandywine beefsteaks and San Marzano plum tomatoes to smoky heirloom Black Cherry and tangy Green Zebra. Don’t bother saving seed from F1 hybrid tomato varieties as it won't produce the same plant.

Here’s how to save tomato seeds and store them safely to enjoy free plants and abundant harvests next year.

1. Pick a Perfect Tomato

Select your strongest, most productive tomato plant, and pick the very best tomato you can find that’s fully mature and slightly overripe.

2. Extract the Seeds

Slice the tomato in half then scoop out the seeds and their jelly-like pulp into a glass jar. With smaller tomatoes, you can simply squeeze the seeds straight into a clean glass jar. Label each jar if you’re saving a few different tomato varieties.

3. Soak the Seed

Next you’re going to soak the seed. Fermenting tomato seeds in this way separates the seed from the pulp, which is vital as this gel inhibits germination. Pour water into the jar, aiming for a 1:1 ratio so there’s a roughly equal volume of tomato seeds and water. Lay a square of paper towel over the opening and secure with a rubber band around the jar rim to keep out flies without obstructing airflow.

Now wait a few days for the mix to ferment and the gel to break down. Keep the jar out of direct sunlight but in a warm spot where you’ll see it, because you need to remember to agitate the mix by giving it a gentle swirl every day. A kitchen countertop next to the kettle is perfect!

4. Separate the Seed from the Pulp

The mix is ready when, looking at the jar from the side, you can see it has started to separate with the pulp floating to the top and some seeds sunk to the bottom. This typically takes 4-5 days. A layer of mold or scum may also form across the surface when fermenting tomato seed, and that’s nothing to worry about. Pour in more water and, as the seeds settle, those that sink to the bottom are the heavy, viable seeds you want to keep. Those that float to the surface along with any scum or mold should be discarded.

Slowly tip the jar so the pulp and scum layer runs out but the viable seeds remain in the jar, or use a spoon to scoop that top goop out. Repeat the process of adding water to the jar, letting the heavy seeds settle and pouring off the top layer, to clean the remaining seeds. For a final rinse, tip the seeds into a fine-mesh sieve and hold under running cold water, rubbing seeds with the back of a wooden spoon to remove any last bits of gel if needs be.

5. Dry the Cleaned Seed

Tip the seed onto paper towel and pat dry, then put on a non-stick surface such as a glass chopping board or a glazed plate. Leave them to dry for 2 weeks out of direct sunlight but in a warm spot with good airflow, gently separating any clumps after a couple of days.

6. Store Seeds Safely

Once seeds are fully dry, put them in a paper envelope and store in a dark, cool, dry spot. A tin in a frost-free garage is ideal, and adding a sachet of silica gel to your seed tin will hoover up any damp and prevent seeds molding. If you're a keen tomato grower and saving seed from lots of different varieties, a seed storage box with separate compartments like this 64-Slot Seed Organizer Box from Walmart makes it easy to sort seed, and it effectively blocks moisture to retain 98% seed viability.

Easy! And now you have a store of tomato seed that you know is well suited to the exact growing conditions in your garden or greenhouse, for a bigger, better crop next summer. Keep growing tomatoes and harvesting and storing seed for a few years and, especially if you have the room to grow a few plants, you can evolve the variety to suit your tastes too. You’ll find one plant produces particularly tasty tomatoes, grows extra-long trusses of fruit, or brings a heavy harvest in a relatively compact space, and by selecting those seeds you can bring that beneficial trait to the fore. And then you have the exact right tomato to grow in your garden space and you’re not just growing heirloom tomatoes but your very own heirloom tomatoes.

You'll no doubt save far too many seeds, but tomato seeds make great little gifts. Write growing instructions on the envelope, pop it in a terracotta pot along with a couple of coco coir soil pellets such as these from Amazon and tie with a ribbon to give to family and friends at Christmas.

Can I Save Seed from Shop-Bought Tomatoes?

Most tomatoes sold in grocery stores are produced from F1 hybrid tomato varieties, so it's not worth saving the seed. Grow your own heirloom tomatoes from seed next year, then save the seed from the harvested fruit. A great place to start your journey is with Burpee's Rainbow Blend of heirloom tomato seedswhich has a colorful mix of six varieties including yellow 'Golden Sunburst', orange 'Djena Lees Golden Girl', red 'Bonny Best, pink 'Brandywine Pink', purple 'Black Krim' and green 'Evergreen'.

Every tomato patch hands over a second harvest at the end of the season, and almost nobody uses it. Spent tomato vines hold minerals the plant spent all summer collecting, and they hold enough structure to be built with. Sending them to the curb in a bag wastes both. What narrows the options is disease, not the material itself.

Good end of season tomato plant care starts with sorting the vines. Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) and powdery mildew (Pseudoidium neolycopersici) do the most damage during the season, though both need living tissue and die along with the plant. What lingers on dead stems is early blight (Alternaria linariae) and Septoria leaf spot (Septoria lycopersici), and a cold heap carries either one straight through to spring. One rule runs through all of it: only clean material gets a second life.

1. Burn the Dry Vines and Save the Ash

Vines have to be bone dry before they burn cleanly, so stack them somewhere sheltered for a few weeks first. Check local burn regulations before lighting anything. Plenty of counties restrict open burning outright, or allow it only in certain months. A contained burn can from Walmart keeps embers off dry grass in a way a loose bonfire pile can’t.

What is left is the mineral fraction of everything the plant pulled up all summer. Garden ash behaves much like wood ash, carrying potassium, a good deal of calcium, and enough liming effect to move soil pH in a single season. Spread it thin, no more than a five-gallon bucket's worth over 1,000 square feet (93sqm) of ground already sitting close to neutral. Keep it off blueberries and anything else that wants acid. Skip the potato bed altogether, because higher pH is what favors scab.

2. Char Them Instead if You Want Biochar

Burning and charring are not the same operation, and the difference matters here. Complete combustion leaves nothing but mineral ash. Pyrolysis – burning with the oxygen choked back – leaves biochar, which holds the carbon skeleton and the pore structure that makes it worth putting in soil.

Stems this thin do not give up much. One whole season of vines might char down to a few handfuls. This works best as an add-on when woodier material is going into the same burn anyway, like prunings or spent stakes. Crush the finished char and let it sit in compost or a bucket of diluted fish emulsion for a couple of weeks. Raw char pulls nutrients out of soil before it starts giving any back.

3. Bury Them Deep... Just Not under Next Year's Tomatoes

Burial beats a cold heap outright. Soil biology is faster and more thorough. Dig a trench 12 inches (30cm) deep, lay the chopped vines in, and cover it back over. Chopping matters more than it sounds. A bypass lopper from Amazon run through the thick basal stems turns a tangle into something that packs flat and breaks down evenly.

Placement is where this goes wrong. Never trench tomato debris under ground slated for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, or potatoes next season. Early blight and Septoria both persist in soil and old debris. Two to three years away from solanaceous crops is the standard rotation. Brassica and allium beds are both fine. Beans work too, and the nitrogen they fix offsets some of what the decomposing stems tie up.

4. Weave the Sturdiest Stems into a Trellis or Wreath

Clean vines only, and only ones still supple. Main stems on an indeterminate tomato plant turn properly woody by September, and pulled fresh they bend without snapping. Give them an hour in the sun to lose a little water first, then coil the longest ones into a ring and tuck the loose ends back through themselves.

Expect one season out of it. Those stems are pithy and go brittle as they dry, so a woven trellis is a summer object rather than a permanent structure. Wreaths last better indoors where they stay dry. Green stems shrink as they cure, so weave tighter than looks right and bind the coil at three or four points with jute. Loose rings fall apart by November.

5. Lay Them Down as a Path Liner

Walkways between beds are the easiest place to absorb a lot of bulk. Lay the vines flat down the middle of a path, overlap them, and cover the lot with wood chips or straw. They block light well enough to hold weeds back through fall and winter. By spring most of what is underneath has flattened into a mat.

One trade-off comes with it. Damp mats of vines and chips are the shelter gray field slugs (Deroceras reticulatum) hunt for over winter, so keep it on the path itself and off the bed edges. Skip any path bordering next year’s nightshades for a separate reason. Rain splash onto lower leaves is exactly how early blight gets started in the first place.

6. Steep Clean Foliage into a Pest Spray

This one carries more caveats than the rest. Tomato foliage contains tomatine and related alkaloids. The old kitchen method steeps two cups (475ml) of chopped leaves in a quart (950ml) of water overnight, then strains and dilutes it before use. Gardeners have used it on aphids and small caterpillars for generations. Hard evidence is thin – the whole practice is anecdotal rather than trial-backed.

Two rules are not optional. Use foliage only from plants that showed no symptoms all season. Tomato mosaic virus survives in dried debris for up to two years and travels by simple contact. A sprayer full of infected leaf water is about the most efficient way to spread it that anyone has invented. Never put it on other nightshades. Keep the finished solution away from pets and children, and run it through a dedicated pump sprayer from Home Depot rather than one that also handles herbicide.

Heavily diseased plants get none of this. Bag them, leave the bag in full sun for a few days so the tissue and whatever lives in it die off, then put it out with household trash. Everything else in that pile is just material nobody has sorted yet.

It’s been a long, hot summer so no wonder your patio pots are looking tired, but a quick injection of nutrients now will keep plants flowering for a little longer. There are plenty of plants that reliably keep on blooming well into fall; and there are plenty more that give up as August draws to a close. Give them a boost with tomato feed, however, and they'll get a new lease of life and grow more flowers.

Why Use Tomato Feed for Flowers in Late Summer?

Tomato feed isn't just a helpful product to keep tomato plants producing fruit in August. It's very high in potassium, also known as potash, which drives not just fruit production but flower production too. And – crucially at this time of the year – tomato food is also extremely low in nitrogen, and this is the element that encourages new stems and leaves to grow. That’s why you stop feeding most plants towards the end of the summer with general fertilizers: even most flower-focused feeds have levels of nitrogen that will stimulate the growth of soft green foliage that won’t have time to toughen up before frost arrives.

However, by using tomato feed, you can still maximise bloom production and keep plants in pots flowering while suppressing new stem growth, so you don't leave the plant vulnerable to frost damage.

The high potassium content has an extra benefit, too: this element strengthens a plant’s cell walls, hardening tissue before the onslaught of winter.

Why is it So Important to Feed Container Plants?

As well as containing potassium to boost flower and fruit production, tomato feed is typically fortified with magnesium. Tomato plants need this micronutrient to correct yellowing leaves, but you’ll often see this chlorosis in container plants at the end of the summer, too. That’s usually because they’ve exhausted the nutrient supply in the limited volume of soil they have access to. In a hot, dry summer when those pots have been watered more often than usual, more nutrients are likely to have been washed out of the soil, too.

So, tomato food can help replenish the soil, also helping plants to flower for longer.

If you want to give plants growing in the ground a boost in August, then a seaweed tonic will reinvigorate their roots to take up more moisture and nutrients from the soil.

How to Use Tomato Feed to Give Container Plants a Late-Season Boost

• Before you feed plants in pots, water the container first as normal. Moist soil will absorb the feed far more evenly than bone-dry soil, and this is better for the roots.
• Use a liquid tomato food such as Espoma Tomato!, available from Amazon. Dilute the tomato feed accurately, according to the instructions on the packaging. You’re not doing your plants any favours by adding an extra glug of concentrated feed to your watering can, as a too-high concentration can burn roots.
• Apply in the early morning or late afternoon so evaporation doesn’t concentrate the feed post-application. Choosing an overcast day is similarly helpful to the plant though not critical.
• Water the soil rather than the plant.
• Re-apply once a fortnight, depending on whether your plants are annuals or perennials (see below).

How to Use Tomato Feed for Annual Plants

If your plants are annuals, completing their lifecycle in one year – or they’re perennials but you’re growing them as annuals because of your zone – you can keep giving your containers a fortnightly boost with diluted tomato feed until plants die with the first frost.

As plants are going to be killed by the cold anyway, you have nothing to lose by continuing to feed them. This will keep plants such as petunias in hanging baskets and begonias in pots flowering right up to the first frost. If you're a fan of container planting, this little tomato-feed trick will keep your annual bedding plants blooming long after most folks' flowers have finished.

How to Use Tomato Feed for Perennial Plants

With perennial plants, you need to be a little more careful, but the benefits are even greater. Feed your plants now and give them another feed in a fortnight, but don’t feed them any later than mid-September or around six weeks before your expected first frost date, or you might interfere with their natural fall into dormancy.

Giving perennial plants a boost with tomato feed now will improve their winter hardiness and avoid frost damage by toughening their cell walls. Some plants will also be able to store some of this extra fuel in their roots for a stronger start when they reawaken next spring.

Handy Helps to Get More Flowers

More Weekend Wins

This feature is part of the Weekend Wins series, and there’s still time to do the other August Weekend Wins:

• Remove rose suckers to enjoy bigger, better blooms next summer.
• Use a $4 dog comb to groom ornamental grasses and save yourself hours weeding in spring.
• Trim lavender so it has time to grow a duvet of dense foliage to survive winter well.

If you’ve been enjoying ripe tomatoes off the vine all season, then suddenly the merriment stops, there is cause for concern. Tomato plants can be finicky and if something is lacking in its care or the environment, the plant holds back. If your tomato plant is flowering, but not fruiting, there are a few common reasons why and ways to fix it before the season ends.

Keeping your tomatoes healthy with proper care should help get production back on track. But at this time of year, the specific causes can vary. I'll walk you through several reasons why a tomato plant flowers, but has no fruit. Then I'll share how to solve these issues before the growing season comes to a close.

Follow these tips now to resolve these issues and ensure you get a big harvest of tomatoes before fall weather arrives.

How to Turn Tomato Flowers Into Fruit

After reviewing possible causes of no fruit set, there are a handful of tasks you can do right now to fix problems before the season ends to ensure you still get a huge harvest.

1. Keep Plants Cool

If your weather is consistently hot, above 88°F (31°C), your tomato plants may be heat-stressed and cause flowers to drop off before setting fruit. But you can cool the temperature by as much as 10 degrees by adding a shade cloth to your garden.

You can use a light-colored sheet, a window screen, row cover fabric or a shade cloth, like this one from the Home Depot, that allows a percentage of light to come through and also provides UV protection. Attach it to the side facing west and also lay some fabric across the top of your plant to shade the midday sun. You can leave it up until the heatwave passes or put it up each afternoon.

If you don’t have mulch around your tomato plants, you can do that now to conserve moisture and cool the soil. Use wood chips, straw, grass clippings, or chopped leaves and apply a 2 to 3 inch (5-8 cm) layer. Also, be sure you are watering consistently so the soil does not dry out.

2. Water Well

If the temperature is moderate, make sure you are watering tomatoes properly. Tomatoes need 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm) of water a week. Two or three deep waterings are better than daily shallow watering. Deep watering encourages deep roots and shallow watering encourages roots to stay near the top of the soil where they dry out faster.

The soil should stay moist, but not wet. Drip irrigation puts water right where it is needed and avoids a lot of runoff. Content Editor Laura has used this easy-to-use drip irrigation kit from the Home Depot in her garden for years.

If you are hand-watering, avoid splashing water onto the lower leaves. If that is a problem, remove the lower leaves to prevent soil-borne diseases.

3. Feed With the Right Food

Continue to fertilize your tomatoes, but lighten or remove the nitrogen from the mix. At this point in the summer, your plant doesn’t need to grow stems and leaves, it needs to concentrate on fruit set and ripening.

If you aren’t already, use a liquid tomato fertilizer with a higher middle number (phosphorus) than the first number, or nitrogen, such as 1-3-1. This tomato-specific fertilizer from Burpee is a good option. Apply it every two weeks according to the product instructions.

4. Hand-Pollinate Plants

In case of poor pollination, you can do the job yourself and hand-pollinate tomato plants. Since tomatoes are self-pollinating, both the male (anthers) and female (stigma) parts are within each flower. So all you need to do is throw a little jiggle its way to release the pollen.

To do this, you can gently toggle the flower cluster back and forth as you walk by each morning or simply aim a fan in the plant’s direction. You also can take a paintbrush and move the pollen from the anther to the stigma. Another option is to tap a vibrating electric toothbrush behind the flower. Do this every day for several days to make sure the job gets done.

5. Catch Problems Early

Monitor for common tomato diseases and pests that strike at the end of summer. White flies, aphids, caterpillars and diseases such as verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt affect tomato production.

When necessary, use organic controls such as insecticidal soap and neem oil, both of which are available on Amazon, or a blast of water to repel pests. Caterpillars can be removed by hand. Unfortunately, there is no cure for wilt diseases. The best defense is to grow disease-resistant tomato varieties to prevent problems.

Keeping your tomatoes healthy with proper watering, fertilizing, and monitoring for pests and disease should help get the tomato production back on track. Pollinating the plants and using a shade cloth in the afternoon also can ensure you will once again enjoy ripe tomatoes until the end of the season.

Tomato plants spend August pushing out side shoots faster than anyone can keep up with. Most of those suckers end up on the ground, forgotten by evening. Something else happens when one goes into a jar of water instead. Tomato stems carry the cells that become roots along their whole length, so a cutting never starts from scratch the way a seed does.

Anyone who has learned to grow tomatoes from seed knows the wait involved, since a spring transplant needs six to eight weeks before it is anywhere near ready for the garden. A rooted sucker skips nearly all of that. The tissue is already mature. It flowers on its own schedule rather than growing up first.

Which Shoots Are Worth Taking?

A tomato sucker sits in the crotch where a leaf branch meets the main stem, angled up at roughly forty-five degrees. Left alone it becomes another branch, and that branch will carry flowers of its own by autumn. Two things get cut by mistake here – the thick vertical stalk running up the middle, and the horizontal leaf branch itself. Neither one should come off. At 4 to 6 inches (10-15cm) a sucker holds enough stored energy to support itself without carrying so much leaf that it wilts before roots arrive. Smaller than that tends to be weak. Much bigger and the cutting spends its first week in shock.

Parent choice matters more than size, though. A clone carries whatever the parent has. A vine already spotted with early blight or curling from virus hands those troubles straight down to the new plant. That is a rough way to spend eight weeks. Pick from the healthiest plant in the row, ideally one still putting on fresh growth, snip just below a node with something clean and sharp, then strip every leaf off the lower half of the stem.

Water or Soil?

Rooting tomato cuttings in water is the method most people reach for, mostly because the roots are visible. A jar on a bright windowsill works well, kept out of direct sun, with only the bare stem submerged and the leaves held clear of the surface. Any leaf touching water will rot and foul the jar. Fresh water every couple of days prevents that. A clear jar makes progress easy to check. Roots usually show in seven to fourteen days, and once they reach an inch (2.5cm) the cutting is ready to pot up. I'm a big fan of this propagation station from Amazon, which turns the whole process into a work of art.

Rooting straight into moist potting mix skips a step. Water roots and soil roots are not quite the same structure, so cuttings moved from jar to garden often sulk for a few days while they adjust. Push the stripped stem two inches (5cm) into damp mix. Keep it shaded and evenly watered. A gentle tug after ten days will say whether it has taken. A tray of 4-inch nursery pots from Amazon can handle a dozen at once, about the right number to lose a couple and still come out ahead. Rooting hormone is optional at best on tomatoes. If you do want to use it, go with this one from Amazon.

Getting Them Through the Heat

A rootless cutting in August has no way to replace what it loses. Afternoon sun is the main threat for the first two weeks. Morning light with shade from noon onward is about right, whether that comes from the east side of a building or from a panel of shade cloth from Home Depot stretched over hoops. The same goes for a cutting set in the ground rather than a pot.

Humidity helps as well. A clear plastic bag propped over the pot for a few days keeps the leaves from drying faster than the stem can supply them, though it has to come off once new growth appears. Keep the mix damp rather than wet – cuttings rot about as easily as they root. Once the plant is pushing fresh leaves, a week of gradually longer sun gets it ready for a permanent spot.

Racing the First Frost

Timing is the honest catch here. Rooted cutting to ripe fruit runs somewhere around eight to ten weeks in decent conditions, which puts an early August start into fruit by mid October across much of the country. Cherry tomatoes and the smaller plum tomatoes ripen fastest. Their fruit sizes up in a fraction of the time a big slicer needs, and a plant loaded with twenty small tomatoes beats one holding two green softballs.

