Best tomato growing tips

The tomato is a hot climate semi vining plant, so plants should not be put out until the weather is warm. In humid, and in short season areas, it is vital to select varieties that are adapted to you climatic conditions (disease resistant in the one case and fast maturing in the other).

Older varieties do not necessarily have the disease resistance of some of the hybrid plants. That said, no tomato will survive long in cold, wet, poorly fertilised soil. Some of the easiest care tomatoes are those closest to the wild, such as 'Sweet 100'-they are both vigorous and productive, and undamaged by tomato fruit worms.

Some of the old 'heirloom' types set fruit poorly in cool conditions, and may have quite significant variations in flavor according to whether it is a favorable growing season or not. They also include most of the exceptionally flavored tomatoes.

It doesn't make a great deal of sense to grow 'paste' or even 'plum' tomatoes, given that canned tomatoes and tomato paste is so cheap in the supermarkets. But fresh salad and slicing tomatoes are something else again. There is a lot of variation in the amount of sugar and the amount of acid in a given variety of tomato; and the ratio of sugar to acid also varies. There is nothing better than a sun ripened tomato picked just when you prefer it- just ripe, dead ripe, or very ripe.

Disease and tomato 'worm' (caterpillar) are the two major problems with tomatoes. There are a battery of sprays you can use, but a lot of us just try to keep ahead of the disease by giving excellent drainage, excellent nutrition (especially potash and calcium), keeping the soil surface covered (once it has warmed up) so disease organisms don't splash up onto the foliage, or use 'grow bags' of sterile potting mix.

Choosing the variety is important. No one variety will perform best across all planting seasons and regions. Issues such as fruit firmness, size, shape, flavour and plant growing habits need to be considered.
You also need to decide whether you want a 'jointed' tomato variety or not. Many commercial organic and gourmet tomato growers choose 'jointed' tomato varieties because the tomato with its stalk attached looks attractive to the buyer. However, most home gardeners and non-organic commercial growers choose 'jointless' varieties.
A determinate variety grows to a bush about 1 metre (3 feet) high. Many cherry tomato varieties are indeterminate.
There are also 'semi-determinate' varieties which grow