I’ve been gardening in my backyard for several years now, and each year I’ve learned something new. More often than not, these have been hard-won lessons through trial and error, and I emphasize the word “error.”
One of the first plants I tried to grow was tomatoes, because I heard everyone say they were easy. Well … they may be easy, but if so, everything else is ridiculously hard, at least for me. I have gotten them to produce fruit, but only in small amounts, and the tomatoes on the whole have been rather small and disappointing.
I just found this super-awesome video though which includes a ton of great tips and tricks!
There are 10 easy steps to growing high-yield tomatoes!
- Get the right types of tomatoes to grow in your climate. If you need tips, talk to a local expert.
- Lay the plants on their sides.
- Plant them in a trench with the top three inches uncovered.
- Add a fourth to a half a cup of slow release fertilizer.
- Erect a cage around each individual plant. It should be about five feet tall with a two foot diameter.
- Cover the cages with floating row cover to provide protection from wind.
- Fertilize the plants each week using a hose-end applicator. Apply directly to the leaves.
- Side dress the tomatoes with two to three teaspoons of ammonium sulfate after they produce their first yield. Water afterward.
- Wait until tomatoes are 30% ripe, and then pick them. Otherwise the birds will get them.
- Do not refrigerate tomatoes. They go bad quickly if you do, so put them on the counter instead.
Watch the video for the details, and be sure to check out the other great gardening videos in LDSPrepper’s channel—he’s got a lot of other great advice for growing tomatoes and much more.
Bonus Tip:
This brilliant watering solution will ensure your plant is well hydrated and stimulates growth to its full potential! Check out James Bryan's Hometalk post and the discussion, he shares some really insightful tips on growing tomatoes.
Anne in Virginia
Can you share where to purchase the raised beds you use?
Pam
I try and try to griw tomatoes. I had healthy olants and blooms last summer, but no fruit. Someone told me it was to hot. Any suggestions?
Gary
Never never, have I had birds eat my tomatoes.
Where do you live ? What kind of bird eats tomatoes ?
Andrew
What is the purpose of the pale in the center of the planter in your first picture? Is that just so that you can control the way it grows and get like down in between in the middle.?
Are usually put an Olla in the center. It’s an agent way to irrigate slowly and effectively with a little water loss. Personally, I like it because I don’t have the water is often and I can drop any new drain I walked directly to the root system.
Your idea on leaning the plant over makes me want to leave it over until I can get a ring out of it so I can have it grow completely around the fencing. Any ideas of that has been done? I imagine you have one heck of a root system.
Last thing, there are some beneficial funguses. One product comes in capsules which you push into the root system. It’s a symbiotic relationship, the fungus actually help break down nutrients and create an Environment that’s very helpful for the root system. Changes the pH of the soil, protects the roots, holds moisture without making the dirt wet and integrate with the root system to increase its function.
Andrew
I’m going to be growing vegetables indoors this winter. I want to do this for sometime, but just haven’t quite gotten around to it. As you probably noted from some of my other posts, that I like to use a simple watering system, initially route hormones of some sort, worm castings, OllaS for slow irrigation, it’s a in ground solution that allows you to apply moisture and nutrients directly to the root system. I also use a multi fungi that usually comes in capsules that you push into the soil through the root system. A symbiotic relationship occurs between the root system and these fungus to increase the routes ability and capacity. It’s really quite remarkable. I think about taking his idea about laying down The tomato plant but waiting until I can get a nice 2 foot Radius circle out of it and see if I can’t get an amazing root system.
If anybody is interested in knowing more or getting pictures of what I’m going to do, let me know. However, we may want to first as this gentleman as this is his post.
Wayne bull
When they grow past the top of the cage do you trim the bush back
Vicki
EVERY article I have read or video I have watched says to NOT get the leaves wet unless a product like Neem Oil says to do so. Are you saying that you do this frequently? Or did I misunderstand?
Myra Byanka
Confused. Water leaves with fertilizer? Or not? I am going to experiment this spring. Mine are under lights inside now. Will try laying half of seedlings on side
Will trench plant those and spray them with weak fertilizer and see what happens. Miracle Gro too nitrogen hot and will produce too much foliage, not fruit, so will try Schultz's 3-3-3 and some fish stuff. Wish the guy had actually used seedlings to demonstrate.
Anonymous
Apply a time-release granular organic fertilizer. Don't get water on the leaves. Get in touch with the Master Gardeners (nationwide) in your county.
Linda
After slicing a tomato should leftover tomato be refrigerated
RiCk
With small squares in the wire it is impossible to pick the bigger tomatoes. The plants are to bushy and the tomatoes too far down to go from the top.
Anonymous
I made my tomato cages with rolls of cement reinforcement that has 6 inch squares bought from q farm store.
MARLENE
How are you harvesting the tomatoes, when wrapped around those wire cages.., how do you reach i the middle fruit?
I need to get new cages , my plants this year grew taller than expected, these cages may be good..but how the heck do you pick them????
Sharon
What is the white bucket for in the center of plants.
Regina
I use tea and eggshell’s and we get more tomatoes ten we can eat so we share with our neighbors
Anonymous
Have u ever heard to. Place red Christmas balls around tomato cage. Birds will try them and leave tomatoes along