Cold is manageable up to a point. A frost cover from Walmart thrown over the row buys several degrees on the nights that would otherwise end things. Anything growing in a pot can move to a porch instead. Tomatoes picked at the first blush of color finish ripening indoors, so a late flush never goes to waste.

The whole thing costs a jar and some patience. There is something quietly satisfying about eating fruit in November off a shoot that was headed for the compost pile in August.

As you read and learn about a specific plant’s pruning needs and preferences, you may develop some pruning anxiety. With such specific pruning rules, you may feel like you need a diagram next to a plant to prune it properly.

But not all plants are fussy about pruning. Many plants are much more laid back. One of my favorite forgiving plants to care for are tomato plants. But even though growing tomatoes and pruning them the right way is easy, there are still some important guidelines you need to follow for the best results.

Pruning tomatoes the proper way and at the proper time can increase your yields, make harvesting easier, and keep plants pest and disease-free. Here’s how to prune tomatoes for healthy plants and bigger harvests.

Should You Prune Tomato Plants?

The answer to this question is actually a personal one. Some people assert firmly that pruning tomato suckers improves the production and health of a plant by improving airflow, which can reduce the spread of disease. Others claim that pruning tomato suckers damages the plant unnecessarily, opening it up to disease without providing considerable benefits.

Your tomato plant won't instantly grow three new stems in the place of every stem you cut, but it will reward your pruning efforts with a bounty of delicious fruit. Regularly pruning tomato plants will help the plant produce more fruit.

Plants need foliage to create energy from photosynthesis, but the growth and development of foliage uses up a lot of the plant’s energy that could be used for fruit production. Cutting off tomato suckers redirects the plant’s energy away from growing new stems in favor of producing more fruit. Pruning off extra stems also means that your plants will produce less tomatoes that are bigger in size.

It is possible to get overzealous when pruning tomatoes and wind up with an over-pruned plant. First you need to understand which types of tomatoes benefit most from pruning and then I’ll walk you through how to prune tomatoes the right way for the best results.

Pruning Different Types of Tomatoes

When it comes to cutting back tomato plants, there are some things you need to know. Tomato plants fall into two categories: determinate and indeterminate.

Determinate Tomatoes

Determinate tomato plants are shrub-like. They grow to a certain height, then stop growing up and instead fill out and grow bushier. Determinate tomato plants also go to flower and fruit all at once.

‘Patio’, ‘Roma’, and ‘Celebrity’ are a few popular varieties of determinate tomato plants. Because they fruit in a shorter time span and grow as more compact plants, determinate tomato plants need less pruning.

When you first plant a determinate tomato, you should prune off any tomato flowers that form before the plant is 18-24 inches (45.5-61 cm) tall. This will redirect the plant's energy from flower formation to developing strong roots.

As the plant grows, prune out any crossing, crowded, damaged, or diseased stems and foliage to keep the plant open, airy, and free of pest and disease. Removing tomato plant leaves that grow just beneath the flower sets will send more energy to fruit formation.

Indeterminate Tomatoes

Indeterminate tomato plants are more like vines. They grow long stems that continually bear new fruit sets. You can save space in the garden and focus on fruit production by growing indeterminate tomato plants vertically up poles, arbors, trellises, or fences.

They can be trained and trimmed easily to grow as single stemmed, heavy fruit-bearing plants by removing excess tomato plant leaves and sucker stems that form along the main stem.

Many heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and ‘Better Boy’ tomatoes are popular varieties of indeterminate tomato plants. In late summer, they can be top pruned to redirect the plant’s energy into ripening its last fruits.

When pruning tomato plants, or any plants, focus first on removing foliage, fruits, or stems that show any sign of disease or pests. Then sanitize your tools and wash your hands to prevent the spread of any common tomato diseases or pests that may have been present.

How to Prune Tomato Plants

If you have decided that pruning tomatoes is the best course of action for your gardening goals, you need to make sure that you do it the correct way to help reduce the chances of disease.

1. You want to start pruning tomato plants when they get to be about 1-2 feet (30-60 cm) tall. Any smaller than this, and the plant may not recover from the shock of being pruned.
2. By the time your tomato plant gets to be this size, the plant will have branches coming off the main stem. Where these branches meet, you will see an additional branch growing. This is called a tomato sucker. Using a sharp, clean pair of pruning shears, snip these small sucker branches off.
3. The best time to prune tomato plants is in the early morning on a dry day. This will allow for the wounds from the pruning to heal cleanly and will reduce the chances of the plant being infected by disease.
4. If you choose to prune tomato plants, make sure that you use irrigation methods that water tomato plants at the soil level (like this soaker hose from the Home Depot) rather than from above (like sprinklers). This will prevent soil splashing up onto the tomato plant and the tomato plant's wounds, which can introduce disease pathogens.

Essential Tomato Pruning Tools

The bottom of a tomato goes tan, then dark, then flat and leathery. It looks like something contagious tearing through the plant. Blossom end rot is not a disease at all. No fungus or bacterium started it – the plant just could not move enough calcium into that tomato while its cell walls were going up.

Anyone who has spent a season or two growing tomatoes might know the pattern, since the first flush tends to take the worst of it. What matters now is the crop already hanging out there. Some of it is worth saving. Some of it is costing the plant energy for nothing.

What Is Blossom End Rot?

Blossom end rot isn't a disease. It's actually a lack of calcium. Calcium builds the glue holding cell walls together. It travels one direction only – up from the roots through the xylem, riding along with water. Soil moisture that swings from soaked to bone dry and back again stalls the delivery. Farthest from the stem, the blossom end is where it runs out. Cells there collapse, the tissue dries into a dark leathery patch, and the scar stays for the life of the tomato. Peppers and squash do the same thing under the same conditions, a decent clue that no pathogen is involved.

Most garden soil already holds plenty of calcium. The popular fixes miss for exactly that reason. Foliar sprays cannot deliver it. Calcium sitting in a leaf has no route into a tomato, and the skin will not take it in from outside. Then there is Epsom salt. It's made of magnesium sulfate and has no calcium in it whatsoever. In fact, the extra magnesium competes for uptake at the root. Don't try it!

Calcium nitrate applied around the drip line is a good bet. You can find it on Amazon. This is best for preventing blossom end rot in future fruit.

Toss It

Some tomatoes with blossom end rot are a lost cause.

A green tomato with a sunken black patch across the bottom third is finished – dead tissue stays dead. It will never fill out or ripen evenly. The plant goes on pouring sugars and water into it regardless. Pulling those off frees all of that up for what is still coming. Think of it as triage rather than loss.

Take them at the stem with a snip or a clean twist. They can go on the compost pile without a second thought, since nothing infectious is involved. The only reason to bin the mushy ones is that secondary mold has usually moved into the open tissue by then. That mold is a squatter, not the cause. Either way, the plant is better off without them.

Pick It

A tomato that has started coloring up with only a small dry patch underneath is a different case entirely. The lesion stays where it is. Damage at the blossom end does not creep up to the shoulders, whatever it looks like from below. Everything above the patch is normal in every way that counts. Half a tomato is still a tomato.

Bring those in a couple of days early and let them ripen on the counter, out of direct sun, because sitting on the vine only gives the soft spot more time to work outward.

Cut generously, an inch (2.5cm) past the dark edge. The rest slices, cooks, or freezes like any other tomato. There is no toxin here and nothing to catch. Canning is the one real exception – damage of this kind can push pH higher than clean fruit runs, and extension guidance keeps it out of the canner for that reason. Fruit ripened off the vine also runs slightly less acidic, one more reason the canner is the wrong destination for these. Fresh use and freezing carry no such worry.

Leave It on the Vine

Undamaged fruit stays put. The fix from here is water rather than anything sold in a bottle. Aim for a deep soaking that wets the whole root zone, on a schedule the plant can count on. An inch (2.5cm) a week covers most gardens, and a hot stretch takes more. Guessing is where this falls apart – a soil moisture meter from Amazon pushed 4 inches (10cm) down settles it faster than a finger test. On the weeks that get away from you, an inexpensive hose timer from Walmart keeps the schedule from slipping. Containers dry out fastest, so they need checking more often than a bed does.

Mulch handles the other half. Two to three inches (5-8cm) of pine bark mulch from Home Depot over the root zone slows evaporation. It also steadies the soil between waterings. A hoe worked in close does the opposite, since chopped roots cannot take up water they never reach. High-nitrogen feed can wait until the plant has recovered. Anything already half grown is past the window where this happens, so it will stay clean.

New tomatoes sitting on a plant with steady water usually come in perfect. That is the reward for treating the cause instead of the symptom.

August is when a tomato garden stops being a project and starts becoming a serious workload. Plants sag under the weight of fruit, harvests outpace your kitchen, and the gear that seemed optional back in June suddenly is not.

It’s typically best to buy your tomato growing gear early in the season, when the plants are small and the summer still looks manageable. By the time a vine is six feet of tangled growth loaded with fruit, the gap between what is on hand and what is needed becomes obvious fast. Luckily, that gap doesn't cost much to close.

The tomato growing tools that earn their place this late are not glamorous. They hold plants upright or help move fruit from the garden to the kitchen. Here are the essentials you should snap up now, if you didn’t buy them at the beginning of the season.

Essential August Tomato Tools

Most of the tools you need for growing tomatoes in August remain useful for years. Late-season tomato problems are often mechanical rather than mysterious. Plants fall over. Fruit gets bruised on the walk indoors. A countertop fills faster than anyone can eat through it. Here are the tools you need to help solve these common issues.

1. Heavy-Duty Tomato Cages

The flimsy tomato cages sold every spring are the first thing to fail. An indeterminate tomato in August weighs far more than that wire was built to carry. A plant that goes over in a storm snaps stems and drops fruit onto wet soil where it rots. Damage at this stage in the season does not grow back. Fruit on the ground draws slugs besides.

A square tomato cage from Home Depot in heavy-gauge steel holds a mature plant without leaning and the wide openings make picking easier than a cone cage ever did. Fitting one over a grown plant takes patience, but still beats staking a collapsed vine after the fact. Anything already flopping can be tied to a stake driven at least 12 inches (30 cm) deep.

Another great alternative is to use modular tomato cages – Senior Editor Liz swears by this trellising method. You can easily install modular cages even when plants are large and full of heavy fruit. Just snap them together around the plant.

2. Potassium-Heavy Fertilizer

Fertilizing tomatoes in August isn't very important – or so the thinking goes. But plants still setting fruit draw hard on potassium and container tomatoes in particular have run through all their nutrients by midsummer. A plant that quits flowering in the heat needs reserves ready for September, because a second flush is usually there for anyone who feeds it.

Espoma Tomato-tone from Amazon is a 3-4-6 mix, which puts potassium ahead of nitrogen. That's important where fruit quality is concerned. This mix includes calcium, too. Blossom end rot is nearly always a watering problem rather than a soil calcium shortage. Steady moisture corrects more cases than any product would, though. Granular feeds go in around the drip line rather than against the stem, then get watered in.

3. Sharp Bypass Pruners

Harvesting tomatoes by hand can tear the vine. Twisting a stubborn one may snap the branch it grew on. An August plant is carrying too much fruit to spare the stems. Lower leaves need removing now as well, since foliage touching the soil gives early blight a route up the plant. Tomato suckers are worth pinching out too, since a plant this size gains nothing from more foliage.

A pair of bypass pruners from Lowe's makes clean cuts that seal quickly, unlike the crushed stubs left behind by anvil-style tools or bare fingers. Wipe the blades between plants to prevent spreading diseases. That takes seconds and slows whatever is already loose in the patch.

4. Harvest Basket

Shirt hems and buckets both fail when you have a hefty tomato harvest in August. A shirt holds a limited number of tomatoes before something drops and a solid bucket lets the bottom layer get crushed under whatever lands on top of it. Ripe fruit bruises easily, too. Anything bruised has to be used the same day.

The Fiskars harvesting basket from Amazon has a colander side, so a load can be rinsed with the hose and drained before it reaches the counter. The flat bottom sits rather than tips, which sounds minor until a full load goes over. Rinsing outside turns a two-trip job into one and soft spots show up under the water.

5. Water Bath Canner

A big glut of ripe tomatoes always seems to land all at once. A short row of healthy plants puts out more in two weeks than the average household can eat in a month and freezer space runs out long before the vines do. Tomatoes are acidic enough for water bath canning, which is the simplest way to preserve your vegetable harvest. New lids are single-use, though the jars themselves will last decades.

A Granite Ware water bath canner from Amazon holds seven quart jars and comes with the rack, which matters more than it sounds. Lifting hot jars out of boiling water without one is how people get burned.

USDA guidance calls for added acid in every jar, usually bottled lemon juice or citric acid, since many modern tomato varieties sit close to the safety line. This step is not optional for safe consumption of canned tomatoes.

6. Frost Cloths

Your local first frost date is an average of past years' first frosts, not a promise. One cold night in late September can end a plant still carrying thirty green tomatoes and the forecast rarely gives more than a day or two of real warning. Anything still green when it happens will ripen indoors in a paper bag, though it never quite matches vine-ripened taste.

A floating row cover from Home Depot draped over the plants ahead of a cold night traps enough warmth to carry them through the cold snap. It goes on before dusk and off in the morning, since trapped heat can do as much harm as cold. Using frost cloths can extend your tomato harvest for two or three weeks, which is enough to separate a decent growing season from a great one.

August is upon us, which means that my annual panic over my green tomatoes refusing to turn red has begun in earnest. Every morning, I make my way outside and inspect them closely, searching for the slightest hint of blush. A tiny patch of pink? A warm orange glow? Any sign that my beloved tomatoes are finally ready to become the pasta sauces, salads, and summer lunches I have been imagining since I planted them.

You guessed it, folks: none whatsoever. Instead, they remain stubbornly green and completely uninterested in my plans – and nobody shares my pain, as I am far more invested in this tomato harvest than anyone else in our house. My four- and two-year-old children have already informed me (several times) that they will never, ever eat a tomato, and my husband’s taste preferences are apparently not much more adventurous.

I am the only person eagerly waiting for that perfect moment when I can finally pick my tomatoes and turn them into something delicious. This year, though, my husband (who, as well as being an avowed tomato hater, is also a professional gardener with two decades of experience under his belt) has shared his secrets with me. Finally.

Why We Shouldn't Panic Over Green Tomatoes

As it turns out, green tomatoes are not necessarily a sign that something has gone wrong. In fact, this summer’s extreme heat could be the reason they appear to have pressed pause.

Yes, while tomatoes love sunshine, they have a surprisingly specific comfort zone when it comes to ripening – specifically temperatures around 70°F to 75°F (21°C to 24°C). This is the sweet spot when it comes to efficiently producing the pigments that create their familiar red and orange colors. And so, when daytime temperatures consistently climb beyond around 85°F to 90°F (29°C to 32°C), the plant can temporarily slow down pigment production.

"That means your tomatoes might look perfectly full-sized, plump, and ready, but they will remain stuck in the 'mature green' stage until conditions become more favorable," my husband explained.

Considering he is the most zen man in the world (the joys of working outdoors), it's hardly surprising that my husband’s first piece of advice for my annual green tomatoes anxiety was to "stop panicking and give them time".

Thankfully, he knows me. He knows that, as someone who has been emotionally checking the same tomatoes every day, this is easier said than done. And so, to help soothe my torrid thoughts, he shared a few things I can do to help my tomato plants focus their energy on ripening the fruit they already have.

Shop Tomato Cooking Essentials:

1. Strip & Pinch

If you want to coax your green tomatoes into turning red, the first thing to do is to remove some of the lower leaves. By stripping away leaves near the bottom of the plant, you can improve airflow and allow more light to reach the developing fruit.

You can also pinch out the main growing tip of the plant. This stops it from putting energy into producing new flowers and encourages it to concentrate its remaining resources on ripening the tomatoes already growing.

2. Don't Let Them Bake

My instinct has always been to assume that more sun must equal faster ripening, but my husband says green tomatoes (and red ones, too) are at risk of sunscald, which appears as pale, leathery patches on the skin.

"A tomato doesn’t need to be baked to ripen," he reminds me. "If you notice a tomato showing even the faintest hint of color, pick it and bring it indoors. You can leave it ripening on a kitchen counter, where conditions are often much more suitable."

3. Water Consistently

Inconsistent watering? Apparently a cardinal sin if you're trying to shift your green tomatoes into the red zone.

Regular watering at the base of the plant helps support healthy growth and can reduce problems such as fruit splitting and blossom end rot, where the bottom of the tomato becomes dark and sunken.

"The aim is consistency," my husband says pointedly (almost as if he's been watching me and sighing when my back is turned). "Not a dramatic rescue mission every few days when the soil looks desperate."

Shop Watering Essentials:

My husband’s final piece of advice was perhaps the hardest one for me to accept: this is usually just a temporary pause, and patience (as ever) is a virtue. "Once temperatures drop and conditions become more comfortable, tomatoes often get back to the important business of ripening," he says.

I suppose I have to admit that, while my husband may not enjoy eating tomatoes, he sure does know how to grow them; reluctantly, I have to admit he might know what he’s talking about. And if a few particularly stubborn green tomatoes should still refuse to cooperate, even after all of this advice? Well, I have a backup plan. Green tomato chutney.

Wish me luck...

The right plant care in August has a huge impact on the flavor and appearance of tomatoes, as well as how long your harvest lasts for. We’re approaching peak tomato harvesting period this month, so how you look after your plants directly affects the quality as well as quantity of fruit. Start redirecting the plant’s energy on fruit formation and ripening, rather than needlessly growing more foliage, and you will be rewarded with tons more tastier tomatoes.

Without appropriate, targeted care in August, your tomatoes may split, develop unsightly black spots on their bases, and plants might fall prey to fungal disease and red spider mites that put an abrupt end to your harvest. With the right care, however, plants will stay happy, healthy and continue to produce plump, flavorful tomatoes for many weeks to come.

None of these 5 steps are a difficult part of growing tomatoes so get this essential August tomato care right and you can look forward to your best harvest yet. Understanding why you’re doing each task is a key part of keeping tomato plants producing all summer. Why? Because then you’ll be able to tweak each care task to perfectly suit your growing conditions and tomato varieties, whether you’re raising cherry toms or beefsteak tomatoes, outdoors or in a greenhouse, in any zone. Here’s everything you need to know for tip-top August tomato plant care so you can enjoy your best crop yet.

1. Strip Off Lower Leaves to Reduce Disease

First on the list of what to do with tomato plants in August is to strip off some of the lower leaves of indeterminate tomatoes. These plants will be dense with foliage by now, and removing some at stem bases allows better airflow, which in turn reduces the risk of disease. It also allows sunlight in to ripen fruit, and allows you to spot any developing issues faster.

This seems like a fairly drastic task but, as long as you don’t strip off leaves any higher than the halfway point of the plant, you’re doing more good than harm. I start by stripping lower leaves at soil height at the start of August, then take off another layer every week, gradually raising the leafless height to halfway as peak harvesting time is reached. This gradual strip doesn’t shock the plant, and reveals tomatoes just as they need the ripening sun.

Why bother? Well, late tomato blight, when fungus-like organism Phytophthora infestans infects plants and causes both leaves and fruit to rot, is a big risk at this time of year, particularly for outdoor toms. Indoors, leaf mold – which brings similar symptoms to the leaves, often with a grey-brown mold on the undersides – is the harvest slayer to avoid. For both, good airflow around the plants is the very best prevention, and stripping off lower leaves is the number one way to achieve it.

If you want to add another layer of protection, then make a simple, effective anti-fungal spray with baking soda for your tomato plants. Removing lower leaves from the plants also makes it much easier to irrigate without wetting the leaves, further reducing the risk of disease.

There’s no need to strip leaves from determinate tomatoes, though do remove any leaves touching the soil to reduce disease risk.

2. Prune for a Full, Flavorful Harvest

Channelling plants’ energy into growing fruit rather than foliage now is the difference between a basic crop and a bumper harvest so, if you're wondering how to get a good tomato harvest, get your hand pruners at the ready! Remember, indeterminate tomatoes are vines, and they’ll keep growing – and growing – until the frost kills them, so if you want lots of fruit you need to curtail that growth, and redirect that energy into fruit production.

Keep cutting or pinching off any shoots that grow in the junctions between the main stem and leaf stalks. This stops plants wasting energy on growing fresh stems and foliage.

