How to Grow Great Organic Tomatoes

I think we can all agree that tomatoes are an extremely rewarding crop, and growing organic tomatoes is as easy as non-organic if you follow these simple steps.

1. Be sure to choose your site carefully

Tomatoes do need a sunny, well-drained site. This could be in a garden bed or in a large patio pot, but be sure to keep them close to the house. Why? Because you'll see them every day and won't forget them.

If  you leave them to trail on the ground they are likely to become diseased. so plan to grow them upward. Think ahead to provide them with a trellis or something similar for tying when they need it because they can grow up to 6 ft tall.

2. Choose your variety

Try to choose a variety that you know grows well in your area and soil type. If you ask other gardeners, especially other organic gardeners who may even be prepared to give you some seeds. Look for reliable, disease resistant varieties, either hybrids or heirlooms.  Most varieties prefer slightly acidic soil.

If you buy seeds commercially, be prepared for just a small crop in the first year. Plants from your own seeds should do better in the second year.

3. Feeding and watering

Tomatoes always flourish best if fed with a good organic fertilizer at least twice in the season. For best results the fertilizer should be steadily accessible to the plants, so choose a slow release fertilizer that you work into the soil, rather than an intensive liquid feed. Occasional spraying with fish emulsion and kelp will also help them to thrive.

Water them frequently if the weather is dry. They should never be left to wilt between waterings. Even though they may not die, they will have to divert much of their growing energy away from producing fruit in order to stay alive in irregular watering conditions. They are also likely to suffer blossom end rot if the water supply is not regular. Mulching under the plants will help to prevent the soil from drying out.

4. Pest control

Hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata)

This pest is a large and fearsome-looking green caterpillar with a black horn on the rear. Native to the USA, it feeds on tomato plants and others in the nightshade family (eggplant, tobacco, potato, bell pepper). It will happily eat your whole tomato plant - leaves, stems and fruit so don't invite him to dinner.

The simplest way to deal with hornworms is simply to squish them when found. They are very well camouflaged on the underside of leaves but you can often see their black excrement fallen onto the top of the leaf below. If squishing is not for you, either remove them very far from your plants or purchase parasitic wasps.

These braconid wasps are harmless to humans and their young will feed on the hornworms. Do not kill any caterpillars that carry the white wasp eggs on their backs, so that the wasp larvae will hatch, feed and stay in your garden. The adult wasps feed on dill and cilantro (coriander) flowers.

If you have an extremely strong stomach, tomato hornworms are even said to be edible, containing lots of healthy chlorophyll from their rich plant diet. Fry them and eat with fried green tomatoes or salad.

Eelworms (Nematode)

Eelworms are found worldwide. They live in the soil and attack the roots of plants including potatoes, tomatoes and some trees. If you have them in the soil, you may not find out in time to save your first plants but you can use the organic fungicide Methyl bromide to spray your next young plants.

You can also prevent eelworm infestation by rotating your tomatoes with other plants that will discourage this pest. The marigold is one of the best plants for this purpose. Try planting marigolds around your tomatoes, too.

Blight

There are two forms of tomato blight: early and late. Both are caused by fungi and can be prevented or controlled by rotating your plants and avoiding overcrowding so that the air can circulate around even full-grown plants.

Late blight is common in a wet summer and may affect your whole crop. Removing and destroying affected plants immediately can help to keep the blight under control and save some of your growing organic tomatoes.

Editor
Peter Charalambos

Author: Peter Charalambos

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