If you could only give one piece of advice?

Everything About Tomatoes
User avatar
TXTravis
Reactions:
Posts: 86
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2020 4:21 pm
Location: Round Rock, TX
Contact:

If you could only give one piece of advice?

#1

Post: # 46221Unread post TXTravis
Wed May 05, 2021 2:28 pm

Most of us hang here not because we're new to tomato growing, but because we aren't. We get new folks to stay (like I was/did) because the info shared and questions answered make us BETTER at this, and also because of the community. So that got me thinking, if you were only able to give one tip/tidbit/piece of knowledge/key point, etc. about growing better tomatoes better, what would that one thing be? Another way of asking would be: What is the most important single thing in tomato growing?

My real answer would be to learn all you can from as many places as you can so that you know what your plants need or are suffering from and how to fix it, but that's cheating because there are at least three "one things" embedded there. Really a lot more than three if you look at it right. So here's my "one" answer, chosen for my Central Texas context:

Make sure your plants get the right amount of water.

If you chase this trail far enough it covers frequency and amount of water, and even the importance of mulch. Taken a bit further could encompass watering to minimize disease spread (no soil splashing), fertilization and nutrient uptake, BER, splitting, avoiding pests by keeping plants healthy, etc.

What's your one thing?
Last edited by TXTravis on Wed May 05, 2021 4:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
A seed not planted is guaranteed not to grow.

User avatar
bower
Reactions:
Posts: 5475
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 12:44 pm
Location: Newfoundland, Canada

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#2

Post: # 46227Unread post bower
Wed May 05, 2021 3:37 pm

My one advice would be to trial lots of varieties and find the ones that are keepers for your climate.
Being friends with tomato growers around the world for a decade or more, and trialing 100+ varieties that are no later than "midseason" by other people's standards, I could be a little sad about all the descriptions of wonderful, late tomatoes that I know from experience, I just wouldn't get a fruit from. Yet there are many that produce fantastic fruit here, some are even better in crappy cold weather than they are in the heat. Tomato diversity is wow. Yes they can.
Just wanted to say that you can grow tomatoes anywhere if you are patient and willing to trial and find what works.
I will add, the biggest surprise for me in joining the tomato growing community, is how much valuable and applicable advice I got about growing from growers in the south. We don't have all problems in common, but surprisingly many!
AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm

User avatar
habitat-gardener
Reactions:
Posts: 446
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 1:56 am
Location: central california, Sunset zone 14

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#3

Post: # 46229Unread post habitat-gardener
Wed May 05, 2021 3:42 pm

Try something new every year.
New-to-you varieties, different planting times or soil amendments, etc.

Or:
Use compost and mulch generously.

User avatar
pondgardener
Reactions:
Posts: 1605
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2019 4:34 pm
Location: 30 miles southeast of the Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#4

Post: # 46230Unread post pondgardener
Wed May 05, 2021 4:11 pm

The old garden adage about digging a $50 hole for a $5 plant would seem to apply well to tomato growing. Making sure you have a good sized hole, mixed with plenty of compost and other nutrients, allowing for good water drainage, is beneficial in getting a healthy plant to grow and produce.
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter, that tells what kind of life you have lived.

User avatar
PlainJane
Reactions:
Posts: 2665
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:12 pm
Location: N. FL Zone 9A

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#5

Post: # 46235Unread post PlainJane
Wed May 05, 2021 4:38 pm

Experiment.
Give the garden a quick 5 minute walk each day to spot issues early.
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

User avatar
Sue_CT
Reactions:
Posts: 4373
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:03 pm
Location: Connecticut Zone 6A

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#6

Post: # 46236Unread post Sue_CT
Wed May 05, 2021 4:44 pm

Keep trying. Keep learning. Perfection is a great goal but an unrealistic expectation. Each year will be better. If you only get 3 tomatoes the first year they will be the best tasting tomatoes you have ever eaten. Be proud of them. Next year you will try more varieties and you might get 10 tomatoes and they will taste even better. In 10 years you will look back and realize the ones you are growing are the best ever, some might be varieties that you may never have heard of 10 years ago, and and you realize they are so much better than what you grew all those years ago. If you have a bad year, remember how good they were the previous year and how much better they will be the next year. Then pat yourself on the back because you have turned into a gardener. :)

User avatar
Labradors
Reactions:
Posts: 676
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:38 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#7

Post: # 46240Unread post Labradors
Wed May 05, 2021 4:55 pm

Pick all tomatoes that have blushed if you are battling with birds/squirrels and whenever rain is expected. They will ripen just fine inside the house where they are safe :).

Linda
Last edited by Labradors on Mon May 10, 2021 11:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
worth1
Reactions:
Posts: 14278
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:32 pm
Location: 25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#8

Post: # 46242Unread post worth1
Wed May 05, 2021 5:25 pm

Don't give up.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

slugworth
Reactions:
Posts: 1966
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:35 am
Location: Connecticut

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#9

Post: # 46250Unread post slugworth
Wed May 05, 2021 6:40 pm

different sizes and mature dates.
"A chiseled face,Just like Easter Island" :lol:

User avatar
karstopography
Reactions:
Posts: 6752
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2020 7:15 am
Location: Southeast Texas

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#10

Post: # 46252Unread post karstopography
Wed May 05, 2021 7:06 pm

Someone already said as much, but the old adage“ The best fertilizer is the gardener’s shadow.” is very true. Spend time out in your garden, you’ll likely spot things going in, potential problems and issues, well before they spiral out of control. I love to walk out and look at the garden. I stare at my tomatoes, lift foliage, look at the buds, it isn’t a burden, it’s enjoyable.
Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

User avatar
maxjohnson
Reactions:
Posts: 398
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 12:16 am
Location: OH zone 6

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#11

Post: # 46257Unread post maxjohnson
Wed May 05, 2021 7:34 pm

Experiment. There are more than one way to grow tomatoes successfully.