In mid-August, or when a plant has around four or five trusses of tomatoes, pinch out the main growing tip of indeterminate tomatoes. All you have to do is use hand pruners to snip off the uppermost few inches of the main stem, or simply snap it off with your hands. This halts the vine’s upward growth, redirecting its energy into ensuring existing tomatoes grow.

Depending on your zone, the variety you’re growing, and whether or not you can be bothered to ripen green tomatoes off the plant, you can also snip off newly-formed flower trusses at the end of August as there’s unlikely to be enough time for them to develop fully before the season ends.

Cherry tomatoes typically take around 45-60 days to grow from flower to full-sized ripe fruit; beefsteak toms can take up to 90 days. As well as cold weather slowing growth, temperatures above 86°F can slow development, too. So, keep your eye on the thermometer and gauge whether or not it's worth remove any new flower trusses to concentrate the plant's energy into existing fruit.

3. Water Consistently for High-Quality Fruit

How consistently you water your plants now will directly impact the quality of your crop. Erratic watering can cause tomato skins to split, and lead to dark, flat patches at the base of fruit, called blossom end rot. While blossom end rot is caused by a lack of calcium, it’s very rare that soil or compost lacks this element – the problem almost always lies in a lack of consistent water which the plant needs to transport calcium to where it’s needed.

Aim for consistent, steady watering to keep a fairly even level of moisture in the soil. Shading your tomato plants from the harsh midday sun will dramatically reduce evaporation, so this is another way you can help even out soil moisture levels. If it’s easier to rig up more general shade, then using a shade cloth that blocks 30-40% of rays will still allow enough sunlight through to ripen fruit.

Once most fruits have set and are ripening, if the weather isn't too hot, slightly reducing watering will concentrate sugars and flavor. Never reduce irrigation so much that leaves wilt, and it's also important to lessen the volume of water given rather than reduce frequency, so moisture levels remain consistent.

4. Feed Weekly, But Know When to Stop

If you're wondering when you should stop feeding tomato plants, you're not alone as this is a common query. And knowing when to stop fertilizing plants is just as important as knowing when to start, and one of the most critical pro growing tips for a long-lasting tomato harvest.

Until the uppermost clusters of fruit are full-sized, you should continue feeding your tomato plants once a week with a high-potassium tomato fertilizer such as Espoma Organic Tomato! Food, available from Amazon. However, as soon as you start redirecting the plants’ energy to ripening fruit that’s already set, especially if you halt the upwards growth of indeterminate plants by pinching out the tip of the main stem, it's vital not to over-fuel. Too much food can cause fertilizer burn, excess foliage and actually slow fruit production

So, from mid-August, gradually reduce the strength of the feed, tapering off so you don’t abruptly stop this supply of nutrients.

5. Watch Out For Spider Mites

All the hot, dry air of this El Niño summer has created ideal conditions for red spider mites. These sap-sucking critters can ruin a harvest, but are easily controlled if you spot them in time and act quickly.

Don’t rely on being able to see the mites themselves as they're tiny. Instead look out for:

• Moving dots. While the mites are minute, you may spot what looks like moving specks of dust. And don't expect them to be red! At this time of year red spider mites are often a yellowish green, only turning red – and becoming more visible on leaves – in fall.
• Damaged leaves. If there’s an infestation, leaves will first become stippled, where individual cells have been sucked dry, then turn mottled, pale and eventually die and drop.
• Fine silky webs around stems or leaves.
• A build-up of white cast skins and egg shells on the undersides of leaves.

The quicker you act, the better, as high summer heat speeds egg hatching from around 55 days to 7, and a female spider mite can lay 10-20 eggs a day. Remove infected leaves and wash the plant with a jet of water. Coat all surfaces, but particularly the undersides of leaves with a neem oil spray.

Do double-check if the neem oil is already diluted: if you have raw neem oil, mix 1-2 teaspoons into a quart of warm water, before using. To help the oil and water combine, add half a teaspoon of mild liquid dish soap to the water first.

Spray plants once a week for three weeks to catch any newly-hatching mites and break the lifecycle. Sprayed leaves are more easily scorched by the sun, so consider shading if necessary.

Tomato plant care in August is all about directing energy towards producing a plentiful harvest, and keeping plants disease-free so that process can continue for as long as possible into fall. Stripping lower leaves, tactical pruning, consistent irrigation, well-timed feeding and controlling pests will all help your plants happy and healthy, so they can keep providing you with a flavorful harvest week after week. And that's more than enough reward for the time it takes to complete these simple late-summer tomato care tasks.

One indeterminate cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) in decent soil can hand over a couple of pounds (1kg) a week once it hits full stride, and two plants will bury a small family. The crop sets its own deadline, too. A cherry tomato goes from perfect to split overnight when a storm follows a run of hot, rainless days.

Most advice about growing cherry tomatoes ends at the harvest. The real work starts there. The plant has no interest in whether the kitchen has caught up, so the response has to move in two directions at once – what is already picked, and what the vine does from here.

Eight Moves for a Runaway Harvest

A few of the moves take an afternoon, and others take five minutes with a pair of snips like these from Amazon. Start with whichever side is more important that week.

1. Pick at the First Blush of Color

Tomato cracking is a plumbing problem, not a disease. The fruit pulls water in faster than its skin can stretch, so one heavy rain on the back of a dry spell splits half a crop overnight. Picking earlier sidesteps that. It works because a cherry tomato seals itself off from the vine the moment real color appears, and what happens after that happens without the plant. Then you can turn green tomatoes red by just leaving them out on the counter. If your cherry tomatoes are producing heavily, walk the rows every other morning rather than holding out for full color. If any slip past you, cracked tomatoes are perfectly fine to eat.

2. Keep Them Out of the Fridge

Refrigeration costs more than it saves. Somewhere below 55F (13C) the aroma compounds start breaking down and the texture goes mealy, which accounts for most of what is wrong with a supermarket tomato. A counter does better. Ripe ones keep several days in a single layer, stem scars down, somewhere out of direct sun. Green fruit picked ahead of a storm colors up in a paper bag with a banana tucked in for ethylene – a gas naturally emitted by bananas that speeds up ripening. Anything that doesn't turn red pickles beautifully.

3. Freeze them Whole on a Sheet Pan

Freezing tomatoes whole is the easiest way to go: no blanching, no peeling. Wash and dry a batch, then spread it in one layer across a sheet pan from Amazon. Freeze them solid before bagging so they stay loose rather than welding into a brick. The skins slip off under a warm tap later. Straight from frozen, they collapse into sauce quicker than they can fresh.

4. Roast them on a Tray

Soft ones and anything that sat a day too long belong here. Halve them and toss with olive oil and salt, then hold a low oven around 300F (150C) until they slump and go jammy at the edges – a couple of hours, unhurried. A full tray reduces to about two cups as the moisture leaves and the sugars pull together, and what comes out is far darker than what went in. Freeze it flat in portions – it thaws into sauce, or lands on bread as is.

5. Dry the Smallest Ones

Drying tomatoes is a great choice for the littlest specimens. Less moisture inside means less time on the trays, and they finish evenly instead of toughening outside while the middle stays damp. Halve them cut sides up and run a food dehydrator from Amazon at about 135F (57C) until they feel like leather rather than brittle chips. An oven set as low as it goes will manage it, at the cost of the kitchen for most of a day. Jars come next, shaken daily for a week; water beads on the glass mean another round of drying.

6. Save Seeds from the Best Plant

Only open-pollinated plants are worth saving from – hybrid seed comes back as something nobody planned. To save tomato seeds, squeeze the pulp of a few good ones into a jar with a splash of water, then leave it alone. A pale film forms across the top within a couple of days. That film is doing the work: the ferment strips off the gel coat that blocks germination and knocks back several seedborne diseases. Rinse, then dry the seed flat on a plate. Kept cool and dark, they will still come up even several years later.

7. Top the Vine

Indeterminate types climb until frost stops them, adding flowers that have no chance of finishing. Pruning tomatoes by cutting the growing tip roughly a month ahead of the average first frost redirects what remains into what is already on the vine, and it opens the canopy in the bargain. Determinate plants set their whole crop at once and need none of this. Thin the lowest leaves while the snips are out, since airflow near the soil tends to be poor by late summer.

8. Up the Potassium

Nitrogen at this stage buys foliage. Fertilize your tomatoes with a blend where potassium leads, such as Tomato-tone from Home Depot at 3-4-6, supports fruit quality instead of another flush of leaves. Water counts for just as much. Deep and regular beats a splash whenever someone remembers. Uneven moisture is behind the splitting, and behind most of the blossom end rot that gets blamed on soil calcium. A harvest like this is a good problem. Keep the water steady and the plant will go on handing fruit over right up to frost.

Cherry Tomato Essentials

That tub of yogurt at the back of your fridge may have a second life in your garden, according to a surprising bit of advice making the rounds online. Yogurt does hold calcium and protein, which are two important nutrients tomatoes need to thrive. Though whether a tomato plant can use any of it is a separate question.

The claim that a spoonful of yogurt plopped into your watering can boost tomato growth turns up regularly in gardening forums, usually framed as a good calcium source for tomatoes. The logic runs that dairy is rich in calcium – and tomatoes often suffer from calcium problems – so giving plants a dose of dairy fertilizer can provide plants with what they need. But this theory isn't exactly accurate.

But yogurt isn't exactly useless in the garden. Use it alongside a proper tomato fertilizer and it could potentially give plants a little extra oomph. I'll walk you through the truth behind the claim that yogurt is a good fertilizer for tomatoes, how to try it out for yourself, and some precautions to take before using yogurt in your garden.

Why Gardeners Are Using Yogurt on Tomato Plants

Calcium is the main claim behind using yogurt as a tomato fertilizer. Blossom end rot ruins fruit every summer and a lack of calcium is often named as the culprit, so a tub of yogurt in the fridge is perhaps the nearest source on hand. Plain yogurt carries a fair amount of calcium by food standards, which makes the connection feel obvious.

The rest of the appeal spreads wider than just that one mineral, though. Yogurt is also a good source of protein and protein means nitrogen for plants.

Lactose is a sugar that soil microbes will eat readily, which can improve soil. Then there are the live cultures in yogurt, mainly Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, which fit the popular notion of feeding soil biology as well. The tub was headed for the bin regardless.

Does Yogurt Tomato Fertilizer Really Work?

The case for yogurt as a calcium source for tomatoes falls apart once you really look at the numbers. A tablespoon (15 ml) of yogurt carries roughly 20 milligrams of calcium. A tomato in full fruit moves vastly more than that throughout a single season and the soil in which it grows is almost certainly holds a surplus already. So a spoonful of yogurt fertilizer doesn't make much of an impact.

Arithmetic isn't the real trouble, though. Calcium in dairy arrives bound to casein, which means soil microbes have to dismantle it before roots can reach any useful nutrients. Warmth and time do that work on their own timetable. Nobody decides when the nutrient turns up or whether it does so while the plant still needs it.

Blossom end rot is rarely a result of a shortage of calcium in the first place. It's more often a delivery failure. Uneven watering of tomato plants interrupts calcium moving into developing fruit, creating blossom end rot. Yogurt doesn't address the mechanism blocking the calcium, it only addresses the nutrient itself.

Best Type of Yogurt to Use

If you still want to try out this homemade tomato fertilizer anyways, choosing the right yogurt is key. Plain yogurt is the only version that belongs near a garden bed. Nothing else on the dairy aisle qualifies. A tub of yogurt is cheap and choosing nonfat leaves less greasy residue behind than the full fat stuff. Fruit, honey, added sugar – none of it should reach the garden.

Artificial sweeteners are the other thing to skip, since they bring nothing to the soil and nobody can say how the residues behave in a garden bed. Sugar-loaded yogurt causes a quicker problem, drawing ants, wasps, and rodents to the base of the plant. Flavored tubs also carry stabilizers nobody should pour on a garden.

How to Make Yogurt Tomato Fertilizer

Dilution does the safety work for yogurt tomato fertilizer. One tablespoon (15 ml) of plain yogurt stirred into a full 2 gallon (9 L) watering can is the strongest dose you should use. Stir it well so nothing settles into a lump, then pour slowly around the drip line of your tomatoes, roughly 6 to 8 inches (15-20 cm) from the stem.

Follow with a can of plain water to carry the yogurt fertilizer below the soil surface, since dairy left sitting on top can cause problems. Keep every drop off the foliage as well. Damp residue on leaves in warm weather invites fungal tomato diseases far harder to fix than any nutrient shortage.

How Often to Apply

Applying yogurt tomato fertilizer once a month through the growing season is plenty and, often, less is fine. This belongs with small experiments rather than scheduled feeding, so there's little to gain from building a routine around it.

Anyone curious can run it properly. Treat one plant with the diluted mix, leave a matching plant untreated beside it and compare at season's end. That beats the anecdotes floating around online and it costs a single tub of yogurt.

What you should never do is replace a scheduled feed of traditional tomato fertilizer with only yogurt. A plant that doesn't receive real fertilizer and only yogurt just isn't being fed properly.

Mistakes To Avoid

Dolloping on a dose of yogurt fertilizer undiluted is a big problem for tomato plants. A blob of dairy on warm soil goes sour and draws flies. It can also set into a crust that sheds water instead of letting it through. Container plants suffer worst, since a pot holds little soil and none of the microbial diversity a bed uses to process organic matter.

Instead, if the goal is feeding the soil, a bag of Back to the Roots organic compost from Home Depot does that job properly.

Repeat applications of yogurt tomato fertilizer are the other trap. Residue accumulates and a spot treated over and over starts to smell bad and stays damp.

Signs to Stop Using Yogurt

A sour smell around the base of the plant means the residue is fermenting instead of breaking down cleanly. White or fuzzy growth across the soil surface signals the same issue. Scrape off what you can and flush the area with plain water.

Insects and animals can cause problems, too. Fungus gnats drifting around the stem are a sign something's wrong, but fruit flies more so. Soil turned over at night by raccoons or rats is the surest signal, since something has found the smell interesting. And a plant that looks worse than before the experiment started has already answered the question.

What to Use Instead

Fruiting tomatoes want steady nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, with an emphasis on the last two once flowering starts. Plants also need calcium and magnesium in amounts no kitchen leftover supplies. Espoma Tomato-tone 3-4-6 with 8% calcium from Amazon covers all a tomato needs in one product and yogurt simply can't compete.

Watering does more for blossom end rot than any additive from your fridge. Deep, even soakings in a steady rhythm with a few inches of mulch to hold in the moisture keep calcium moving into the fruit. All in all, save the yogurt for your breakfast. Invest in a good organic commercial tomato fertilizer or homemade compost instead.

Tomatoes ‘sweat’, in their own way. On a hot, muggy afternoon the plant is pushing water out through its leaves nonstop, and down where the foliage sits jammed against damp soil with nothing stirring, that moisture has nowhere to go. So it hangs around. Warm, dead-still air against a wet leaf – that's the setup fungal spores are hoping for, and usually where things go wrong.

The fix takes less work than it sounds. A good chunk of growing tomatoes well through a humid summer comes down to airflow, and airflow comes down to which leaves stay on the plant. Strip off the right few and the whole thing breathes easier. Add one cheap trick down at the soil line and a lot of the disease pressure that wrecks a crop never really gets going.

Why the Bottom of the Plant Is Key

A lot of tomato disease starts low and climbs. Those bottom leaves sit right over the dirt, and the dirt is where fungal spores ride out the winter. Then the rain comes, or the hose, and every drop hitting the ground flicks a little back up onto the nearest leaf. Early blight (Alternaria solani) and Septoria leaf spot (Septoria lycopersici) both get around exactly like this – a few spots low down, some yellowing, then up the plant. Clear off that bottom tier and the splash lands on nothing.

Airflow is the other half. Let a tomato bush out on its own and it becomes this dense, shut-in tangle, the inside of it staying damp hours after the outer leaves have gone dry. Spores are fine with that. Thin it out, get some air moving through the middle, and the leaves dry off quicker once the rain or the dew lifts – and a dry leaf is just a lot harder for anything to get into. None of this means pruning your tomato plant bare, though – it just needs room to breathe.

The 3 Leaves to Snip

Not every leaf is earning its keep. Three kinds in particular cause more trouble than they're worth once the humidity sets in, and they're the ones to go after first. A clean cut close to the stem does it, and a pair of bypass pruning snips from Amazon makes flush cuts easy and spares the stem.

1. The Lowest Leaves

Start low and work your way up. Anything in that bottom 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30cm) is either touching the soil or hanging just over it – first to catch whatever splashes off the ground. And those are old leaves anyway, shaded out, not pulling their weight, stuck in the worst possible spot on the plant. Snip them flush to the main stem. Once the plant is established and setting fruit, a bare lower stretch of stem does it no harm.

2. Yellowing or Spotted Leaves

Any tomato leaf going yellow or growing spots has more or less run its course – and if those spots turn out to be disease, it's now a launch pad for more. Don't wait for pruning day to deal with them. Remove them the moment you spot them. A yellow leaf down low is often the first tip-off that something fungal has moved in, and getting it gone fast is cleanup and early warning rolled into one.

3. Crowded Interior Growth

Deep in a big plant, leaves stack on leaves and almost none of them get real light or air. That congested inner growth is where humidity hangs around the longest. Thinning a few of those interior leaves, along with any small suckers crowding the center, cuts a channel for air to move straight through. You want a plant with daylight showing through it in gaps, not a solid green wall.

The Secret Skirt Trick

Here's the part many people don’t bother with. Once those lower leaves are gone, lay a skirt around the base of the plant – a ring of mulch or a fabric barrier over the bare soil. It seems too basic to count for much. What it actually does is drop a physical wall between the soil, where the spores live, and the leaves above, so when water hits the ground there's nothing left to splash back up.

Straw works for this, so does shredded bark, and even newspaper under compost will do. Grab a couple bags of shredded mulch from Home Depot and a row is covered without much fuss. Want something you're not redoing every season? A roll of landscape fabric from Walmart does the same job and lasts years. Either way there's a bonus – the cover slows evaporation, so the soil underneath stays damper and more even, roots getting a steady drink while the leaves stay clear of the muck. There's one catch, though. Keep the mulch an inch or two (2 to 5cm) off the stem. Bank it right against the stem and it traps enough moisture to start rot.

July is when backyard tomatoes either take off or quietly fall apart. The plants are big by now, heavy with green fruit and pushing hard through the hottest stretch of the year – which is right when small problems snowball into season-enders. Blossom end rot sets in, skins split, and a fungal spot creeps up the lower leaves before anyone notices. Most of that traces back to a few tasks that get skipped in the heat, not to bad luck.

The good news is that ten minutes of attention now pays off for weeks. Anyone already comfortable with growing tomatoes knows the vines are forgiving up to a point, and midsummer is where that forgiveness runs thin. A little pruning, steady water, a nutrient nudge at the right moment – these are the moves that keep fruit setting through August instead of stalling out in a tangle of leggy growth and cracked skins. None of it takes special skill. It just takes doing it before the plant forces the issue.

What Your Tomatoes Need in July

The plants aren't asking for much in July, but the little they need, they need on time. Skipping a step doesn't show up right away – it shows up three weeks later as cracked fruit or a vine half-taken by blight. Ten minutes now buys a lot of tomatoes later, and better-tasting ones at that.

1. Low-Leaf Haircut for Airflow and Blight Prevention

When pruning tomatoes, start at the bottom. Those lower leaves touching the soil, or hovering just above it, are the first place blight and early leaf spot get a foothold – rain splashes soil-borne spores up onto them, and from there the trouble climbs. Stripping the bottom 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30cm) of foliage off each plant opens up airflow right where things sit stagnant and humid. It looks a little brutal the first time. The plant won't miss them.

Those low leaves aren't doing much photosynthesizing anyway, shaded out by everything above. Pulling them lets air move through the base and dries the zone out faster after a storm, which is half the battle with fungal trouble. Do it on a dry morning so the wounds seal before evening humidity settles back in. A clean cut or a clean snap, either works – just don't leave torn stubs that invite rot.

2. Consistency With Deep Watering

Tomatoes hate surprises when it comes to water. Deep, consistent soaking is what heads off blossom end rot and split tomatoes both, and the two problems actually share a cause – erratic moisture. When a plant goes bone dry and then gets flooded, the fruit swells faster than the skin can stretch, and it cracks. Calcium uptake stalls during the dry stretches too, which is what triggers that sunken dark patch on the bottom of the tomato.

