GROWING TOMATOES: THE BASICS

SUN NEEDSAt least 6 hours of full sun per day.

WATER NEEDS
1-2 inches of water per week.

FERTILIZER NEEDS
The University of Florida recommends a 10-10-10 slow release fertilizer mixed in soil at planting then every three weeks afterward.

pH NEEDS
Tomatoes prefer a soil pH of 6.2 to 6.5.

SOIL NEEDS
If your soil is whitish, it is not soil, it is sand. Sand cannot hold water and has no nutrients in it. Add or replace with brown colored soil or compost will help retain moisture in the soil.

CALCIUM NEEDS
Add your crushed eggshells in the hole before planting your tomato. This will prevent blossom end rot. Once a plant is calcium deficient, you cannot correct the problem.

ROOT KNOT NEMATODES
These itsy-bitsy worms enter the roots then, simply put, procreate and move the family in. This prevents the plant from absorbing nutrition. The roots look like a gnarled up finger.

Solutions: Solarize your soil next summer, grow in pots that do not touch the soil, grow plants that are resistant (but not immune), or grow plants that produce fruit quickly.

CATERPILLARS
One mature tomato hornworm can destroy an entire tomato plant in one day. Armyworms can attack and leave your plant looking like it went through a shredder.
Solutions: Spray with BT AKA Bacillus Thuringiensis. Most big box stores have a product with a caterpillar on the front and it contains BT. OR hand pick, checking under the leaves and on top of the soil because they drop and play dead.

DISEASES
Disease often appears as dark dots on fruit and leaves.
Solutions: Spray leaves with copper fungicide before there is a problem. Adding Garden Friendly Fungicide won’t hurt.

WHITEFLY
If your plant has dandruff, you have whitefly. This insect is the vector for tomato yellow leaf curl virus. Once your plant has it, it will no longer produce
new fruit.
Solutions: Spray under leaves with soap or horticultural oil. One tablespoon soap to a gallon of water. Do not add soap to a spray mix with other ingredients. Do not spray oil on hot days or it will burn your plant.