TOMATO TIPS  Growing and Watering

The Nature of Tomatoes
*Tomatoes are a heat loving, subtropical vine.
*Tomatoes do not need bees to pollinate them.
*Tomatoes are either determinate (self‑limiting in size of plant) or indeterminate
(continue to grow and bloom until frost).
*Tomatoes are related to potatoes, tobacco, some peppers, petunias.
*75 - 85° is ideal air temperature for most tomatoes; 65° soil temp. Night air temperature must be 50° or more to set fruit Will stop flowering and setting fruit when its in the 90s Cool nights are our "problem" in the Rogue Valley Tomatoes need at least 8 hours of direct sun per day.
*Time between fruit set and ripening is 45 - 50 days

General Hints for Growing Great Tomatoes
Choose the right variety for use desired (see page 55 of Garden Guide)
In the Rogue Valley, early varieties (70 ‑ 90 days) generally perform
better. (Siletz, Early Girl, Legend, Oregon Spring, etc.) Experiment!
"Heirloom" tomatoes are usually indeterminate and often take 90 days to ripen; however, the flavor is often superior
Hybrids are often more resistant to disease; look for letters on label: V, F,N, T, A.
If you want to save seeds, hybrids will not "come true" to parent plant.
Seed starting tips:

              Seeds are viable for about 4 years
              Soil temperature needs to be 70° ‑ 85° for seeds to germinate
              Seeds take 7 ‑14 days to germinate
              Start seeds early to mid‑March; takes 7 ‑ 8 weeks to reach transplant size
              Provide some "breeze" to strengthen stems (5 ‑10 minutes daily)

Buying plants: Plants should be short and stocky (6" ‑10" tall) There should be good roots, but no blooms, fruit, or yellow leaves Depending on weather, keep indoors or in protected place until ready to set out into garden; repot if necessary. If unprotected, cold temperatures will stunt plant, leaves will turn yellow, may have blossom end rot later Remember to "harden off" plants before putting them in garden

Do not be in a hurry to set plants out in the garden
             Warm up the garden soil with plastic: black, clear, red
             Raised beds and containers warm up earlier
If there is a cold spell after plants are set out in the garden
             For small plants, use cloche (milk jug with bottom removed)
             Set jugs of water around plant
             "Wall of water"
             Perforated plastic wrapped around cages
             "Greenhouse" made of curved PVC pipe covered with plastic sheeting
             Do not allow temperatures to go over 90° in any of the above      

A GUIDE TO WATERING THE GARDEN 

The watering of the garden depends on many variables. During germination and the seedling stage, frequent, light watering is necessary to keep the top few inches of soil evenly moist. Once past the seedling stage, deep, infrequent watering encourages deep rooting. The temperature, amount of wind, type of soil and special needs of the crop being grown, all, must be considered. The general rule is to apply 1" of water per week. Raised beds, with their fast drainage, will need more frequent watering. To check the length of time your system requires to deliver 1" of water, set straight‑sided cans at varying distances from the sprinkler or underneath a soaker hose. 

62 gallons of water = one inch of water on an area 100 sq. ft. 

One inch of water will penetrate: sandy soil ‑ 12", loam soil ‑ 7", clay soil ‑ 4‑5" 

The most satisfactory method of all is the gardener, with a trowel in hand, testing the moisture of the soil! 

Alternate drying out and watering will cause special problems with some vegetables. It is one of the main causes of blossom end rot of tomatoes, knobby potatoes, cracking carrots, rings in beets, bitterness of lettuce and cucumbers and buttoning of cauliflower. Salsify will "bolt" if it dries out. Corn, being shallow rooted, needs constant, even watering. After the soil has warmed, mulching will help prevent the alternate drying and wetting problems. 

These are the special times in a vegetable's development when adequate moisture is most essential:

Asparagus ‑ brush and fern development
Beans ‑ flowering through pod development
Broccoli ‑ head development
Cabbage ‑ head development
Cauliflower ‑ head development
Corn ‑ silking through teaseling and seed development
Cucumbers ‑ flowering through fruiting
Lettuce ‑ head development
Melons ‑ flowering through fruit sizing (not ripening)
Onions (dry) ‑ during bulb development
Potatoes ‑ bloom time
Soy beans ‑ bloom to pod set
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