The fix is boring, but it works. Water tomatoes deeply and less often, right at the base. A couple of long soakings a week beats a daily sprinkle that only wets the top inch (2.5cm). A drip line or soaker hose from Amazon takes the guesswork out of it, running slow and low so moisture sinks down to where the roots are. Mulch over the top of that and the ground holds even between waterings. That last part is honestly reason enough to mulch.

3. Midsummer Sucker Pruning

Tomato suckers are the little shoots that pop out in the crotch between the main stem and a branch. Left alone, especially on indeterminate types, they grow into whole secondary stems that eat energy the plant could be putting into fruit. Midsummer is prime time to stay on top of them, since the vines are growing fast and throwing new suckers weekly. Pinch them out while they're small – thumb and forefinger, no tools needed.

There's a limit to this, though. Determinate tomatoes set most of their crop at once and shouldn't be sucker-pruned much at all, since every growing tip counts toward the harvest. On indeterminate tomatoes, a light hand beats a heavy one in the heat. Strip too much foliage and you expose fruit to sunscald, those pale leathery patches that show up on shoulders baking in full sun. Take the obvious suckers, leave enough canopy to shade what's ripening.

4. Mid-Season Potassium Boost

By July, the early fertilizer is mostly used up and the plant is heading into its heaviest fruiting stretch. This is where a potassium boost earns its keep – potassium drives fruit development and flavor, and a mid-season side dressing keeps production from tapering off early. Skip fertilizing tomatoes with the high-nitrogen stuff now. Nitrogen at this stage just pushes leafy growth at the expense of the tomatoes already forming.

Side dressing is simple. Scatter a low-nitrogen, higher-potassium feed in a ring a few inches (7 to 8cm) out from the stem, scratch it into the soil surface, then water it in. Something along the lines of a tomato-specific granular fertilizer from Amazon does the job without much fuss. The plant picks it up over the following weeks, right as the fruit load peaks. Do it once now and most gardens won't need another round before the season winds down.

5. Reinforcing the Rigging

All that fruit has weight, and July is when supports start giving out. A cage that held fine in June leans under a fully loaded plant, and once a stem kinks or snaps, that whole branch of developing tomatoes is finished. Walk the row and look for strain. Maybe a stake has worked loose, or a tie is starting to bite into a thickening stem. Better to catch it before a storm rolls through and lays everything flat.

Loosen any ties that are cutting in and re-secure with something soft. Strips of old T-shirt work, or these adjustable plant ties from Amazon that don't dig into the stem as it thickens. Add a stake where a plant is outgrowing its cage, and tie in the heavy trusses so they're not hanging off a single joint. Ten minutes of reinforcement now saves a snapped main stem later, and there's no coming back from that one.

6. Snapping Off Key Growing Tips

This one's aimed at the tail end of the run, but it's worth knowing about now. Toward the close of tomato season – usually mid to late summer, depending on climate – snapping off the growing tips of indeterminate plants tells them to quit making new growth and ripen what's already there. Any flower cluster that opens past a certain point won't have time to mature anyway, so the plant does better funneling that energy into the fruit already hanging.

It's called topping, and it can be the difference between a pile of green tomatoes at first frost and a properly ripe haul. Cut or pinch the top few inches (7 to 8 cm) off each main stem, just above the highest cluster worth keeping. Everything gets redirected downward. In shorter-season areas it's close to essential; in long, warm climates there's less urgency, though it still helps concentrate flavor late in the year. Miss July, and tomatoes coast. Get it right, and they produce like they’ve got something to prove.

I’ve been a gardening editor for longer than I want to admit, and I’ve been growing tomatoes from the start. My work has meant I’ve been lucky enough to visit goodness knows how many nurseries and talk to a gazillion professional growers, and I’ve hoovered up tips and tricks the whole time. So believe me, I’ve tried out way more than my fair share of professional hacks in pursuit of a perfect crop of juicy toms that keeps on coming all summer long.

And yes, as a regular Instagram scroller, I’ve tried out plenty of unprofessional tips too. Honestly, quite a few of both types turned out to be absolute hogwash. Some had the potential to be downright deadly (here’s looking at you, baking soda making tomatoes sweeter). But a few actually worked.

Heeding tomato care basics such as supporting and pruning tomato plants will bring you a decent initial crop of tomatoes. But here’s the thing: if you want to keep tomato plants producing plenty of tomatoes as the weather gets hotter, foliage and fruit become more susceptible to disease, and sap-sucking insects move in, you need some extra tricks up your sleeve. These days, I only raise six tomato plants each summer because I’m confident – thanks to my trial and error testing of all those hacks – that I can keep them producing bumper crops of toms for months on end. And just look how many tomatoes those few plants produce.

These are those expert tomato growing tips, so you too can harvest more than ever before.

1. Basil Supports Tomato Plant Health

You’ll hear all sorts of hype about companion plants when growing tomatoes, and mostly they’re used either to attract beneficial bugs or deter pesky ones. But there’s one companion plant that does things a little differently and it's an absolute must, because basil directly increases tomato yield by as much as 20%. Scientists have shown that basil releases volatile compounds that prime a tomato plant’s defense mechanisms. So, if a tomato plant is attacked by pests or disease, if it’s got a wingman basil plant growing next to it, it’ll react to that threat faster and more robustly.

Research proves that growing basil alongside a tomato plant helps it grow stronger roots, too, that allow it to cope better with drought and heat. Basil also helps to attract pollinators and deter pests, and even makes fruit taste sweeter.

There are around 150 types of basil and for the full benefit, it’s best to grow a few varieties. Greek basil (Ocimum minimum) is the variety used in the stress-reponse study and seeds are available from Amazon. Purple basil (Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens) has an intense aroma so is particularly effective at repelling pests, and seeds are available from Eden Brothers. Lemon basil (Ocimum x africanum) is the variety used in the study that found basil can improve tomato flavor perception, and seeds are available from Botanical Interests.

2. Banana Peel is Full of Potassium That Tomatoes Need

You’re likely feeding your tomato plants every 10-14 days with a liquid fertilizer that’s high in potassium, like this Espoma Organic Tomato Feed from Amazon. Plants need many nutrients for healthy growth but broadly speaking, nitrogen promotes leaf and stem growth, phosphorus aids root development, and potassium helps flowers and fruit form; these are collectively known as the NPK ratio.

And as luck would have it, banana peel is super-high in potassium, and you can use it to give plants an extra boost with a mild, slow release of nutrients. Some people mix chopped-up banana peel into the compost at the base of planting holes when moving tomatoes outdoors. I choose to make a supplementary banana peel tea whenever the opportunity arises, steeping a couple of chopped-up peels in a quart-jar of water for three or four days, then pouring the strained tonic onto the soil, diluting first if it looks strong.

Banana peel also contains a small amount of calcium, which helps prevent blossom end rot (which causes those leathery black patches on tomato bases), and trace elements that support photosynthesis. Importantly, it doesn’t have any nitrogen, so won’t fuel leafy growth.

3. An Electric Toothbrush Improves Pollination

Tomato flowers need to be pollinated before they can set fruit. Happily, each flower contains both male and female parts so all that needs to happen is a little movement to shake the pollen free from the male anther cone and onto the female stigma. If you’re growing tomatoes outside then buzzing insects and the wind will naturally ensure this little jiggle happens. But, if you’re raising your toms on a kitchen windowsill or in a greenhouse, your plants could probably do with a little pollinating help.

Flowers can increasingly fail to pollinate as summer temperatures heat up, too. Once daytime temperatures are above 90°F or if it's over 70°F at nighttime – and remember, greenhouses can be far hotter than the air outside – pollen can become too dry or sticky to easily be distributed. Those flowers that dry up and drop off your plants? They're likely to be the blooms that failed to pollinate and, as the season progresses, you’ll see an increasing number of these on each truss.

Unless, of course, you employ an electric toothbrush to deliver that essential buzz. Hold the back, non-bristly side of the toothbrush head gently against the stem directly above each flower for a couple of seconds, when conditions are dry. Tomato flowers only have a 50-hour window for pollination so, to get full trusses across all your plants, you’ll need to do this every two days. You can buy super-cheap rechargeable electric toothbrushes such as this from Amazon, so don’t even consider using your own!

Shading plants in a greenhouse from the midday sun will also help pollination rates. Opt for 40-50% sunblock so plants still get plenty of sun to photosynthesize, with a shade cloth like this from Amazon, and position it so it only blocks the strongest overhead midday rays.

4. DIY Drip Irrigation is a Game-Changer

Let’s be honest, how regularly do you water your tomato plants? Most toms are on a rollercoaster ride between saturated and dry soil, and one of the most important things you can give a tomato plant while it’s fruiting is consistent moisture. Any big swings in soil moisture stresses plants, leads to blossom end rot, and cracked, split fruit. A dehydrated plant may also drop its flowers.

Drip irrigation systems are great, but there are lots of other, cheaper ways you can stabilize soil moisture between waterings or rainfall. I’ve DIYed drip irrigation systems from upcycled pop bottles, and you can see how I made them here.

I now also use clay LECA balls such as these from Amazon as pot-toppers to regulate moisture, and I DIY sunken water reservoirs alongside my bigger tomato plants to mimic how ollas (like these from Amazon) work. Mixing coconut coir such as this from Amazon into the soil is another way to help it hold onto an excess of water then release it slowly.

Yes, I water just as often, but the soil is delivered to my plants far more evenly and that means they’re far less stressed. It also means that I can go away for the weekend without having to ask my nosy neighbor to water my precious toms, so I'm far less stressed, too.

5. Stopping Feeding is as Important as Starting Feeding

We all know we need to feed our tomato plants to produce lots more fruit, and to start as soon we spot the first flowers. But when do you stop feeding? Because if you carry on feeding too long, you encourage the plant to pointlessly keep on growing rather than directing its energy into ripening the existing fruit.

You should stop feeding around a month before your first expected frost, or once nighttime temperatures start to dip below 50°F. At this point, snip off the top of the main growing stem(s) too, known as ‘topping’. This stops the plant growing upwards and forces it to direct all its energy into ripening its existing trusses of tomatoes.

June is a big month for tomatoes. Right now they should be putting out tons of new branches and leaves, their stems should be thickening, and the first flowers and fruit should appear soon. But if your tomato leaves are turning yellow this early in the season, then it’s crucial to figure out the cause and treat the problem fast.

Yellow leaves on tomatoes can occur for a variety of reasons. Some of them are no big deal and easy to fix. But if others are left untreated, they could have serious implications on your plants for the rest of the season. Your harvest could be much smaller or even nonexistent, depending on the severity of the problem.

Whatever the issue, though, there is a solution. But the first step is identifying the problem. I’ll walk you through the three most common causes of yellow tomato leaves in June and how to deal with each of these complications.

1. Nutrient Deficiencies

The most likely cause for yellow leaves on tomatoes in June is a nutrient deficiency. Tomato seedlings often turn yellow before you even transplant them into the garden because they’ve used up all the nutrients built into the seeds from which they sprouted. That’s why it’s important to fertilize tomatoes in June, especially if you didn’t give them a dose of fertilizer when you transplanted them into the garden.

Often leaves turn yellow when there is a nitrogen deficiency in the soil – nitrogen is what stimulates lots of green, leafy growth. But phosphorus and potassium are also key for producing lots of fruit, so you don’t want to overdo it with the nitrogen in order to get green leaves at the expense of actual tomatoes. Though, a potassium deficiency can cause yellowing around the edges of your tomato leaves as well.

Iron and magnesium deficiencies can also cause yellowing leaves on tomatoes. But rather than the entire leaf turning yellow, these nutrition problems exhibit themselves in different ways. Iron chlorosis causes the leaves to yellow and the stems to remain green. A magnesium deficiency causes leaves to take on a yellow, splotchy appearance.

The best course of action is to first do a soil test – this quick and easy at-home soil test kit from Home Depot is a great option for immediate results – before choosing a fertilizer for your plants. A one-size-fits-all fertilizer is not ideal, especially if your plants are already turning yellow. A simple soil test will tell you exactly what nutrients your tomatoes are lacking and guide you to choose the proper plant food for your particular plants.

2. Diseases

A variety of different tomato diseases can cause leaves to turn yellow. In June, the most likely diseases to impact your plants are:

• Early Blight
• Late Blight
• Septoria Leaf Spot
• Leaf Mold
• Bacterial Spot
• Fusarium Wilt
• Tomato Pith Necrosis
• Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus

The best way to both prevent these diseases is to provide proper tomato care. Do a soil test before planting and amend your soil based on those results. Water plants at the base to prevent splashback onto leaves, which can spread diseases. Provide consistent irrigation so plants are not stressed and more vulnerable to disease. When pruning tomato plants, always clean your pruners between each plant to prevent disease spread.

As an extra precaution, especially if you’ve encountered any of these diseases in previous years, choose disease-resistant tomato varieties to grow in your garden. Botanical Interests is a great source for disease-resistant tomato seeds. Or you can shop disease-resistant tomato starter plants from Bonnie Plants.

3. Herbicide Drift

Another cause of yellow leaves on tomato plants is herbicide drift, however, this is much less common. Still herbicides can travel via the wind for up to a mile and harm your tomato plants, causing them to twist, turn yellow, and become stunted. This issue is more likely if you live near a commercial farm, but it can still occur in any neighborhood.

If you use herbicides in your landscape, never apply them on a windy day and try to stay as far away from your tomatoes as possible. Ideally, you should hand-pull weeds with a tool like Grampa’s Weeder from Walmart, which works wonders on the dandelions in my yard. You can also try a safer organic weed control method instead, so you don’t accidentally harm your own plants.

Herbicides are also sometimes present in low-quality soil mixes, composts, and mulches. That’s why you should sometimes be careful when using free mulch, free compost, or free garden soil. If possible, find out the source of the material to ensure it does not contain unwanted herbicides that can ruin your garden.

Planting tomatoes in spring is important, but don’t underestimate the importance of caring for your plants in June. If you start good tomato-care habits now, you’ll get better quality fruit more fruit, and a plant that lives longer.

When you are growing tomatoes, you can’t rest on your laurels in June. Early summer is a critical period for tomato plants as they develop from green leaves into summer fruits. Don’t worry – the tasks are not complex.

The top five things you need to do for tomatoes in June are simple actions like giving them water, fertilizer, a support system, mulch and a haircut.

What Tomatoes Need in June

For tomatoes to be happy campers, they need a proper growing location where they get at least 6 hours a day of direct sunlight each day and moist, well-draining soil. If you planted in May, upkeep starts in June. Here are the five most important tasks to keep those plants healthy and growing.

1. Provide Support for Tomato Plants

If you have young kids, you know that sense of shock when you see how fast they grow. One minute they are babes in arms; the next minute, it seems, they are riding a bike. The same is true for your tomato plants in June.

Tomato plants shoot up amazingly fast. In early June, it’s time to set up a support system for them. By late June, the plants are too heavy and tangled to move them around. What happens if you don’t support them? They can drag on the ground, bend, develop disease, and even snap. Great support options include modular tomato cages, stakes, and trellises.

This snap-together system, available from Amazon, is a personal favorite of Gardening Know How Senior Editor Liz Baessler. If you have waited too long to install a traditional cage, you can just build this modular system around your plants with no fuss!

2. Water Deeply and Regularly

Think of cutting into a big ripe tomato; it’s full of juice! That suggests that you can’t grow tomatoes without regular water. While all young tomato plants need moist soil, tomatoes require even more water in June as temperatures rise.

For June irrigation, regular deep watering is the rule. It encourages deeper, stronger root systems and better drought resistance. Water slowly and deeply, putting the water around the roots of the plants, never overhead. Installing a drip irrigation system like this Rain Bird watering kit from Amazon is easy to do and will keep your tomatoes perfectly watered, even while you're on vacation. Watering early in the morning is ideal so that the leaves will be dry well before nightfall. Wet foliage at night is a recipe for fungal issues.

How often should you water? You want to irrigate at least once a week, but you might need to water more frequently if the weather is hot and dry. The idea is to keep the soil consistently moist. Going from very dry to very wet will cause your fruits to crack.

3. Add Mulch Around the Base of Plants

One way to help tomatoes hold moisture in the soil is to apply mulch. This is particularly important as summer temperatures rise. Spreading a few inches of mulch around the base of each tomato plant will also suppress weeds and keep the roots cooler.

Mulching also prevents soil from “bouncing” up onto foliage when it rains, an event that results in soil-borne diseases to spread to the lower leaves.

When mulching in June, remember to keep the mulch an inch or so from the main stem. What to use for mulch? Some good choices are straw, pine needles, compost, and shredded leaves.

4. Clip Out Lower Leaves to Improve Airflow

It’s hard to imagine when you are planting your crops, but, by June, tomato plants often become thick and crowded. The lush leaves reduce airflow and increase the risk of fungal disease as the weather grows warmer. Fungal diseases spread fast when leaves remain wet for long periods, the air is stagnant, and plants are overcrowded.

So take your snippers and prune your tomatoes in June. Focus on leaves that touch the soil, and leaves that are yellowing. This will allow more air to circulate, reducing humidity around the plant. It also helps prevent soil-borne diseases from splashing into the lower tomato leaves.

5. Monitor for Early Pest and Disease Problems

What happens in June? People get married, we celebrate the summer solstice, and tomato pests and common tomato diseases first begin appearing. With careful monitoring, you can get out ahead of the problems and avoid severe infestations later in the summer.

What are you looking for? Any signs of bug damage, including yellowing or wilting foliage, spots on leaves, or chewed leaves. You should also note any and all bugs, including aphids, hornworms and whiteflies. Treat these critters ASAP with diatomaceous earth. Be sure to only use food-grade diatomaceous earth, which can be found on Amazon, so that you can enjoy your tomatoes safely.

When it comes to diseases, fungal diseases are on the top of the list. Think about early tomato blight and Septoria leaf spot. Treat diseases when spotted, and take steps to prevent diseases in the future, including watering early in the morning, trimming leaves that touch the ground, and spacing the tomatoes appropriately.

Tomatoes are heavy feeders and fast growers. During June, they enter a stage where they need proper support, balanced watering, airflow, and regular maintenance to continue growing strong through the hottest part of summer.

June is here and that means for most gardeners across the US, it’s time to transplant your tomatoes. Transplanting time is also the perfect moment to give your tomatoes a boost with their first dose of fertilizer for the season.

Maybe you live somewhere warm and you’ve already put your tomatoes in the ground or you live in the far north and you’re still waiting for that final frost date. Either way, whether you’ve already moved your plants into the garden or that’s on your to-do list for this weekend, now is the ideal time to fertilize tomatoes.

But before you start feeding your favorite vegetable, it’s important to understand exactly what kind of fertilizer your tomatoes need at this stage in their lifecycle. It’s also vital to apply fertilizer in the right way to ensure your plants get the biggest benefit and you don’t accidentally set back their growth.

I’ll walk you through how to fertilize tomatoes in June for a huge harvest this summer. Plus, I’ll reveal the biggest tomato feeding mistake that can potentially ruin your plants for the rest of the season.

Do You Have to Fertilize Tomatoes in June?

June is a great time to start fertilizing tomatoes. Most gardeners begin transplanting tomatoes outdoors between mid-May and mid-June. The exact date varies depending on your growing zone and last frost date in spring.

But by mid to late June, almost everywhere in the contiguous US should be free of frost, which means it’s safe to plant your tomatoes outdoors. When you transplant your tomatoes outdoors, you should also give them their first dose of fertilizer.

Benefits of Fertilizing Tomatoes in June

Fertilizing tomatoes in June at the time of transplanting or just after planting tomatoes outdoors gives them a head start that will benefit them for the rest of the summer. It helps them establish a healthy root system that will set them up for strong growth the rest of the summer. Fertilizing in June also provides them with a much-needed boost of nutrients that will help them transition from indoor growing to thriving outdoors in the garden.

If you started tomatoes from seed, by June, your seedlings have likely depleted all the nutrients that were stored in the original seed. Most seed starting mixes don’t include much fertilizer – if any at all – so by the time your seedlings are big enough to transplant, they are in need of more nutrients.

Fertilizing tomatoes in June, just after planting, replenishes your plants with necessary nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other micronutrients they need to thrive. If your tomato seedlings are turning yellow, that’s a clear sign that they need a dose of fertilizer when you transplant them.

