{"id":5479,"date":"2024-04-23T16:26:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T20:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/?page_id=5479"},"modified":"2024-04-23T16:26:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T20:26:32","slug":"tomato-series-part-2-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/seasonal-resources\/tomato-series-part-2-maintenance\/","title":{"rendered":"Tomato Series Part 2 – Maintenance"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Tomato series, Part 2, Maintenance.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>

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Article and photos by Rob Danforth\u00a0<\/i><\/p>

Tomatoes, like some pets, need constant attention<\/u>:\u00a0 support leaves and keep branches off the soil, maintain good air circulation throughout the plant, aerate (loosen) the soil for air and water penetration, keep the soil moist, remove weeds, keep plants away from corn, dill, fennel, and brassicas (cabbage family), and grow them side by side with basil for taste enhancement.\u00a0 Tomatoes are heavy feeders with big thirsts and they do not tolerate dry conditions gladly.\u00a0 In addition to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), they need a good source of calcium and other trace elements.\u00a0<\/p>

You have \u201chardened off\u201d your seedlings and you are now transplanting your tomatoes<\/u>:\u00a0 be prepared for some transplant shock (e.g., leaves look wilted and plants may appear doomed).\u00a0 With water and sunshine, they should rebound in a day.\u00a0<\/p>

Tomatoes are ground crawling vines, but we keep them up off the ground<\/u> for a variety of reasons concerning plant health.\u00a0 Therefore, add upright supports early to pot or plot.\u00a0 The choice of supports will depend on whether you plunge them into the soil or place free-standing supports over or near the plants:\u00a0<\/p>

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Plunge in-soil:\u00a0 cages, stakes (e.g., hardwood, bamboo, plastic coated metal rods, foraged deadwood branches, recycled items, \u2026), or spirals.\u00a0 I have also seen tomatoes bound to sunflowers for support. \"\" <\/picture><\/span><\/p>

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Free-standing:\u00a0 lattice, trellis, do-it-yourself tripods (bamboo, hardwood, plastic coated metal + home-made concentric rings of sisal cord), or a nearby fence. <\/span><\/p>

Here you have choices to make: 1- let your tomato plants grow unrestrained, fending for themselves with only the mulch for protection, or\u00a0 2 – restrain your plants for more gardener control in the garden.\u00a0 If you choose unrestrained<\/i>, you will have more tomatoes than you can use, and perhaps more problems than you expected (e.g., access, sprawl, breakage, disease, insects, \u2026).\u00a0 If you choose to restrain <\/i>your plants you will have fewer problems, less wastage, and fewer but better tasting tomatoes.\u00a0 A restrained plant is less likely to encounter problems and plants with fewer tomatoes can concentrate on improving the fruit they have rather than preparing for all the fruit they are capable of producing. To restrain your tomato plants, keep them in the cage<\/u> or close<\/u> to the support.\u00a0<\/p>

Remove all side shoots<\/u> (new major branches usually start at the base of the plant but may sprout anywhere from the main stalk) and suckers<\/u> (a shoot that grows up from the middle of a joint between a minor branch and the main stock).\u00a0 These will turn the tomato plant into a dense, sprawling bush.\u00a0 Unsupported side shoots will bend to the ground with the weight of the tomatoes and may actually break off the plant, especially in a wind.\u00a0 Unrestrained tomatoes in cages will fall over, cage and all, and end up on the ground.\u00a0 When you cut the leaders to limit tomato production to 6 or 8 great tomatoes per plant, the plants will continue to grow bushy, so restraining will be an on-going gardener activity.<\/p>

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Ties<\/b>:\u00a0 Bind your tomatoes to stakes, trellises, or fences with\u00a0<\/p>

\"\" <\/picture>rags or a broad binding that won\u2019t slice through the tomato stalk.\u00a0 No ties are needed for cages, tripods, or spirals.\u00a0 <\/span>Tip<\/b>:\u00a0 metal spirals are excellent supports in-ground or in large containers.\u00a0 Plants are trained to grow up the center of the spirals, and all suckers and side shoots are removed.\u00a0 My spiraled tomatoes are six-foot tall, slender plants.\u00a0 Tomatoes grow without ties close to the spiral, well ventilated, and far above the soil.\u00a0 Harvesting is easy!<\/span><\/p>

