5 tips for planting and growing tomatoes – Duluth News Tribune
ROCHESTER, Minn. — As a master gardener, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on how to prevent diseases from attacking my tomatoes. So I was super annoyed when blight and other issues devastated a cop.
After doing a little more research, I’m better equipped to create a space where my tomatoes will have a better chance at flourishing. The University of Minnesota Extension website has great info on planting, growing and harvesting tomatoes.
5 tips for growing healthy tomatoes:
- Picking out your plan. When you buy tomato plants, make sure they are disease-resistant. It’ll say so on the label. If there’s no mention of disease resistance, that plant likely has none. Septoria leaf spot, early blight and late blight are three common diseases that can ravage your tomatoes. Make sure the stem and leaves look strong and healthy and there are no spots on the leaves.
- Where to plan. Don’t plant them in a space where tomatoes (or tomatillos, potatoes or peppers) have grown for four years. You’ve got to rotate. Disease spores can live in the soil and infected plants year after year. Be sure to space them out, because diseases can flourish in high humidity, which rises when plants are too close together. The more ventilation, the better. Tomatoes need lots of sun. And they need a cage for support. Those tomatoes can be heavy and you want them up off the ground.
- Remove lower leaves. Some people cut off lower leaves, which also helps to prevent disease by keeping leaves off of the soil.
- mulch Once your tomatoes are in place, cover the soil around the stem and beyond with mulch. It will help keep moisture in and it will help prevent any diseases in the soil from getting out and onto your plant.
- watering Tomatoes need constant moisture. They don’t like huge fluctuations. Avoid watering from overhead, as this can increase chances of disease. Instead, water from below. Soak slowly and don’t splash. Even though mulch is there to keep spores or bacteria from splashing up, nothing is fool proof in the garden. Instead of watering often and superficially, water a bit less frequently and allow the water to seep deeply. This will encourage strong, deep root growth.
Good luck with your tomatoes! I will keep you posted on how mine are doing throughout the season.
Follow the Health Fusion podcast on Apple, Spotify and Google podcasts. For comments or other podcast episode ideas, email Viv Williams at v[email protected]. Or on Twitter/Instagram/FB @vivwilliamstv.
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