How to Fertilize Tomatoes in June

The easiest way to fertilize tomatoes in June is when you transplant them into the garden. There are two ways you can do this. The first way is to amend the soil in each individual hole. After you dig the hole for each tomato plant, add a dose of a slow-release organic fertilizer. My favorite tomato fertilizer is this one from Jobe’s on Amazon. Follow the instructions on the package for the proper dosage. Then mix the fertilizer into the surrounding soil and plant your tomato.

The other way to fertilize tomatoes at planting is to amend the soil in the entire area where you plan on putting your tomatoes. Again, use an organic slow-release granular fertilizer that will gently feed your plants all season. Follow the recommended dosage on the package for the size area you need to cover. Then use a rake or one of my favorite gardening tools, the Garden Weasel from Amazon, to incorporate the fertilizer into the soil and plant.

Water plants after you finish transplanting your tomatoes to help spread the nutrients to your tomatoes’ roots. Always water plants after fertilizing and transplanting to help them settle into the soil and prevent transplant shock.

If you’ve already transplanted your tomatoes into the garden and forgot to fertilize, don’t worry – it’s not too late. You can apply a side dressing of an organic granular fertilizer to your plants now to give them a boost. Simply sprinkle the recommended amount around each plant and gently use your fingers to mix it into the soil. Don’t get too aggressive with this or you could damage some of the roots. Next, water in the fertilizer to help it seep down into the roots.

Alternatively, you can use a liquid tomato fertilizer like this organic option from Espoma. Mix the recommended dosage for your number of plants into a watering can and drench your plants at the soil line. After the first dose of fertilizer for the season, keep reapplying your organic fertilizer of choice every two to four weeks or follow the directions for the specific plant food you use.

Don’t Make This Feeding Mistake

Feeding tomatoes in June can give them a huge boost that will serve them well during the peak of the summer growing season, but there’s a common fertilizing mistake that can actually set back plants. You should never fertilize plants during the heat of the day.

Fertilizing tomatoes in the middle of a hot June afternoon is a recipe for disaster. It can cause fertilizer burn on plants and scorch the foliage they need to capture the sun for photosynthesis to grow. Young plants, especially newly transplanted ones, are most at risk of fertilizer burn and leaf scorch.

The best time to fertilize plants is in the morning. This allows time for any excess water that may get on foliage to dry before the end of the day. That’s important because wet leaves invite many common tomato diseases. So give your plants a dose of fertilizer in the morning some day this month for an even bigger harvest of tasty tomatoes later on in the summer.

Tomato Fertilizing Essentials

You’ve likely seen all the stories about sprinkling baking soda on compost to supposedly sweeten your homegrown tomatoes. But does it actually work? Well, we hate to bust a good myth, but the truth is that it could kill your plants. There is, however, a genius use for baking soda that will help your tomato plants grow strong and healthy. Ready for the facts? Let’s get into it!

Does Baking Soda Sweeten Tomatoes?

The idea behind using baking soda to grow sweeter tomatoes is that this pantry staple is naturally alkaline, so adding it to the compost will reduce the acidity of your crop. In real life, that simply doesn’t happen. Sprinkling bicarbonate of soda onto soil around tomato plants won't affect the taste of the fruit.

It could, however, do a lot of harm. Tomatoes naturally prefer to grow in slightly acidic soil and if conditions become too alkaline, plants are unable to take up some nutrients, and that can cause leaves to yellow. What’s more, baking soda is a salt so using too much of it can stunt plants, cause them to wilt, and even kill them.

So the answer is a resounding no. Don’t use baking soda on tomato plants in an attempt to grow sweeter fruit. It doesn’t affect the taste and you could kill your plants. If you have the slightest concern about the pH of your soil, use a Soil Test Kit such as this from Amazon, and find out exactly what you’re dealing with before you do anything to amend it.

What Does Sweeten Tomatoes?

The sweetness of tomatoes is mostly down to the variety, and how much sun the plants get. Super-sweet cultivars are usually cherry, grape or baby plum tomatoes, as these have a higher concentration of sugars. The amount of sunshine also has a say, as plants photosynthesize sunlight to produce carbohydrates that convert to natural sugars. It’s not so much that more sun grows sweeter tomatoes, but that an absence of sun results in a blander taste. If a tomato is to develop its optimal flavour, the plant needs to be basking in a minimum of six hours of sunshine a day.

Another factor that affects how tasty your tomatoes are is the overall health of your plants. The first step in growing flourishing tomato plants is to pick a variety that's well suited to the conditions you’re growing them. Choose the exact right cultivar for your situation, whether that's a windowsill pot, a patio container or a veggie patch, and you’re already halfway to the tastiest toms in town.

How Can I Use Baking Soda to Help My Tomatoes Thrive?

While baking soda doesn’t help a jot to sweeten tomatoes, it’s incredibly effective at preventing fungal diseases in tomato plants. So effective, in fact, that it’s recommended as a preventative by the US Department of Agriculture.

The magic formula is to mix a heaped tablespoon of baking soda with a level teaspoon of vegetable oil, stir in a squirt of liquid dish soap, then dilute with a gallon of water. Pour into a simple plastic spray bottle such as this from Amazon and spray onto leaves every 7-14 days. The solution works by increasing the pH of the leaf surfaces which makes it more difficult for fungal spores to survive.

Ensuring good airflow around your plants, watering the soil rather than the foliage, and being able to recognise common tomato diseases so you can take swift action before they spread, will also help.

Does Baking Soda Deter Pests as Well as Disease?

Baking soda irritates soft-bodied pests such as slugs, snails and ants so, if you’re growing tomatoes in pots or grow bags, you can sprinkle some on the ground around them to deter these critters.

However, ants are rarely a problem on tomato plants and their presence can actually be helpful, alerting you to an aphid infestation. If you spot ants crawling on the leaves or stems, they’re likely feeding on the sweet liquid that aphids secrete. And aphids do damage tomato plants. Have a close look at the undersides of the leaves and if you find aphids, apply neem oil such as this from Amazon.

Dilute the neem oil according to the instructions and only spray in the evening once plants are out of the sun to avoid scorching.

Ants may also bore into splitting and over-ripe tomatoes, but it’s far easier to simply water more consistently and pick your toms more regularly than it is to control the ants. And if you really don’t want ants on your tomato plants, then a good smear of petroleum jelly – yes, the basic stuff you smear on chapped lips that you can buy for less than $4 on Amazon – around the main stem is a much more effective barrier than baking soda.

While slugs and snails do love to snack on young tomato seedlings and will happily snaffle up fruit that sits on the soil, they don’t often trouble mature plants. If you find they’re a problem then there are better ways to deal with them than using baking soda. Sluggo, available from Amazon, is based on iron phosphate which occurs naturally in soil, and is safe to use around pets and other wildlife. Or simply use a natural treat that these critters adore even more as bait, then rehome the pests far away from your tomato plants. I find that using cucumber slices to deal with a slug problem is the most effective method of all.

What Works Way Better With Tomatoes Than Baking Soda?

If you want to grow tastier, healthier tomatoes and enjoy an abundant harvest, the single best thing you can do – after the basics of sunshine, consistent watering and weekly feeding with a liquid fertilizer such as Espoma Organic Tomato Food, available from Amazon – is to plant basil alongside.

Using basil as a companion plant for tomatoes has a number of proven benefits: it helps tomato plants grow stronger roots and respond faster to stress such as pests and disease; and it attracts pollinators and deters pests. That all combines to increase tomato yield by around 20%. And guess what? Planting basil makes tomatoes taste better, too. Yes, the holy grail of more delicious tomatoes – and that's a fact, backed up by research from the University of Florida.

While we all love a TikTok gardening hack, sometimes it's better to stick to science.

SUMMARY

• Baking soda doesn’t sweeten homegrown tomatoes.
• An excess of baking soda can harm and even kill tomato plants.
• A diluted solution of baking soda, vegetable oil and dish soap is effective at helping to prevent fungal disease on tomato plants.
• Baking soda can act as a deterrent to slugs, snails and ants, but there are more effective ways to deal with these pests.
• Planting basil alongside tomatoes is the best way to increase and improve your crop.

Summer is almost here, which means that your tomato plants are probably due for their first pruning. As May turns into June and temperatures climb, newly transplanted tomatoes start to make big leaps in terms of growth. They relish the longer days and warmer nights of late spring and early summer.

But as tomatoes grow, they can start to get a little bit out of control. They grow quickly and put out lots of suckers that direct energy away from fruit production. When this begins, it’s time to start pruning tomato plants. Making some simple cuts now will keep your tomatoes tidy – which helps prevent disease – and it will also increase your yields.

Before you pick up the pruners, there are a few basics you need to learn to ensure you make the right cuts. Not all tomatoes require pruning. Plus, cutting in the wrong spot can actually ruin your chances of a big harvest. Here’s how to start pruning tomatoes and why right now is the most important time to make the cut.

Do All Tomatoes Require Pruning?

Not all tomatoes are created equal. There are two main types of tomatoes: determinate and indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes are bush-type tomatoes, which means they stop growing at a certain height. They are much shorter and more compact than indeterminate varieties and they don’t require pruning.

Indeterminate tomatoes can reach up to 6 feet (2 m) or higher, if you let them keep growing. They put out lots of suckers that divert energy and nutrients away from fruit production. These vining types of tomatoes produce best when you prune them. This directs the plant’s resources towards growing lots of big, juicy tomatoes. Pruning also makes fruit ripen faster, especially at the end of the season.

Benefits of Pruning Tomatoes

A bigger harvest isn’t the only benefit of pruning indeterminate tomatoes. Making smart cuts can also keep plants healthier.

Tomatoes can quickly produce lots of branches full of leaves that become crowded. Pruning away suckers and unnecessary branches improves airflow, which helps prevent common tomato diseases.

Keeping plants tidy by pruning them regularly also makes it easier to spot common tomato pests. There are less leaves where hungry tomato hornworms and annoying aphids can hide.

Best Time to Start Pruning Tomatoes

The best time to start pruning tomatoes is once plants are at least 12 inches (30 cm) tall. Depending on where you live and when you started your tomatoes, the exact date will vary. But many gardeners’ tomatoes pass this threshold in early June. So now is the perfect time to pick up your pruners – our team of gardening experts swear by these Felco pruners – or use your fingers to start pinching off suckers.

New sprouts show up fast, so you need to continue pruning away tomato suckers every week or two throughout the rest of the growing season. Luckily, pruning opens up the structure of your tomato plants and makes it easier to see suckers as they emerge. Snap or cut off suckers before they get too big. It’s best to remove them when they’re under 2 inches (5 cm) long. This handy thumb knife from Amazon makes plucking suckers easy – and kind of fun!

Prune tomato plants in the morning, but don’t make any cuts if plants are wet. This can invite disease. If your plants show any signs of disease, be sure to sterilize your pruners between each plant or else you risk spreading the problem to other plants.

Even if your tomato plants aren’t 12 inches (30 cm) tall yet, there may still be some pruning you need to do. Tomatoes that are producing flowers, but are under the 12-inch (30 cm) threshold require pruning as well.

Pluck off any tomato flowers that appear on plants under 1 foot (30 cm) tall. If you leave them, they may develop into normal fruits. But at this point in the growth cycle, letting a small plant bloom and produce a fruit is only going to sap your tomato of energy it will need later. Wait until your tomatoes hit the 1-foot (30 cm) mark before allowing flowers to progress into fruit.

Don’t Make This Pruning Mistake

Pruning tomatoes is quick, simple, and – honestly – kind of fun to do. It’s a great time to check on your plants’ health, look for any unwanted bugs, and train your tomatoes to grow big and strong. But it’s also easy to get carried away when pruning and end up making a cut you shouldn’t have. And there’s one tomato pruning mistake in particular that can ruin your harvest for the rest of the summer.

Do not cut off the top of the main stem. Only prune off the suckers that emerge in the joints between the side branches and the main stem. If you accidentally top your tomato plant at this point in the season, you will severely cut down on your yield of fruit for the rest of the summer. All of the other branches come off of this stem and that’s where your tomato fruits emerge and develop.

However, if you do accidentally top your tomato, you can allow a couple of suckers to develop and turn those into new main stems. They probably won’t be as strong as the original main stem, but they will still produce plenty of fruit.

Tomato Pruning Essentials

Indeterminate types of tomatoes can grow incredibly tall and flop over under their own weight. The traditional conical metal tomato cages are often too weak and too short to support the full weight of a productive tomato plant, especially, if it’s a larger variety like a beefsteak tomato.

Staking tomato plants with a support rod is another option that also leaves a lot to be desired. They are easier to store than the spiky metal cages, but require gardeners to tie the plants onto the stakes which can pinch off the stem of the plant leading to vine death.

Luckily, there are some really great modular tomato support systems on the market these days so you don’t have to compromise!

1. Snap-Together System

This snap-together system, available from Amazon, is a personal favorite of Gardening Know How Senior Editor Liz Baessler. Liz was tired of fussing with metal tomato cages that get tangled, rusted, and don’t quite fit in the shed, so she decided to give this adjustable trellis a try.

Sturdy stakes get pushed into the ground around your plant and you build the trellis with snap-in pieces as the plant grows. You can make the cage triangular or square and as tall as you want! It’s also really nice to not have to worry about trying to weave parts of the plant back within the cage. I can’t tell you how many times I have accidentally bent and snapped a healthy tomato-bearing branch trying to coax it inside the cage so it can get proper support. With this system, you can add a support bar wherever you need it. No more broken branches.

Possibly the best part of this tomato support makes itself known at the end of the season. All these pieces pop apart and you can store them in a fraction of the space that a traditional tomato cage takes up. Liz stores hers in a reusable grocery bag. Nothing better than a clean shed at the end of a busy growing season!

2. Flexible Growing

I am justifiably obsessed with the clever FlexGrow tomato cage system from Vego Garden. These strong, adjustable tomato cages can support up to 33 lbs of tomatoes and stack on top of each other to grow with your plants. Not only is the height adjustable, you can also form the pieces into an A-frame, a trellis, or a fence. Mind blown. This means you can grow perfect tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, or flowering vines with the same 4-pack of cages.

Vego Garden also designed these cages so they open wide and can be installed around a mature tomato plant without damaging it. I needed this a few years ago when I left town without caging my tomatoes and came back to plants that had doubled in size and couldn’t be shoved into the cages I had. I put on my problem-solving cap and built a strange string trellis system with leftover wood from refinishing my deck. It barely worked and my tomatoes were a messy jungle the whole season.

The modular panels are made from powder-coated galvanized steel that will resist rust and stay sturdy for years to come. This clever system grows and changes with you and your garden through the seasons and folds completely flat for easy storage.

3. Stacking Ladders

The stacking tomato ladder from Gardener’s Supply Company is another fabulous, modular tomato support system. Made of powder-coated steel, these adjustable supports can stack up to 6.5 feet tall and hold over 100 pounds of plant and produce! They are open on one side so they can be slipped around a mature tomato plant and their patented “plant cradle” design gently supports your tomato plants. No pinched stems here!

I think the red tomato plant ladders are absolutely adorable and they will look great for years to come. These ladders come in a set of 6 and you can use one for dwarf or bush tomato varieties or stack up to 3 for those big indeterminate plants. Last summer I had one indeterminate plant that grew up and over my traditional, conical tomato cage and continued to vine through the rest of the vegetable garden. It was a mess and the plant was so heavy that it eventually crushed its cage. All the fruit ended up on the ground and was eaten by animals and pests. This might just be the perfect solution for those jumbo indeterminates!

These tomato ladders have almost 900 5-star reviews, so clearly Gardener’s Supply Co. is doing something right! The ladders nest inside each other for clutter-free storage over the winter.

So go ahead and recycle those flimsy, rusty tomato cages that clog up your shed and try out a modular tomato support system. The flexibility, ease, and effectiveness of these modular systems will make your tomato garden happier year after year.

Companion planting when growing vegetables isn’t just based on folklore passed down through generations: recent studies show some classic combinations work in ways we never imagined possible. Take tomatoes and basil. They’re not only best friends in the kitchen, but incredible allies in the veggie patch, and studies now explain the science behind why growing basil alongside your tomatoes really does increase the yield by as much as 20%.

Intercropping and companion plant research is being led by the agricultural industry as a response to the increasingly problematic practice of growing single crops as monocultures, where abundant harvests rely on the use of pesticides and fertilizers. About 200 million metric tonnes of tomatoes are commercially produced around the world every year, so you can understand why this crop has attracted plenty of attention from the scientific world. One of the most significant findings is that superhero basil is one of the best companion plants for tomatoes – and we gardeners growing crops at home can enjoy the benefits, too.

So, once you've decided the best tomatoes for you to grow this summer, it’s now a given that you should plant basil alongside. Here’s why.

1. Basil Makes Tomato Plants Respond Faster to Stress

Recent studies show that basil releases volatile compounds that prime a tomato plant’s defense mechanisms. So, if a tomato plant is attacked and damaged by pests or disease, one that's growing alongside basil will react more quickly and robustly than one that isn't. Tomato plants are vulnerable to all sorts of pests and diseases, so strengthening the stress response is an across-the-board benefit, because healthy plants grow more fruit.

If you're wondering how to increase tomato yield, you should sow basil as a companion plant for this reason alone.

2. Basil Helps Tomato Plants Grow Stronger Roots

The preliminary findings of a 2024 study showed that planting basil significantly increased the symbiosis of mycorrhizal fungi in tomato plant roots. Mycorrhizal fungi are beneficial microorganisms that form a symbiotic relationship with roots and improve their ability to absorb water and nutrients.

This doesn’t just make for stronger, healthier plants, but ones that can tolerate drought and extreme environmental conditions better. In the face of this year's predicted super El Niño event, it makes more sense than ever to grow resilient plants.

3. Basil Blooms Attract Pollinators

A tomato flower needs to be pollinated before a fruit can form. Pollination can be done naturally by bees or the wind, or by us gardeners giving the plants a gentle shake; some folk hold an electric toothbrush to a flower stem for a few seconds to mimic the buzzing of bees and trigger pollen release!

Plant some basil and let it bloom, however, and it will attract plenty of bees to ensure thorough pollination. It's a common issue with homegrown tomatoes that only the lower half of a truss fruits while the later flowers don’t set, and this will solve that problem. One study found that the average number of fruits per cluster on tomatoes grown by themselves was 5.88, compared to 7.2 fruits per cluster on plants grown with basil.

We normally pinch off the flowerbuds to prevent basil leaves becoming bitter and tough, but leaving some to bloom will also give you edible flowers and seed to save for next year’s sowings.

4. Basil Helps Control Tomato Pests

Leaving basil to flower will also attract ladybugs, which will help to control aphids. Basil’s strong fragrance will also help general pest control, masking the scent of the tomato plants so fewer aphids arrive in the first place. The powerful smell of basil’s aromatic oils also confuses whiteflies and tomato hornworms.

And the less energy your tomato plant has to put into dealing with these stressors, the more energy it has to grow fruit.

5. Tomatoes Grown With Basil Taste Better

This supposition has long been bandied about in the gardening world, but a study by the University of Florida concluded that tomatoes grown with lemon basil were indeed tastier than ones grown without. We know that aroma contributes significantly to flavor perception, but whether the tomatoes actually tasted better or the research volunteers simply perceived them as more flavorful as a result of the basil’s scent is a moot point. Delicious tomatoes are delicious tomatoes!

How to Grow Basil With Tomatoes

Because basil plants have shallow roots, they won’t negatively impact the growing conditions of your tomatoes. Both need similar conditions of consistent moisture, well-drained soil and 6–8 hours of sunlight a day, so they’ll thrive together. Space basil 10–20 inches from the tomato plant for optimum protection without congestion.

Leave a few basil plants to flower, but keep picking leaves and pinching off flowerbuds and stem tips from the rest to encourage strong, bushy, fresh and aromatic growth. Harvest no more than a third of a plant’s leaves at a time.

Most types of basil are short-lived perennials but won’t survive temperatures below freezing, so are best treated as annuals in all zones. Collect seed in late summer to re-sow the following year once soil temperatures have reached 70°F.