Mulch<\/b>:\u00a0 Tomatoes planted and supports in place, you can now add mulch to conserve moisture, prevent weeds, and keep the leaves and tomatoes from encountering the soil.\u00a0 An organic mulch (e.g., straw, shredded leaves, bark, \u2026), will allow water and air to get to the soil, and also prevent soil splash onto the leaves.\u00a0 Unfortunately, plastic will prevent water and air from getting to the soil to keep it healthy, and old floor coverings, as they disintegrate, can add unwanted material to your garden (e.g., synthetic fibres, industrial glue, fire retardant chemicals, rubber, polyester, \u2026).<\/p>

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If you are not using mulch, weed regularly.\u00a0 Mother nature will cover any bare soil within two weeks with greenery you will probably not appreciate. \"\" <\/picture><\/p>

Water:\u00a0 <\/b>Tomatoes can drink a gallon a day in summer heat.\u00a0 The soil must be continually moist and never dry out!\u00a0 However, tomatoes are not aquatic plants and they can drown!\u00a0 When you water, do not wet the leaves!\u00a0 Water only the roots, and water twice.\u00a0 The first water opens the soil and makes it receptive.\u00a0 The second watering goes deep.\u00a0 A watering can is best to help you target the roots only.\u00a0 Hoses and sprinklers are inaccurate; they shower everything and miss some important areas under plants.\u00a0 A thirsty plant wants a deep drink, not a bath! \"\" <\/picture><\/p>

Rain water is best, <\/b>but <\/b>tap water is fine if it is saved in a bucket and allowed to off-gas (chemicals added for our safety) and warm up to the air temperature for 1 to 2 hours.\u00a0<\/p>

Absentee watering <\/b>(for that weekend away!):\u00a0 consider a 2-litre pop bottle and a plastic or terracotta low-flow spike, a wine bottle and terracotta spike, a terracotta syphon system, or an automated low-flow system of tap lines. \"\" <\/picture><\/p>

Aerate<\/b> the plants by trimming bushy areas for good ventilation throughout the plant, and aerate any compacted soil for air and water penetration (e.g., loosen with a 3-prong claw cultivator or 2-prong Jekyll weed fork — Tip<\/b>:\u00a0 a recycled chop stick also works!).\u00a0 Note<\/b>:\u00a0 soil in containers condenses with each watering and must<\/u> be loosened at least once every 3 weeks for air and water penetration.\u00a0 Garden soil must be aerated if it has been stepped on.<\/p>

Add a temporary sun screen<\/b> if the sun is too strong.\u00a0 Surprise!\u00a0 Tomatoes can get sunburn!<\/p>

Add a windbreak,<\/b> if necessary, to reduce wind damage and drying.\u00a0 Happy Gardening! <\/b><\/p>

DTE Tomato series:<\/b>\u00a0 Starting &Transplanting, Maintenance, Disease & Stress Management, Tomato Salvage & Seed Saving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tomato series, Part 2, Maintenance.  Article and photos by Rob Danforth  Tomatoes, like some pets, need constant attention:  support leaves and keep branches off the soil, maintain good air circulation throughout the plant, aerate (loosen) the soil for air and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5480,"parent":2606,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\nTomato Series Part 2 - Maintenance - Ottawa-St. Lawrence-Outaouais Chapter \/ Section d'Ottawa-Saint-Laurent-Outaouais<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/seasonal-resources\/tomato-series-part-2-maintenance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tomato Series Part 2 - Maintenance - Ottawa-St. Lawrence-Outaouais Chapter \/ Section d'Ottawa-Saint-Laurent-Outaouais\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tomato series, Part 2, Maintenance.  Article and photos by Rob Danforth  Tomatoes, like some pets, need constant attention:  support leaves and keep branches off the soil, maintain good air circulation throughout the plant, aerate (loosen) the soil for air and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/seasonal-resources\/tomato-series-part-2-maintenance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ottawa-St. Lawrence-Outaouais Chapter \/ Section d'Ottawa-Saint-Laurent-Outaouais\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cogosochapter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Supported-but-unrestrained-Copy.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@COGOSOCH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/seasonal-resources\/tomato-series-part-2-maintenance\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ottawa.cog.ca\/seasonal-resources\/tomato-series-part-2-maintenance\/\",\"name\":\"Tomato Series Part 2 - 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