Tip #1: Choose Varieties Carefully

Tomatoes are one of those plants that just about everyone wants to include in their kitchen garden. There’s something about fresh tomatoes right off the vine that just sings “summer”. Even a small kitchen garden can provide enough tomatoes for making salsa and marinara, or slicing for sandwiches.

When choosing the variety of tomato to plant in your kitchen garden, think carefully about how you plan to use your tomatoes and consider the length of the growing season. Determinate (or bush) tomatoes are shorter plants and tend to produce tomatoes that ripen earlier in the season over a short period of time (like 2 or 3 weeks). Indeterminate (or vining) tomatoes start ripening a little later, but will provide a steady supply of tomatoes up until the first frost.

If you are growing tomatoes for canning or making sauces, or if you live where the growing season is short, a determinate variety may make the most sense. If you want fresh tomatoes throughout the season or if your kitchen garden space is limited, then an indeterminate variety that vines upward instead of bushing out would likely be a good choice.

Tip #2: Plant Deep Enough

Setting your tomatoes into the soil at the right depth will help produce strong and healthy plants. If using starts from a nursery or grower, set the tomato plant into the soil so about 2/3 of the plant will be buried and only 1/3 of the plant will be above ground. Gently fill the hole with soil.

If you grew tomatoes from seed and have plants that are weak and leggy, or if the soil is a little heavy, try laying each plant on its side in a shallow trench so that only 2 or 3 sets of true leaves will be above ground level (2/3 of the plant will be in the trench) and cover lightly with soil. The buried part of the stem will sprout new roots and the above-ground part of the stem will grow upward toward the sun.

Tip #3: Add Support in the Beginning

Once your tomatoes are in the ground, you’ll need to decide how to support them. Adding support for your plants in the beginning will help train your tomatoes to grow upright and keep the vines off the ground. Even if you’ve planted determinate tomatoes, they will need some type of support as all tomato plants are vining - the vines on determinate tomatoes are just shorter.

There are many types of supports to choose from including stakes, tomato cages, tomato ladders, trellises and arbors. For square foot gardening, tomato ladders (which are stackable) work well for all tomato types. Keep the vines pruned for a tidy plant. If you’re not going to prune your plants, look at using tomato cages - which are larger and can support more vigorous plants.

For indeterminate tomatoes, think about a trellis or arbor. Not only will a trellis or arbor add a pretty aesthetic to your kitchen garden, both can handle long vines and support heavy fruit production.

For smaller (or dwarf) varieties or container gardening, a simple stake may be all that’s needed. If using stakes, more tying of the vines will be required to keep the plants from falling over.

Tip #4: Don’t Crowd Plants

Healthy tomato plants require plenty of space to grow. The ideal spacing for most tomato plants is 18 to 36 inches. But the type of tomato variety you’re growing will likely dictate the distance between plants. Placing tomato plants closer than 24 inches will reduce air circulation and may affect the amount of light that gets to the lower leaves. And if you’re growing large, indeterminate tomatoes, spacing closer to 36 inches is a better practice.

Tomato plants that are properly spaced will be healthier and will produce a larger harvest. Plants that are overcrowded may be at a greater risk for disease, while plants that are spaced too far apart will leave more open space for weeds to grow. Why grow weeds when you can have tomatoes?

Tip #5: Water Consistently

Consistent watering is super important for tomatoes (and, of course, all other kitchen garden plants). Tomatoes consistently need about 1 inch of water per week. Plants that are watered intermittently can become easily stressed and more susceptible to diseases like blossom-end rot. Plus, tomato plants that don’t get enough water will produce fewer and smaller tomatoes.

In order to ensure consistent watering, consider using drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is the most efficient way to deliver water to all your kitchen garden plants, including your tomatoes. And tomatoes hate wet leaves. Additionally, drip irrigation focuses the water on each plant and helps prevent water waste.

Follow these tomato growing tips and look forward to eating fabulous tomatoes this summer. And if your kitchen garden is located where there’s a long growing season, try planting a second crop of early maturing tomatoes in July. They’ll be ready to harvest in the fall. Enjoy!

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