The Best Basil Varieties to Grow With Tomatoes

The latest estimates suggest there are as many as 150 types of basil but as this species cross-breeds so easily, it’s impossible to know for sure! These are the types considered most effective as companion plants for tomatoes. It’s likely that different varieties may each work more efficiently in the many ways basil supports a heavy yield so, until we know more, it’s probably best to plant a few different varieties with your tomatoes.

Sweet Basil

Ocimum basilicum is the basil most often used as a companion plant for tomatoes. Also often referred to as common basil, it’s grown as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out. It’s fast-growing and has a sweet and slightly peppery flavor. Seeds are available from Eden Brothers, and seeds and plants are stocked by Burpee.

Genovese Basil

A variety of sweet basil Ocimum basilicum, Genovese has a similar sweet anise flavor but larger leaves, and is considered the go-to for making pesto. It’s also fast-growing, raised as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out. Seeds are available from Eden Brothers, Burpee and Botanical Interests.

Italian Large Leaf Basil

Also a sweet Ocimum basilicum variety and similar to Genovese, this has even bigger leaves, up to four inches long. Fast-growing, it's easily raised as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out. Seeds are available from Burpee and Eden Brothers.

Purple Basil

The aroma of purple basil is more intense than regular sweet basil, so this is particularly effective at repelling pests. Its flavor is equally strong and fast-growing Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens can be grown as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out. Those purple leaves are pretty, too. Seeds are available from Eden Brothers.

Greek Basil

With tiny-leaved plants growing into a tidy 8-inch-high mound, Greek basil is handy for container-grown tomatoes. Ocimum minimum is the variety used in the study that found basil strengthens a tomato plant’s stress-response, too. Despite its compact size, this variety has a strong clove-anise aroma for pest-repelling purposes, and a robust flavor. This is a fast-grower raised as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out, and seeds are available from Burpee.

Lemon Basil

While lemon basil doesn’t have the eugenol content of sweet basil that works so effectively as a pest repellent, this is the basil used in the tasty tomatoes study. As its common name suggests, Ocimum x africanum has an intense citrus aroma and taste, with just a hint of anise. Grown as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out, seeds of this fast-growing basil are available from Botanical Interests.

And the best thing about growing basil alongside your tomatoes? You’ll be able to harvest plenty of tasty leaves to add to your bumper crop of tomatoes, for all sorts of delicious dishes.

May is graduation month for most tomato plants. If you're growing in a temperate climate, this is probably when you're moving your seedlings from their coddled life indoors to the rugged reality of the garden. It can be a little daunting.

But don't worry! As long as you follow a few simple rules, you can send your tomatoes out into the world with confidence. Here are six absolute must-do's for tomato care in May if you want a bumper crop come August.

1. Harden Off Seedlings

This one comes first, no matter what. Whether you've started seeds indoors yourself or you've bought seedlings at a nursery, your little plants are likely used to the cushy indoor life. That means no wind, no bright sun, and especially no cold. If you plant them straight in the ground, all that sudden change is going to give them a rude awakening.

Will it kill them? Unless it frosts, probably not. But it will shock them, and they'll spend the next several weeks struggling to recover when they could be putting down roots and shooting out leaves. It's best to avoid it.

Here's how to harden off seedlings:

1. Place seedlings outdoors in a shaded, sheltered spot for 2 hours during the day.
2. Bring them back indoors.
3. Repeat, increasing outdoor time by 1-2 hours each day, gradually exposing them to dappled sunlight and then direct morning sun.
4. Keep up the process for 7-10 days.
5. As long as temperatures are consistently above 50 F (10 C), you can move them outside permanently.

Shop Tomato Essentials

2. Dig Deep and Transplant

Once your tomato seedlings are hardened off, they're ready to transplant... as long as the soil has warmed to at least 60 F (16 C). Don't try to sneak them in early! Just like with hardening off, cool soil won't kill them, but it will set them back.

When you do transplant tomato plants, dig deep! Tomatoes and other nightshades have a unique ability that lets them develop roots anywhere along their stems. That means that whatever part of the seedling you bury, it will sprout roots.

If your seedlings are a bit leggy, that's totally fine. Just snap of the leaves on the bottom two thirds of the plant, and bury it so the remaining leaves are a few inches above the soil line. If the stem is extra long, you can try trench planting. Dig a long angled trench, and lay the seedling along it so its leaves are poking up above the soil line, then fill in the trench. The plant will benefit from having more roots close to the surface, where the soil is warmer and water is more readily available.

3. Add Support

It happens to the best of us. We plant our tomatoes, and we swear we'll add a cage as soon as we get to it. Then life happens, and weeks go by, and by the time we finally get to it, the plant is huge and it's impossible to fit a tomato cage around it without breaking some branches and dislodging some fruit. Or we stab part of the now-expansive root system and damage the plant. I know I've done it.

Learn from my mistake: add support to your tomato plants the day you put them in the ground!

4. Mulch Mulch Mulch!

Tomatoes are notoriously susceptible to soil-borne diseases like early blight and Septoria leaf spot. These spores live in the soil and ride up to your tomato's leaves in drops of water that splash onto them. If a seedling is surrounded by bare soil, every rain or watering is going to be an opportunity for splashback.

Keep spores from splashing by laying down 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) of mulch. I like to use straw mulch for all my vegetables.

5. Fertilize, and Keep It Balanced

Tomatoes benefit from an application of fertilizer when they're first planted, but it's important to keep it balanced. Too much nitrogen now, and they'll have a growth spurt much too fast. Too much phosphorous and they'll focus on making flowers when they should be growing leaves. A balanced fertilizer like this from Amazon will give them a good start.

Though it's tempting, don't put fertilizer in the hole with the seedling – it'll burn any roots it comes into direct contact with. Side dress them, or dilute it in water and drench them with liquid feed.

6. Prune, and Be Ruthless

If you're growing indeterminate tomatoes, you'll probably notice suckers – these are the small shoots that develop between the main stem and a branch. Pinch these suckers off to improve airflow.

If your plant is less than 12 inches (30 cm) tall and it starts to produce flowers, you should pinch them off, too. It feels like a crime, but it forces the plant to invest that energy into its root system, leading to a much higher yield later in the summer.

Finding yellow leaves on plants is very common. The scientific term for the phenomenon is chlorosis. For mature plants, it might just mean you’re at the end of the growing season. For tomato seedlings, yellow leaves mean something is wrong – but don’t panic yet.

From nutrient deficiencies to incorrect watering, many of the factors that lead to tomato seedlings turning yellow are easy to reverse. This is one of the most common tomato seedling problems and once you determine the cause, you can resolve the issue.

I’ll share the top reasons why tomato seedlings yellow and how to fix them. Just avoid the care mistakes below that cause this problem. Then start working towards a solution so you can grow strong, healthy, green plants that produce tons of tasty tomatoes.

Why Are My Tomato Seedlings Turning Yellow?

Yellowing is very common among the possible problems when growing tomatoes and it's often fixable, so there's no need to stress. The list of care mistakes below will help you identify the cause of tomato seedlings turning yellow and provide solutions help plants regain their green color.

1. You're Overwatering

Overwatering seedlings is probably the most common underlying cause of yellowing leaves. It can be tricky to strike the right balance with water. Seedlings need consistent moisture, but too much water can cause roots to suffocate and ultimately rot. This leads to tomato seedlings turning yellow because they can’t absorb adequate nutrients.

When watering seedlings, aim for soil that never dries out entirely but is also never soggy or waterlogged. Your seedlings should be in trays or small pots with a light, well-draining potting mix like this one from Miracle-Gro and drainage holes, so water can’t get trapped.

If your seed trays have become waterlogged and the seedlings are yellowing, let them dry out a bit before watering again. If the container isn’t draining, repot your seedlings in a container that will drain excess water.

2. You're Underwatering

Tomato seedlings can also yellow if the watering balance tips in the other direction towards too dry. As with overwatering, underwatering prevents the roots from taking up enough nutrients to promote healthy, green growth.

If you catch this issue early, it’s very easy to fix. Aim to water your seed trays regularly, keeping the soil consistently moist but not soggy or drenched. When dryness is a problem, it’s important to check on seedlings daily. If you see any dry soil on top, give them some water.

A watering can that can direct water towards the roots and produces a fine spray, like this seedling watering can from Amazon, is good for delicate young tomato plants.

3. You're Not Fertilizing

Watering issues are common and easy to fix, but if you’ve mastered it and still have yellowing, it’s time to consider nutrient deficiencies. The deficiency most likely to cause yellow leaves is nitrogen.

Look at how the leaves have become yellow. If they started yellowing from the leaves at the bottom, followed by the upper leaves, then nitrogen is the likely culprit. Less commonly, a lack of iron or potassium can cause yellowing on the newest leaves.

To prevent nutrient deficiencies, you can use compost in your potting mix when starting seeds. This will provide them with a rich substrate to promote healthy growth.

Alternatively, you can fertilize seedlings with a balanced but diluted liquid fertilizer after the first true leaves emerge. This organic liquid fertilizer from Amazon is a good choice. Apply the diluted solution every two to three weeks as seedlings grow.

4. You're Not Providing Enough Light

Bright light is essential for healthy seedling growth. Are your tomato plants getting enough light? If not, they can definitely turn yellow from the reduced photosynthesis.

Another sign of inadequate light is leggy growth. This means the stems are growing tall yet thin as they stretch to reach any available light.

Be sure your seedlings are getting 12 to 16 hours of direct, bright light per day. If sunny windows are scarce, use artificial lights, like this affordable grow light from Amazon, to give tomatoes a boost.

Situate lights a few inches from the tops of the seedlings. If you are using light from a window, rotate the seed trays regularly so they get even sunlight.

5. Your Plants Have a Disease

Hopefully, you’ve found the cause of your yellowing seedlings in one of the above issues. Tomato diseases are much more serious and more difficult to manage. They're also less likely to be the problem compared to the typical issues of lighting, water, and nutrients.

Fungal infections are most common, but you might also have a bacterial issue. Less common are viral diseases in tomato seedlings. Diseases in tomato seedlings often begin with yellowing from the top of the plant down. They are also associated with other signs, like spots on leaves or wilting.

If you see signs of a fungal disease, like fusarium wilt or early blight, remove the affected leaves or entire seedlings. You can try a fungicide, like this one from Bonide, if the infection hasn’t spread too far.

Bacterial diseases, like bacterial leaf spot, often come from the seed. That's why it’s so important to buy from reputable sources. Burpee has tons of high-quality tomato seeds, including many disease-resistant varieties. If your seeds were infected, all your seedlings are likely impacted and you may need to start over.

To prevent diseases in tomato seedlings, start with good seeds. Use clean, sterile seed starting mix and seed trays. Avoid overcrowding your seedlings, which can lead to disease spread. Good air flow between plants is important, too. Water only at the soil level and remove any seedlings that look diseased as soon as you spot the signs of illness.

For tomato seedlings, yellow leaves can mean many things. It’s a common phenomenon and shouldn't be too worrying as long as you determine the cause. The most important thing you can do when growing tomatoes from seeds is to keep a close eye on the seedlings as they develop.

Check them at least once a day for signs of watering issues, nutrient deficiencies, diseases, and other problems. The earlier you catch these issues, the easier they are to fix and the more likely it is you’ll be able to save your little seedlings.

If you're growing a garden, there's a decent chance you're growing tomatoes. They're the most popular crop, and one that has a massive payoff in flavor.

Of course gardening is rarely as easy as tossing some seeds in the ground and walking away. Tomatoes, in particular, need a little extra TLC and a little extra gear, especially if you want to get the most out of your plant.

But how much is too much? Once you dip your toe into the world of tomato growing accoutrements, you'll discover that the sky's the limit on what people will sell you. They'll insist, naturally, that you need all of it.

You probably don't, though. And you especially don't need the most expensive tomato fertilizers or slings specially designed to support ripening fruit.

To help you out, here's a breakdown of the tomato garden products it's worth splurging on a little bit, and the ones you can feel fine saving on.

Where to Splurge

I've tried my best to find a "cheap" splurge for each one of these, because we're growing tomatoes here, not buying an engagement ring.

Strong Plants

This is possibly the most important one. No matter how much you coddle your tomato plants, you're going to be fighting an uphill battle if you don't start strong. Starting strong means buying disease-resistant, healthy seeds or seedlings from a reputable seller. (Burpee is great!) You can buy all of these as seeds or live seedlings.

High Quality Soil

Not all soil is created equal, and even good soil isn't necessarily right for the job you have in mind. If you're growing in a container, you really need potting soil, which drains better and will keep your potted container from getting waterlogged. Grow outdoors in a bed, and you can get that cheaper garden soil.

No matter what, don't just dig up dirt from outside to fill a container – that's a sure way to rot your roots. And if you want to grow tomatoes in the ground, get your soil tested first. A lot of soil contains lead and other heavy metals and shouldn't be used to grow edibles.

Proper Fertilizer

Tomatoes are heavy feeders, and while they will probably survive fine without it, regular feeding may be the difference between an okay harvest and a bumper crop. Opt for a vegetable or tomato fertilizer. This will ensure you get lots of fruit and not just endless green vines.

Rich Compost

Just like with the fertilizer, high-quality compost can be the thing that makes a good tomato crop. You don't have to break the bank, but opt for something a little richer and you'll notice a difference.

Sturdy Support

If you've read my other writing about tomatoes, you know that I have a long-standing beef with cheap wire tomato cages. Tomatoes spend all summer growing heavier and more unwieldy – you don't want them collapsing under their own weight at the height of production.

My personal favorite is the modular cage below. It's sturdy, it's adjustable, and it collapses down to fit in your shed at the end of the year. Plus it's cheap!

Where to Save

Now we get into the nice part of the article, where you can breathe a sigh of relief and actually save a little money.

Seed Starting Trays

Seed starting trays like this one from Amazon are super convenient, and they're really not that expensive. But you don't need one to have success starting tomatoes from seed indoors. You can start seeds in an egg carton, or you can make a seed snail from bubble wrap. Heck, you can even start seeds in an ice cream cone! Your tomatoes will probably come out the same.

Containers

You don't even need to diy this one. Want to grow tomatoes in containers? Have a container? You're good to go!

Just make sure your container is big – tomato plants can get massive. And make sure there's at least one drainage hole. If you want, you can buy special tomato containers with a built-in trellis, but it's really not necessary.

Mulch

Anything can be mulch! Wood chips, grass clippings, straw. You can always buy mulch, but it's not a necessity.

Ties

Ties are something you might not think you need when you first plant a tomato. After all, it looks so small. But as the tomato plant grows, you'll probably need to attach it to its cage or trellis, just to keep it moving in the right direction. Commercial ties like this one from Amazon are super cheap. But if that's still too much for you, try using pantyhose or ribbon. As long as it's flat, so it doesn't cut into the soft flesh of the plant.

Tomatoes are the plant that pretty much every gardener wants to grow. They're great for salads, sandwiches, or just popping in your mouth, and they're one vegetable that definitely taste better home grown than from the grocery store. Once you've grown your own tomatoes, it's hard to go back.

But not everyone has the space for a big garden full of tomato plants. Not everyone has space for a garden at all! Luckily, it's totally possible to grow tomatoes in containers. And the cheapest, most convenient container to grow them in is also the best one.

Meet the grow bag!

The Benefits of Grow Bags

Fabric grow bags are ideal for container gardening because there's virtually no way to overwater them. Since the entire thing is permeable, water can evaporate out easily, even without a drainage hole. The fabric is also breathable and less likely than plastic to be baked by the summer heat, so roots stay nice and cool.

They also take up next to no space. Once you're done growing for the season, they collapse down flat and can be tucked away in the corner of a shed.

Root Pruning

But maybe the best benefit of fabric grow bags is the way they help plants adjust to container life.

A constant hazard of container gardening is the plant becoming root bound. When a plant's roots hit the wall of a pot, they turn and start growing along it. Unless something is done those roots will just grow around and around, choking themselves and getting less and less capable of taking up water and nutrients. You could pot the plant up into an even bigger container, but when space is of the essence that might just not be possible.

Instead, grow bags perform a natural process called "air pruning." As roots reach the edge of the container, they're exposed to the air that flows freely through the fabric. Roots don't like to grow into air, so this signals to them that it's time to stop growing in that direction, opting to sprout new, healthy feeder roots from the center.

This is a game changer for growing tomatoes, because they put out lots and lots of roots, and over the course of the summer they just get bigger and bigger. You can't go repotting a huge tomato plant in the middle of July. You'll lose all the fruit, and maybe even lose the plant.

With root pruning, though, the plant focuses its root production on the soil it has, staying a manageable size while taking up extra water and nutrients. It's a win-win!

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From beefsteak to baby cherry, heirlooms to hybrids, there are over 10,000 known tomato varieties, so we can be forgiven for finding it difficult to decide which is best tomato to grow in our gardens. But that incredible assortment does mean that, however big or small your backyard is, and whatever your USDA zone or growing conditions, there’s a variety that’s perfect for you. Not too big, not too small, but Goldilocks-just-right for an abundant harvest of flavorful fruits that makes the most of whatever outdoor space you’ve got.

I’ve been growing tomatoes for 20 years, starting off with a single small plant in a patio pot and gradually scaling my harvest up to match my garden size, and now I have a veggie patch heaving with ginormous vines. I like to experiment with different varieties every year, only regrowing those that really earn their garden space with lots of tasty toms, and zero hassle. So I can promise that, even if you’ve only got a windowsill to spare, you can enjoy flavorful, easy-to-grow tomatoes all summer long. The secret is simply to find the best tomato variety for your growing conditions.

Get that match right and rest is simple. All these varieties are straightforward to grow (I've included links so you can see exactly what products I'm talking about, but do support your local retailers, too). Start seeds in seed starter mix such as this from Gardenera via Amazon, or get a head start with a young plant that can go straight into a container of a nutritious all-purpose potting mix such as this from Amazon. Stake unless it’s a bush variety – using a cage is the easiest option, but make sure it’s strong like this one from Amazon as tomatoes are heavy!

If you’re growing tomatoes in the ground, then enrich your soil first with organic matter such as worm castings like these from Amazon. Adding coir like this from Amazon, too, will improve the soil’s drainage and ability to hold water – and consistent moisture is key to growing great tomatoes. Enriched soil or potting mix will have enough nutrients for strong growth but, once you spot flowers and the first fruit beginning to set, you can fuel an abundant harvest with a tomato feed such as Espoma Organic Tomato! from Amazon. Plants in pots will need more regular feeding than those growing in the ground.

Here are my top 10 tomato varieties to grow for maximum flavor in whatever garden space you’ve got. Which one is just right for you?

1. Best Tomato For a Windowbox or Balcony: Verandah Red

This little powerhouse of a plant means everyone can grow tomatoes as it only reaches just over a foot tall and wide. It’s been bred to thrive in a container so pop it in a windowbox or a balcony pot for abundant cherry tomatoes in the tiniest of spaces. You could grow it as a centrepiece for your outdoor dining table for the freshest of pickings for summer meals. Or it can even be grown on a sunny windowsill indoors: just gently shake the plant to pollinate flowers in the absence of bees.

As it’s a determinate variety, ‘Verandah Red’ naturally grows into a bushy shape that doesn’t need staking. Incredibly versatile and quick to mature in around 60 days, it can be grown in all zones.

2. Best Tomato For a Veggie Patch: Rain Drops

If you’ve got the room to stake 8-foot-high and 2–3-foot-wide ‘Rain Drops’ in a veggie patch, then you’ll enjoy flavorful cherry tomatoes right up to the first frost. This indeterminate hybrid has been bred to be direct-sown straight into the soil and it’s very straightforward to grow, even for beginner gardeners. And, as its name suggests, it’s pretty weatherproof with good resistance to cracking should a heatwave hit.

It takes 70 days to mature, so get seeds into the ground as soon as possible after your last frost date.

3. Best Tomato For a Huge Backyard: SteakHouse

One of the world’s largest beefsteak tomatoes, just one ‘SteakHouse’ tom can weigh up to 3lbs and a single slice is enough for a whole sandwich! Also known as ‘Gigantomo’, this variety is incredibly flavorful for its size, with a wonderful fragrance. This is an indeterminate variety so it needs strong support, and can grow up to 6 feet tall and wide. It takes around 80 days to mature so needs a long growing season in a warm, sunny climate, so it’s best suited to zones 7–9 but will be fine in zones 5–6 as long as it has a sunny, sheltered spot.