User avatar
MissS
Reactions:
Posts: 5598
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2019 4:55 am
Location: SE Wisconsin Zone 5b

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#12

Post: # 46258Unread post MissS
Wed May 05, 2021 7:56 pm

It all begins with your soil. If you grow in-ground then do something every year to amend that soil each year and it will become better and better and grow better plants for you. If in containers, don't skimp on your grow mix. Use the best that you can.

Amending your soil gives you better drainage, increases fertility and makes it far easier to work with. This advise is not just for tomatoes but for everything that you might want to grow.
~ Patti ~

User avatar
Barmaley
Reactions:
Posts: 159
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 5:55 pm
Location: Zone 5b, Eastern PA, USA

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#13

Post: # 46264Unread post Barmaley
Wed May 05, 2021 8:48 pm

I am very new with tomato growing so it is too early for me to give an advice. However, is somebody is just contemplating about this hobby I have and insight for you: be prepared that you would need to learn much more that you expected and don't even think about trying to start tomatoes and strawberries at the same time of your learning cycle!

User avatar
Barmaley
Reactions:
Posts: 159
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 5:55 pm
Location: Zone 5b, Eastern PA, USA

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#14

Post: # 46265Unread post Barmaley
Wed May 05, 2021 8:53 pm

Labradors wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 4:55 pm Pick tomatoes all tomatoes that have blushed if you are battling with birds/squirrels and whenever rain is expected. They will ripen just fine inside the house where they are safe :).

Linda
I believe this is an advice which made me change my strategy for this year and add red tomatoes to my grow list. However, I read somewhere that the exception is SunGold which for some reason taste well only if it is fully ripen in the vine! I still grow SunGold and I am thinking about mechanical barrier against squirrels and birds.

User avatar
Amateurinawe
Reactions:
Posts: 1484
Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2020 1:11 am
Location: Emsworth UK

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#15

Post: # 46273Unread post Amateurinawe
Thu May 06, 2021 12:39 am

I think my advice would be to join a group or fantastic forum with others who grow. The quickest way to knowledge and wisdom is to learn. The quickest way to learn is to watch, listen and question. And you good folks have all been part of increasing my knowledge, and enjoyment, of growing and beyond..
The behaviour of light means you observe me as i was then, and not as I am now.
I cannot change history, so I do hope i gave you a good impression of myself

User avatar
AlittleSalt
Reactions:
Posts: 459
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 9:55 pm

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#16

Post: # 46275Unread post AlittleSalt
Thu May 06, 2021 2:10 am

Be healthy enough to take care of them - if so, live.

I agree completely with the experimental thing. Water them the right amount for wherever you are growing them, and figure out however you if you want to fertilize them or not. It is all up to you. It's your garden. Do it how you want to.
Texas Zone 8A

User avatar
stone
Reactions:
Posts: 120
Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:33 am
Location: Middle Georgia USA
Contact:

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#17

Post: # 46284Unread post stone
Thu May 06, 2021 8:03 am

habitat-gardener wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 3:42 pm Use compost and mulch generously.
Ditto....
Enough compost and mulch means not having to add extra water or pull other plants.

Although... I would further suggest a nice chicken pen so that you can share the damaged fruit... chickens love tomatoes!

They like those leaf-foot bugs too... and... those snails and slugs... and any extra tomato worms... I prefer having sacrificial plants for the caterpillars, as my gardens are as much about the butterflies/hummingbirds/song birds as anything else.

User avatar
AZGardener
Reactions:
Posts: 761
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 9:12 am
Location: Arizona, USA

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#18

Post: # 46289Unread post AZGardener
Thu May 06, 2021 8:22 am

Start out with a plant or two, rather than a garden full. Once you get your soil/water/feeding dialed in then expand. Learn as you go and don't count losses as failures, but as learning experiences.
USDA Zone 9b, Sunset Zone 13
Average Rainfall 9.5 inches
Climate: Sonoran Desert

User avatar
Rockoe10
Reactions:
Posts: 556
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:36 am

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#19

Post: # 46309Unread post Rockoe10
Thu May 06, 2021 4:17 pm

Try your hand at Hybridization/Dehybridization! It's so much fun not knowing what you'll get each year. Even experienced gardeners who can reliably produce bushels of fruit each year can rekindle the old flame of excitement. It's that excitement the keeps the gardener in the garden taking care of their plants.
Thenn, with practice, you can start to predict the outcomes. And you'll feel proud of not only that years harvest, but of all the work that went into creating your vary own variety!
- - - - - - - -
Rob, ZONE 6A with 170 days between frost dates, Western Pennsylvania

User avatar
steve ok
Reactions:
Posts: 116
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 6:31 pm
Location: Tacoma, WA

Re: If you could only give one piece of advice?

#20

Post: # 46313Unread post steve ok
Thu May 06, 2021 5:30 pm

Participate in seed exchanges. The MMMM (Mostly Mystery 'Mater Mailing) is the biggest and the best. Save as much seed as you can so you can feel good about giving as well as receiving. I went from having about 30 varieties of tomato seeds last year to over 300 varieties this year.

Post Reply

Return to “Tomato Talk”