4. Best Tomato For a Hanging Basket: Sunpeach

Pop ‘Sunpeach’ in a sturdy hanging basket and you’ll have cascading stems studded with pretty pink-tinged cherry tomatoes all summer long. Give it the biggest basket you can and hang it high on a strong chain, though, because this is a highly productive variety and stems can grow to 8 feet long!

Choose a solid-sided hanging basket to conserve moisture, but you’ll still need to water extra regularly as compost will dry out more quickly in an exposed spot. Unlike many similar cultivars, this indeterminate variety is highly resistant to cracking and, as long as you look after it, it’ll reward you with toms till the first frost. It does best in a hanging basket in zones 5–8; while it will cope in zones 3 and 4, and 9, it's better to give it an easier life growing vertically in a trellised container.

5. Best Tomato For a Trellis or Fence: Super Sweet 100

‘Super Sweet 100’ is incredibly abundant with pendulous clusters of bright red cherry tomatoes, making it as attractive as it is productive. Plants can grow to 6 feet high – and even taller in the right conditions – but only spread to around 1½ feet, making it the perfect shape to grow up a trellis fixed to a fence. The tomatoes are beautifully sweet, so this variety will provide you with plenty of gardening snacks, too.

This is an indeterminate variety so it will produce tomatoes all summer long and, if you look after it, into fall. It prefers a warmer climate so zones 5–9 give optimal conditions.

6. Best Cherry Tomato For a Patio Pot: Baby Boomer

The competition for this category was tough, as plenty of cherry tomato varieties have been bred especially for patio pots. But ‘Baby Boomer’ earns my top spot on account of its incredible abundance in the smallest of spaces. One plant measuring just 2 feet high and wide can produce around 300 tomatoes, and each is a 1oz gem bursting with sweet flavor. It’s fabulously quick to mature, too, taking just 50–55 days to fruit.

‘Baby Boomer’s only downfall is that it tends to produce its fruit all at once so, if you want patio pickings that keep coming all summer, ‘Sweetheart of the Patio’ is a better choice. Or, even better, grow both! 'Baby Boomer' and 'Sweetheart of the Patio' are both suitable for zones 3–11.

7. Best Beefsteak Tomato For a Patio Pot: BushSteak

Years ago, you needed to have plenty of garden space to grow beefsteak tomatoes, but not any more! ‘BushSteak’ brings big 8–12oz tomatoes on compact plants less than 2 feet tall. The flavour is rich and the texture meaty, so don’t worry that this dwarf plant doesn’t pack just as tasty a punch as taller varieties.

Despite being determinate variety, it’s a good idea to support ‘BushSteak’ on account of the weight of those standout beefsteaks. Because it’s so versatile, and an early producer with toms in as little as 65 days, this variety can be grown in zones 2–11.

8. Best Tomato For Southern States: Heatmaster

Bred to excel in hot, humid climates where many other varieties struggle, ‘Heatmaster’ is the perfect choice if you live in zones 8–11. As it’s a bushy determinate variety, it’ll cope fine with life in a container as well as in the ground, though it’ll still need a cage as it grows to 3 feet high and wide.

This slicer produces 7–8oz toms with an excellent flavor, and though it’s a little slower to mature than others, taking 75 days, that’s not a problem with the long growing season of southern states.

9. Best Tomato For Northern States: Early Girl

This variety matures incredibly quickly, growing from a seedling to a fruiting plant in around 59 days, making an excellent choice for the shorter growing season of northern states. ‘Early Girl’ is an indeterminate variety with 5oz toms, growing to around 4½ feet high and wide, that carries on fruiting all summer.

If you want to stick seeds straight in the ground – yes, even in the North! – then this Garden Sown Early Bird determinate variety is cold tolerant so grows well from an early direct sowing. It grows smaller cherry toms and takes 75 days to mature.

10. Best Tomato For High Rainfall Areas: Mountain Magic

Think it’s not worth growing toms because your high rainfall and humidity invite every tomato disease going? Think again! ‘Mountain Magic’ has been bred for incredible disease resistance to blight and wilt so, even if you’re an organic gardener, this variety will treat you to a plentiful crop of red cherry tomatoes.

This indeterminate hybrid grows to around 4 feet high and wide, producing 2–3oz fruit all the way to the first frost. Because of its robust nature, ‘Mountain Magic’ can be grown in zones 3–11 but, as it’s a little slow to mature, taking up to 80 days to fruit, it’s best to start with a young plant rather than seed at this point in the year, if you have a shorter growing season.

A tomato harvest in summer and early fall is one of the joys of gardening for many. Tasty, ripe tomatoes are delicious raw and cooked, and with so many varieties to choose from, you can enjoy everything from tiny, sweet grapes to big slicers if you know what you’re doing.

Growing tomatoes isn’t difficult, but getting healthy plants and a good harvest depends a lot on what you do early in the growing season. April is a critical time for tomatoes to establish strong roots, grow strong stems, and transition to the outdoor environment. Patience pays with tomatoes, so take time now to do these critical April tasks and reap the benefits later.

1. Nurture Your Seedlings

In most growing zones, you will have started tomato seeds indoors before April. If you're in a colder zone, like 3 or 4, you might just be starting seeds in early April, but they should be taking off with steady growth by the end of the month.

Don’t make the mistake of being totally hands-off with your seedlings. They need care and nurturing now during this crucial growth period to ensure they develop strong stems and roots. First, make sure the soil stays consistently moist but not soggy. While still small, you can cover seedlings with plastic wrap to keep more moisture in.

Sunlight is also critical for strong growth. Make sure your seedlings get at least 12 hours of light per day. Even more is better. If using a window, rotate seed trays for even light distribution. The best way to get your indoor tomato seedlings enough light is to position them directly under a grow light, like this one from Amazon.

Brush your fingers lightly over the seedlings a few times a day. This mimics wind, which, when grown outdoors, helps seedlings develop stronger stems. Alternatively, you can place a gentle oscillating fan near the seedlings throughout the day.

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2. Pot Up and Feed Larger Seedlings

Another important step in growing tomato seedlings into healthy plants is transitioning them into pots. Keeping them crowded in small seedling trays can lead to plants becoming rootbound, resulting in thin, weak root growth that won’t support plants well later.

Once you see the first set of true leaves and the seedlings are sturdy enough to be handled carefully, move them to larger accommodations. Use one small pot per plant to give them room to grow and to avoid the overcrowding that can lead to poor airflow and fungal infections.

This is also a good time to start fertilizing tomatoes. Use a balanced (10-10-10 is good) fertilizer like this one from Amazon, diluted to half strength, every two to three weeks.

3. Start Hardening Off

Tomatoes are hot-weather plants. They thrive in summer but struggle in the cooler shoulder seasons. Your growing zone and the year’s weather determine when you’ll transplant seedlings outdoors. Only if you live in zone 7 or warmer are you likely to be able to transplant in April. Soil temperatures need to be at least 60 F (15.5 C).

If the time is approaching, you can start hardening off your small tomato plants before making the final transplant. Hardening off is the process of gradually exposing plants to outdoor conditions, so they're not shocked and then damaged when moved out full-time.

Place your small pots of tomato plants in a protected area outdoors with dappled shade for a couple of days (bringing them back inside at night). Over the next few days, increase the amount of time they spend in direct sunlight outdoors by an hour or two. Finally, leave them outside all day in the sun for a few days and overnight if the temperatures are above 50 F (10 C).

4. Prepare the Soil

When it’s warm enough outside and the plants have been hardened off, they’re ready for transplanting, but is the soil? Take time to get the soil right, either in beds or large containers, to give your plants the best start in the great outdoors.

First, if you’re not certain about the temperature, check it. The soil needs to be at least 60 degrees. It is possible to warm cold soil. If air temperatures feel right but the soil is still cool, place black sheeting over it for a few days. The soil under it will absorb heat from the sun and warm faster.

If planting tomatoes in beds, dig down deep and mix some compost into the soil to improve drainage and add nutrients. If you’re growing tomatoes in containers, get your mix or ready-made potting soil prepared and ready for planting.

5. Transplant (If It's Warm Enough!)

When the time is right, and you’ve done all the preparatory work, you can transplant your tomatoes from their small pots to their permanent outdoor locations. Tomatoes can be planted deep. Dig deep holes for tomato plants and bury them up to the first set of leaves on the stem. Tomato plants grow extra roots from the stem, so this will stimulate more roots to help feed and stabilize the plants. If they're extra leggy, try trench planting.

Tomato plants should be spaced two to three feet (0.6 to 0.9 m) apart for good airflow. Provide some type of support for the vines, either stakes or tomato cages. Finally, add some mulch to the soil to help keep moisture in the soil and to prevent dirt from splashing onto leaves during rain or when watering.

April is a time of patient effort when it comes to growing tomatoes. Take time now to do the work, and you’ll be pleased with the results come August.

Nothing says summer like a nice, juicy tomato, but pests can ruin all the tasty fun. Your crop of delicious tomatoes can perish from pest infestations if not treated quickly and efficiently.

You don’t have to let tomato plant pests destroy your harvest. Take control with the help of an organic, non-chemical pest solution: diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a physical method of insect control that is cheap and incredibly effective. A little sprinkle of DE when pests pop up will keep your tomatoes from becoming a bug buffet. You can find food-grade diatomaceous earth on Amazon or your local garden center.

Let’s dig in and explore how to use diatomaceous earth to control insects on your tomato plants.

Common Tomato Pests

First, we need to explore what types of pests are most likely to affect your tomato harvest. Common tomato plant pests include: aphids, cutworms, hornworms, flea beetles, and root-knot nematodes. These pests can wreak havoc on your tomato plants and it is best practice to inspect your plants every day so you can jump on any infestations that may pop up.

Grab a cup of coffee in the morning and go check on your plants as you get your day started! Keeping on top of pest problems is important to the survival of your plants.

In addition to daily monitoring, a sprinkle of diatomaceous earth around the base of your plants can help keep pest problems from cropping up. Pests like root-knot nematodes and cutworms are at the soil level and can be stopped before they even get started.

What is Diatomaceous Earth?

Diatomaceous earth, or DE, is a powder made from fossilized microscopic sea creatures called diatoms. DE is a physical pest control method. All the tiny fossils in the powder are jagged and scratch the bodies of insects as they crawl over it. This causes the insects to dry out and die. It works on common tomato pests, slugs, snails, and any other insect with an exoskeleton. It is a very effective method of pest control, but it needs to be used wisely.

DE doesn’t discriminate between pests and beneficial insects. You don’t want to hurt bees, butterflies, moths, and other beneficial pollinators so you should use DE sparingly. As a general rule, don’t use DE on the leaves or upper stems of plants when they are in bloom. If bees and flies come into contact with it while they are pollinating your plants, they will die.

It is important that you purchase “food-grade” DE so that it is safe to use on plants you are going to eat.

How to Use DE

Before you use diatomaceous earth in your garden, you do need to take some safety precautions. DE is not toxic to humans or pets, but the tiny fossils that scratch up bug bodies can also irritate our eyes, noses, and lungs. It is important to use a mask, goggles, and gloves when handling DE so you don’t develop any irritation.

Sprinkle DE around the base of your tomato plants to prevent insects from crawling along the ground and up tomato stems. Nematodes and cutworms won’t stand a chance.

If you have aphids or flea beetles, use a puffer to delicately coat leaves that have an active infestation. Again, don’t use DE when your tomato plants are in bloom or you risk killing your pollinators. Reapply after rain.

Now, that you have your tomato pests under control, you can put the DE away until you need it again. It is a remarkably effective pest solution and easy on the wallet. Sit back and enjoy those wonderful tomatoes!

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Looking for additional tips on growing perfect tomatoes? Download our FREE Tomato Growing Guide and learn how to grow delicious tomatoes.

No garden bed, no problem. A standard 5-gallon bucket and the right setup is enough to grow productive tomatoes through the full season—on a patio, a balcony, or anywhere with a few hours of sun.

Container tomatoes have a reputation for being a compromise—something people do when they don’t have a real garden, and settle for accordingly. That reputation is mostly undeserved. A 5-gallon bucket is tight, but the right variety in the right mix, watered consistently, can produce well through a full season. The mistakes that actually sink a container tomato aren’t really about the bucket at all.

The approach to growing tomatoes in a bucket follows the same logic as in-ground growing, with a few adjustments that matter more in a confined space. Variety selection, mix quality, watering frequency, and feeding all work a bit differently here. Here’s how to set it up right.

Pick the Right Variety

Variety selection is where most container tomato attempts go wrong before they even start. A full-size indeterminate variety—the kind that keeps growing and producing until frost—will technically survive in a 5-gallon bucket, but it’ll spend the whole season root-bound and stressed, and the harvest will reflect it. Compact determinate varieties and those specifically bred for containers are a much better match for the space. Look for terms like "dwarf," "patio," "bush," or "compact" on the label. 'Tumbling Tom,' 'Bush Early Girl,' 'Patio,' 'Tiny Tim,' and 'Celebrity' are all reliable performers in buckets. Anything labeled as a ‘dwarf’ indeterminate—varieties that produce continuously but stay small—are another solid option.

Cherry and grape types tend to do better in buckets than larger fruiting varieties—they set fruit faster, don’t stress the plant as much, and bounce back from drying out quicker than a beefsteak tomato would. A big slicing tomato is doable, but expect fewer of them and plan to stay on top of watering more carefully.

Prepare the Bucket

Five gallons (about 19 liters) is the practical minimum for a tomato plant—don’t go smaller. If the bucket doesn’t already have drainage holes, drill four to six in the bottom at about 1/2 inch (12mm) each. Waterlogged roots go fast in a container, and without drainage there’s no recovering from it no matter how well everything else goes. Set the bucket on something that lifts it off the ground so those holes stay clear. It is important to use a food-grade bucket so that harmful chemicals don’t leech into your plants and then the tomatoes you are eating. Don’t just use a regular hardware store bucket. You can find white food-grade buckets from Lowe’s.

Dark buckets get hot in direct sun and that heat transfers straight to the roots, which can stress the plant badly by midsummer. A light-colored bucket stays cooler. If the bucket is dark, slip it inside a slightly larger container or wrap it to buffer the heat a bit—especially on a concrete patio that bakes in the afternoon. A basic pot saucer like this one from Amazon underneath catches drainage and makes the whole thing easier to move around.

Get the Mix Right

Garden soil doesn’t work in containers—it compacts down, drains badly, and turns into something that resembles concrete in a bucket after a few weeks. Use a proper potting mix, ideally one made for vegetables or containers. Fill it to about 2 inches (5cm) from the top. If the mix doesn’t already have slow-release fertilizer in it, work a handful of granules into the top layer at planting time.

Mixing in perlite at around 20 to 25% by volume helps drainage and keeps the mix from compacting with repeated watering. A bag of premium potting mix, like this one from Coast of Maine Organic Products on Amazon, typically fills a bucket. Don’t reuse last season’s mix—it’s compacted, depleted, and a potential disease vector for the new plant.

Plant and Support

Plant tomatoes deep—strip the lower leaves and bury the stem up to the lowest remaining set. Roots form all along the buried stem, which means a stronger plant with better water access from the start. Water in well after planting, and get the support structure in at the same time rather than waiting. Pushing a stake into an established root ball later on can do more damage than it’s worth.

A bamboo stake and some soft ties handles most compact varieties just fine. Bamboo stakes and Velcro plant ties can be found at Amazon. For anything bigger, a cage with a narrow base that fits inside the bucket rim works better than one that wraps around the outside. Guide the plant into it as it grows—don’t leave it to sort itself out.

Water and Feed Consistently

Watering is the thing that takes the most attention with a bucket setup. A 5-gallon container in full sun can get dry enough to stress a plant within a day. Check it daily—finger two inches (5cm) into the mix, dry means water. Water until it runs from the drainage holes, not just until the surface looks damp. Blossom end rot and cracking come from irregular watering, not from the container itself. Wet, dry, wet, dry is what causes both.

Nutrients wash out of a container with every watering, so feeding matters more here than in the ground. A liquid tomato fertilizer every two weeks or so once the plant is flowering keeps things going. A good fertilizer like this Miracle-Gro from Amazon is all it needs. Back off on nitrogen a bit once fruit is setting—too much at that stage pushes leaves over tomatoes.

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Looking for additional tips on growing perfect tomatoes? Download our FREE Tomato Growing Guide and learn how to grow delicious tomatoes.

You say to-may-toe, I say to-mah-toe – but can we at least agree that there's one April date that's long been lauded the Goldilocks zone for starting tomato seeds?

Oh yes, if you’ve ever hovered over a packet of tomato seeds wondering 'is it too soon?' or 'have I already missed my chance?', you’re not alone. Tomatoes might be one of the most rewarding crops to grow, but they’re also one of the easiest to mistime.

Start too early and you risk cold, sluggish growth. Leave it too late and you could miss out on weeks of ripe, homegrown fruit. So, where's the sweet spot? How do we make sure we do our tomatoes (one of Zach Galifianakis's favorite crops to grow) look and taste their absolute best?

By circling one specific date in our calendars, of course!

The Goldilocks Zone for Planting Tomato Seeds

Look, April 25th might be the perfect date for Miss Congeniality fans, but April 15th (for much of the US, at least) represents a kind of Goldilocks zone – a moment when conditions are starting to align in just the right way for tomato seedlings to thrive.

Of course, every garden is different – and USDA Planting Zones must be considered –but there’s good reason mid-April comes up again and again. In fact, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac, tomatoes should only be planted once the danger of frost has passed and the soil has had a chance to warm.

For many regions, those two factors begin to converge right around this time, making it a reliable guidepost for getting started.

Tomatoes, if you hadn't guessed from their prominence in Mediterranean dishes, are true sun-lovers. Unlike cool-season crops, they simply won’t thrive in cold soil or chilly nights.

In fact, for seeds to germinate well and seedlings to grow strongly, soil temperatures need to be consistently above 55–60°F (13–16°C), while nighttime temperatures should stay above 50°F (10°C).

Plant too early, and seeds can sit in cold, damp soil, which leads to poor germination or weak, leggy plants. Wait until mid-April, and in many parts of the country, the soil has absorbed enough warmth from longer, brighter days to support steady, healthy growth.

Enter stage left, then, April 15th.

For most, April 15th is just after the average last frost date in many parts of the US, but still early enough to give plants a long, productive season. It’s that “just right” moment – where risk is lower, but opportunity is still high.

Another reason this timing works so well is light, as daylight hours will have increased significantly by April 15th compared to early spring, thus giving young plants more energy to grow sturdy stems and healthy leaves.

Still, while April 15th is a helpful benchmark, it’s not a one-size-fits-all rule. Gardeners in warmer southern zones may find their own “Goldilocks moment” arrives slightly earlier, while those in cooler northern regions might use this date as a cue to begin hardening off seedlings rather than planting out straight away.

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If you want to take full advantage of this glorious April 15th sweet spot, a little preparation goes a long way – particularly when it involves gradually hardening off seedlings started indoors to avoid shock. (You could also warm the soil in advance with cloches or mulch if needed).

The key is to treat it as a guide, not a deadline. Because, while April 15th comes remarkably close for many growers across the US, no single date will ever be perfect for every garden; that's why you should keep an eye on your local forecast, check soil temperatures if you can, and wait until nights are reliably mild before planting outdoors.

We guess what we're saying is this: try to think of this Goldilocks date as your cue for planting tomatoes not too early, not too late, but just right. Because, once you get it right, you’ll set the stage for a summer filled with strong plants, abundant harvests, and that unbeatable taste of homegrown tomatoes picked straight from the vine.

Now, if you'll excuse us, we suddenly find ourselves with a hankering for tomato salad...

The advice sounds almost too simple. Wait until the dogwood blooms, then plant your tomatoes in the garden. No thermometer, no calendar, just a glance outside every few days hoping this is finally the week. When you look out the window and see those white and pink bracts are fully open, that means the soil is warm enough and any serious risk of frost has passed.

Tomatoes can't tolerate any cold, especially tender seedlings. So knowing exactly when to transplant them outdoors after frost is gone is essential to their success. Dogwoods don’t bloom on a schedule – they bloom when the conditions are actually right. So during a spring that is running a few weeks later or earlier than normal, watching for these blooms is exactly the kind of signal about when to plant tomatoes that a calendar can’t give you.

Knowing when to plant is half the battle when it comes to growing tomatoes successfully, so this dogwood trick is a boon for home gardeners. It uses a practice called phenology, which is the study of natural seasonal events as signals for certain gardening tasks. Farmers and gardeners have been using this phenology for centuries. Once you know what it is, you will start noticing these signs everywhere. They can help you read the changes of the seasons and grow a better garden, including tomatoes. Here's how to try it yourself.

What Is Phenology?

Phenology is the reasoning behind all those old planting adages like, "Plant corn when oak leaves are the size of a squirrel’s ear," or, "Sow peas when forsythia blooms." These were observations accumulated over generations of watching what happened in nature and what happened in the garden at the same time. For years, gardeners have been following the cues they notice in the natural world as a guide when to do certain tasks in their gardens.

The common denominator is often temperature. But plants and animals respond to both heat and day length as the seasons change. Those responses are often synchronized in ways that turn out to be very useful signals for planting and other gardening chores. Watching for these phenological signals are can be very helpful in years when the weather doesn't follow the normal pattern.

The reason phenology is more reliable than last frost dates in a lot of cases is that frost dates are historical averages. They tell you what typically happens around a given date, not what’s happening this spring with this year’s particular weather pattern. Phenology works off of real-time information, and in a year where spring is running significantly early or late, it’s more useful than a general date printed on a seed packet.

How to Try Phenology for Yourself

The most useful thing to do is keep a garden journal with notes about when specific plants bloom or leaf out and what the conditions are like at the time. You can use any notebook or get a special phenology journal like this one from Amazon to easily note the changes you see in your garden. After a few seasons of logging notes, patterns will start to emerge that are specific to your garden and microclimate, which is more valuable than any general guidelines.

The broader point is that the garden doesn’t operate on a human-imposed schedule. It’s operating on an environmental one and the plants and animals around it are reading that schedule in real time. Phenology is just the practice of paying attention to that.

Watch the dogwoods in your neighborhood, note when the forsythia peaks, check whether the lilacs are in first leaf or full bloom. The calendar is a rough tool. If you want more specific and accurate data, a soil thermometer like this one from Amazon used alongside these visual cues gives the most complete picture of weather conditions, which is ultimately the only question that matters when it’s time to plant.

When Dogwoods Bloom, Plant Tomatoes

When the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is at peak bloom, that is one of the most consistent phenological indicators for tomato transplanting in the eastern United States. By the time dogwoods reach full flower, nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50°F (10°C) and soil temperatures at planting depth are warm enough to support good root establishment.

Planting tomatoes into cold soil stalls growth. It leaves them sitting there looking fine above ground while the roots fail to develop. Often just waiting a couple weeks later for better conditions helps tomatoes grow much faster. Watch for blooms on dogwood trees to tell you when the ideal conditions have arrived.

Dogwoods aren’t the only tomato indicators, though. Daylilies starting to flower, lily of the valley in full bloom, and peony buds beginning to open all signal roughly the same window for planting. For the best results, cross-reference what’s happening around you rather than picking one signal and treating it as an absolute.

Other Signs to Look For

The list of reliable phenological plant pairings built up over centuries of observation is pretty extensive. Forsythia blooming is the classic cue to plant peas, sow lettuce seeds, and start onion sets. These are all cool-season crops that can handle a light frost, but need soil that’s just beginning to warm.

When lilacs leaf out, beets, carrots, and spinach can go in the garden. When lilacs reach full bloom – a later and more dramatic event than the first leaf – beans, squash, and cucumbers are ready for planting. Dandelions in full flower signal potato planting time in many regions as well.

On the pest and disease management side, phenology is equally useful. Forsythia in bloom signals when crabgrass starts germinating, which is the window to apply pre-emergent herbicides. Star magnolia bloom coincides with eastern tent caterpillar egg hatch, which tells you when to start checking susceptible trees. False blue indigo flowering aligns with emerald ash borer adult emergence.

Tomato Planting Essentials

Nature really is incredible, but what definitely wasn’t on my bingo card was learning that century-old seeds can still be grown. The moment I found out, my mind flooded with questions – how didn’t they die ten times over? Wouldn’t they have dried out completely? Surely by now they’d have rotted from the inside?

Instead of spiralling in disbelief, though, I sat back and watched a video from Hand Tool Rescue’s YouTube channel, where they managed to successfully grow tomatoes from century-old seeds. It’s safe to say I’m still well and truly shocked – and more than a little curious.

To help pass this amazing discovery on to you, I’ve broken down what the tomato seed video explores and asked a gardening pro to share some insight into the appeal of growing old seeds. Technically, it would mean the origins of your plants are older than you, which is pretty wild when you think about it. Let’s get into it.

Why Grow Old Seeds?

You might be wondering, “Why would someone go to the effort of reviving old seeds when they could just hop online or head to the store and buy new ones?”

Fair question. But there are actually plenty of reasons why people get excited about germinating old seeds – whether they’ve come from a decades-old packet or were saved from a past harvest.

Shane Pliska of Planterra explained the vital importance of “heritage seeds” to me, and why they matter more than we might think.

“Heirloom and heritage seeds are very important for biodiversity in our food systems,” says Shane. “As the agriculture industry continues to optimize for yield and desired commercial traits, genetic diversity is becoming narrower.”

Planting older seeds can mean growing something truly different – a rare variety, the flavor of a crop you loved years ago, or the continuation of the best-yielding tomatoes your grandma grew summer after summer. It’s personal. It’s special. And it’s not always something you can simply buy off a shelf.

For others, it’s just a fun experiment in seed science – a way to test whether an old seed can still spring back to life.

The Tale of the Century-Old Tomato Seeds

Once upon a time, Eric from Hand Tool Rescue came across a free packet of tomato seeds tucked inside a vintage Stark Bro’s Seeds catalog dated 1926 – making the seeds sealed inside a full century old.

Eric didn’t take the discovery lightly. The seeds were a variety called Starks Blight Resister, bred to resist wilt, and there was barely any information about them online. On the off chance they were the last viable seeds of their kind on the planet, Eric rose to the challenge and set out to grow healthy, thriving tomato plants.

After consulting plant scientists, Eric learned that tomato seeds typically remain viable for up to about a decade. Still, under the right conditions, almost anything is possible – and there’s always the occasional seed that beats the odds.

With that in mind, Eric got to work. Through plenty of patience, trial and error, and careful testing, he managed to successfully grow the century-old seeds.

Reviving the Tomato Seeds

If 100-year-old tomato seeds were tossed straight into the ground, chances are nothing would happen – aside from them becoming a snack for a passing bird. But soaking seeds in certain solutions can help rejuvenate their cells, essentially waking them up so they’re able to germinate and grow again.

In the video, Eric carefully selected the largest seeds from the packet using tweezers, then tested a range of different soaking solutions in petri dishes, like these from Amazon. Larger seeds tend to have a better shot at viability and are more likely to respond during the soaking process.

He experimented with all of the following methods – but only one delivered real success:

• All of the seeds were gently bleached before the experiment began to remove any potential residue, bacteria, or fungi.
• Four petri dishes were prepared with agar gel – a substance designed to support germination – and gibberellic acid, a growth-stimulating hormone. In each of these dishes, Eric placed one seed that had been pre-soaked in either tea, nitrogen, gibberellic acid, or nothing at all.
• Another four petri dishes contained only agar gel. Again, one seed was added to each dish – soaked in tea, gibberellic acid, nitrogen, or left unsoaked.
• Beyond that, one dish contained just a paper towel and water, while a final dish held soil and a seed that had been soaked in gibberellic acid.

The Outcome

After leaving the seeds to sit for three weeks, Eric checked in on their progress. Most of the dishes had started growing bacteria and fungi, but the dish containing gibberellic acid – with a seed soaked in agar gel – showed a tiny sprout of new growth.

You can find gibberellic acid and agar gel on Amazon.

Using tweezers, the team carefully transferred the delicate sprout into soil and nurtured it with gentle watering and plenty of patience.

And here’s the really encouraging part: if this method can coax a 100-year-old seed back to life, there’s every chance it could help revive seeds that are simply past their expiration date. So before you toss that half-used packet from the back of your drawer, it might be worth trying a little seed science of your own.

If you’ve got some seriously old seeds tucked away somewhere, there may still be a little life left in them yet.

Shop Historic Tomato Varieties

If you don't have any 100-year-old tomato seeds, but still want a taste of history, try these heirloom tomato varieties that date back a century or more.

Knowing how to propagate tomatoes saves money and keeps a garden stocked with top-notch plants. This year’s best performers can turn into next year’s crop without spending a cent. It’s a practical way to grow the same juicy varieties that thrived this summer.

Propagating new plants is an important part of learning how to grow tomatoes. The practice allows you to replicate favorites – whether it’s a sweet cherry tomato or a hefty beefsteak. There's no need to gamble on new seeds or nursery stock. Plus, you already know these tomato varieties will handle local soil and weather like champs.

Three solid methods make propagating tomatoes straightforward. And, if you're not ready to let go of your existing plants, then it's worth knowing that you can actually overwinter tomatoes indoors. Years of messing around in the dirt have honed these steps, with a few oddball tips thrown in to boost results. Here’s the rundown for getting free plants ready for next spring.

1. Saving Tomato Seeds

Saving tomato seeds is a dead-easy way to propagate plants for any heirloom tomato variety. No more crossing fingers on seed packets that might not deliver the same punch as last season’s tomatoes! One of my favorite heirloom tomatoes is the black cherry, which has such a unique, complex flavor. Every year, I save seeds and start a new crop the following spring. You can try growing it yourself with these seeds from Burpee.

However, if you are growing hybrid tomatoes, then this method will not recreate the same plant – and may not work at all. It's possible you will cultivate a new delicious variety, or it may be a total flop. So, unless you love experimenting, it's best to use other methods for hybrids.

To save seeds from heirlooms, pick a ripe tomato from a strong plant, slice it open, and scrape the seeds and goo into a jar. Add a bit of water, cover it loosely, and let it sit for a few days. That fermentation kills off diseases.

A trick not everyone mentions is to scoop off the moldy top layer after fermenting. Miss that step, and seeds might not sprout well. Rinse them clean, spread them on a paper towel to dry, and tuck them in an envelope, like these Joyberg Kraft Seed Saving Storage Envelopes from Amazon. Keep them somewhere cool and dry for spring.

2. Take Cuttings

Rooting tomato cuttings works great for propagating plants from healthy growers. Late in summer, grab clean, sharp pruning shears – Fiskar's Bypass Pruning Shears, available on Amazon, are perfect for the task – and snip a 6-inch stem from a side shoot, right below a leaf node. Strip off the lower leaves, pop it in a glass of water, and set it on a sunny windowsill. Roots show up in about a week.

Remember to swap out the water every couple of days. Stagnant water can stall cuttings, especially for chunkier varieties like beefsteak. When roots hit an inch, plant them in a pot with damp soil and keep them indoors, ready for spring transplanting. If your new plants get too big too soon, then repeat the process.

3. Layering Side Shoots

Layering side shoots is a low-fuss way to propagate tomatoes. Find a bendy side shoot low on a healthy plant and ease it down to the dirt. Bury a few inches of the stem, leaving the tip poking out, and pin it with a small rock or wire. Roots form in a couple of weeks.

Lightly scrape the buried stem with a clean knife beforehand. That little nick speeds up rooting for stubborn plants. Once roots take hold, cut the shoot free and pot it up for next season’s garden. Soil Sunrise's Plant Propagation Potting Mix, available on Amazon, is perfect for cuttings.

4. How to Overwinter Tomato Plants in Pots

To save a favorite tomato plant for next year, bring it indoors for winter. Pick a smaller type, like a cherry tomato, dig it up, and settle it into a pot with fresh soil. Snip it back to about a foot (30 cm) tall and tuck it by a south-facing window where sunlight pours in.

Alternatively, set plants up for a long harvest by investing in a planter on wheels, such as the Vego garden tomato planter box with trellis, available on Amazon – it can be easily rolled indoors when temperatures drop and is self-watering for minimal maintenance.

A trick many gardeners miss is to water sparingly. Drenching the soil indoors spells disaster with mushy roots. Keep it just damp and give the leaves a quick mist now and then to fake that summer breeze. Another tip is to turn the pot every few days for even light. This keeps the plant from leaning like it’s chasing the sun. Alternatively, invest in a grow light, like this GooingTop LED light from Amazon.

Tips for Successful Tomato Propagation

Pick robust, bug-free tomato plants to steer clear of future headaches. Clean tools with a splash of rubbing alcohol (available on Amazon) for a spotless start. Write down the variety and date on seed envelopes. Jumbling up your beefsteak and Roma isn’t fun when you are expecting one or the other.

Warm soil, near 70°F (21°C), gets cuttings and layering going quicker. You can also set pots on a sunny stone path for a day to soak up extra heat. A heat mat, like this Vivosun design from Amazon, can make a difference in chilly houses. For overwintered plants, watch for pests like aphids on tomato plants and give them at least 6 hours of good light. These steps set up next year’s tomatoes for a strong start in spring.

I remember back in the days when I was part of a community garden, we’d have a yearly cleanup every spring. Volunteers would turn the compost heap, spread wood chips, pull weeds, that sort of thing. The worst job, by far, was organizing the shed, because it was absolutely chock full of tomato cages.

Tomato cages are the worst part of growing tomatoes. They get rusty. They get bent. They never stacked well to begin with, but have you ever tried to fit one slightly misshapen tomato cage into another? I'm sure you have, and I'm sure it wasn't fun.

Storing them for winter in a shed? Especially a little shed like this one from Home Depot? My garden’s shed was huge, and had a whole second floor devoted to the mangled, barbed wiry mess that was over 100 gardeners’ worth of tomato cages put away for the season.

You were much better off pulling weeds.

Snap-Together Tomato Cages

I have my own garden now, and my own shed, and I’ll be darned if I’m going to spend a day every spring wrestling tomato cages.

The first time I planted tomatoes in my garden, I went looking for a better solution, and I found these incredible modular tomato cages on Amazon. I bought one 4 pack, then loved it so much (and had so many plants) I went right back and bought a second 4 pack. But you could just save yourself the trouble and buy an 8 pack.

I promise these are actually what I use in my own garden. The ones I bought are from Halatool, but you can also get them from Legigo, Sidefusi, Gardzen… I'm sure they're just as good. The only important thing is that they break down into pieces.

How Do They Work?

I store my tomato cages in a plastic shopping bag, tucked away into the corner of my shed. When spring comes, I dig them out and start assembling. There are three parts to these tomato cages – long pole segments, little tubes to connect them, and plastic arms with a hook on either end. And with those materials, you essentially have a garden Erector Set. Any number of poles can be linked together to achieve any height. Any number of arms can hook onto the poles anywhere along their length.

You can build a three sided cage, or a four sided one. I’ve built a little wall to support a row of sweet corn that I thought might blow over in a storm. I once built a series of tiny shelves to prop up an errant summer squash plant that took off out of its bed.

They’re also adjustable! Have you found yourself trying, eeeever so carefully, to bend the branch of a tomato plant so it fits back inside its wire cage? It rarely ends well. With these things, all you have to do is unsnap one of the arms, swing it out, manhandle your tomato into place, and snap it back in. No bending (and inevitable breaking) required!

Have you ever misjudged the size of your tomato plant? They’re so small as seedlings, it’s hard to imagine them needing a big giant cage. So you choose the smaller one. And your tomato plant grows. And keeps growing. And by July it’s spilling over the top of the cage and taking it down with it. With one of these modular cages, you can just add on to the top, and keep on adding. You can even add buttresses if the whole thing starts getting unwieldy. Gravity might catch up to you eventually, but it’ll probably be time for a frost by then, anyway.

Go Get Your Own

Once fall comes, these tomato cages break apart beautifully. No tightly wound vines are a match for them. Just snap it apart and let the dead plants fall away. Then gather up your pieces and tuck them away. I keep mine in an old shopping bag, but I bet they'd fit perfectly in something like this sports duffel from Amazon. Hide your bag somewhere in the back of your shed or a corner of your basement, and never think about it again until spring.

You'll be so glad you did.

Want fresh tomatoes past summer? Try these tips to keep your harvest rolling into fall. You’ll want to pick smart varieties, tweak your routine, and do your best to guard against cold. This will keep your plants putting out tasty fruit into the cooler months.

Nothing beats a ripe tomato plucked straight off the vine, and nailing down ways to extend your tomato harvest into fall keeps that going way past summer. Cold snaps can zap plants fast, but a few tricks let you pick juicy fruit into October or November.

Picking the right types of tomatoes and timing your crops can bump up your yield. Harvesting tomatoes properly means grabbing fruit at peak ripeness, so plants keep pushing out more. It’s about keeping your garden game strong as the weather cools.

1. Planning Your Planting

Pick tomato types built for cooler weather. Varieties like ‘Glacier’ or ‘Stupice’ are great early tomato varieties and push out fruit fast, in 60 to 70 days, even when nights hit 50F (10C). Check seed packets for “days to maturity” to match your fall season. These keep your plants going when others quit.

It’s recommended to sow seeds in late spring or early summer, around June or July, about 6 to 8 weeks before your first frost. Want more? Plant every couple of weeks through July by succession planting. This spreads out your crop, so you’re picking tomatoes for months. Start seeds indoors with a basic LED grow light like this one from Amazon, then move them outside when they’re tough enough. Not sure on frost dates? Your local extension service has the details.

2. Tweak Your Care for Fall

Switch up your routine when summer starts fading. By late August, snip off new blooms and tiny fruit. That pushes plants to ripen what’s already growing. You can clip tomato plant suckers. These are those pesky shoots between branches, to let in sun and air, but make sure that you use clean pruning shears so you don’t spread any diseases between plants.

Ease off watering as nights cool to 50F (10C). Too much water splits fruit or weakens roots. Aim for an inch (2.5 cm) a week, less if it rains. Pests like aphids can still show up, so hit them with one of my favorites, which is Bonide Neem Oil that you can find at Amazon. Feed plants once in early fall with a low-nitrogen mix like 5-10-10 to focus on fruit, not leaves. Find 5-10-10 tomato and vegetable fertilizer on Amazon.

Watch your plants closely and adjust to the weather. This will keep things balanced to keep fruit coming.

3. Pile on the Mulch

Mulch for tomatoes is a big help for fall production. It’s a really good idea to spread roughly 3 inches (7.5 cm) of straw or bark mulch around your plants when it gets into late summer. Doing this will help to keep your soil warm when the nights start to fall to 50F (10C) and holds moisture steady. It also blocks weeds from stealing the nutrients that your tomatoes rely on.

Use a high quality mulch like Back to the Roots natural wood mulch, which can be found on Amazon, for good coverage. Spread it thick but leave a gap by the stems to avoid rot. Check it weekly, fluffing it if it packs down. Warm soil keeps roots happy, pushing out tomatoes longer.

4. Shield Plants with Row Covers

Row covers save your tomatoes from early frosts. Floating row covers like Agribon AG-19 from Amazon let light and water through but block cold down to 35F (2C). Set them up with hoops or stakes in early fall. Secure the edges with bricks or clips.

Smaller seedlings will thrive under DIY plant cloches, like old plastic jugs with the bottoms sliced off. Pull the covers off on warmer days above 60F (16C) to stop plants from roasting. Check underneath every week for sneaky pests or mold buildup. Covers stretch when to harvest tomatoes in fall, adding weeks to your season.

5. Bring Potted Plants Inside

Got tomatoes in pots? Move them indoors when nights hit 45F (7C). A rolling tomato planter with built-in trellis makes hauling heavy pots easy. Find a self-watering, rolling, trellised tomato planter from Vego on Amazon. Place your tomatoes by a sunny window or next to a vertical LED grow light, this one from Amazon is a favorite, for around 6 to 8 hours of light per day.

Keep indoor temps above 50F (10C), ideally 60 to 70F (16 to 21C). Water light, letting soil dry a bit between pours. Check for pests like spider mites every day. Compact varieties like cherry tomatoes shine here, pumping out fruit into late fall.

Getting tomatoes to keep pushing into fall isn’t some wizard trick, but it takes sharp timing and a couple clever moves. Pick types that shrug off cold, plant in waves to keep fresh ones coming, and pile on mulch or covers when nights turn chilly. The big part is nailing when to plant for fall and when to grab ripe fruit so they don’t just sit there. Pull it off, and you’ll be munching homegrown tomatoes while others grab sad grocery ones.