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Do you want to grow some perfect tomatoes this year?? Check out these creative tips and tricks shared on The Frugal Girls Facebook Page…
Laura said: “Coming from a long line of farmers, the best tip I ever heard for backyard growing was planting marigolds at the base of tomatoes…it is a natural pest repellent!” 
Jennifer said: “If using tomato cages, use old pantyhose/knee high nylons to support the growing plants. It’s something my family has always done.”
Amanda said: “Water consistently at the same time every day. This way they won’t split and will grow nice and big.”
Kati said: “Line your growing space with hardware cloth, if you have critter problems like ground squirrels or gophers. You can get it at Home Depot and online at Amazon.com. Its better than chicken wire, and will still allow roots to grow through!”
Christa said: “I read that placing a tablespoon of sugar into the hole before placing the plant in the hole is supposed to make them super sweet! I’m going to try it this summer!”
Stacey said: “I mix epsom salts with the dirt, about 1 part to 3 parts. It makes your plant produce a lot of tomatoes. I did it for the first time last year and it was amazing how much fruit my plant produced. I just planted again this year and did the same. I had always wondered why epsom salts was sold in the garden area.”
Charlene said: “I put banana peels in the hole when planting.”
Debbie said: “I crush egg shells and put them in the hole. I also sprinkle them around the base of the plant throughout the season. They give the plant much needed calcium and keep the slugs away (slugs have soft bellies and the jagged edges of the shells deter them or split them open). I also plant marigolds all over the garden. My grandfather bordered his 2 acre garden with them, and this helped to save the seeds for the next year.”
Dawn said: “Using a lot of miracle grow will get you tons of tomatoes.”
Rhonda said: “I didn’t do this myself, but my ex-husband did. He dug a hole in front of his tomato plants and put a 1/2 gallon milk jug with holes punched in it. He would then put a mixture of miracle grow and water in the jugs. He had tomatoes as big as a dinner plate and they were so good! He also used a soaker hose instead of water from a hose or a sprinkler.”
April said: “Easy peasy: You need soil, manure, and lots of sun and water.”
Kari said: “I put powdered milk in the hole before planting. That way the plants get calcium. The calcium helps prevent the bottom of the tomato from turning black with bottom rot.”
See Also:
More Gardening Tips + Tricks!
DIY Weed Killer!
Do YOU have any tips or tricks for growing tomatoes??
Leave a comment & share!
Tomato plants don’t like their feet wet at night. Water in the early morning if possible. This lets them drink up and stay hydrated during hot days.
I didn’t know tomato plants didn’t like to be watered at night. Thanks for the tip.
we tried these tips this year with both our pear tomato we planted in a tub (which requires MUCH more water) as well as the cherry planted in the ground… 1st of all, you want to bury the tomato itself pretty deep in the ground, so only about a 1/3 so the root ball can get big. What we did differently this year was dug the hole about 8 to 12 in deeper, put in fish heads (other parts work too), a few aspirins, crushed egg shells, and some ground bonemeal. Cover that up with a few inches of dirt and put the plant on top of it. I don’t know what each of these things exactly do, but both our tomato plants are just HUGE this year and dripping with blooms.
If you planting in a container, you should mix 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 composted cow manure (I like Black Kow brand), and 1/3 peet moss. Also, put a handful of Epson salt in the hole when you plant. I also plant marigolds about 1 foot from them. I use big containers (20 gallon) smart pots. My tomatoes were big as your hand, and my plants were 6 feet tall last year. If you plant in the ground, dig out a big hole, and put back 1/3 cow manure, and 2/3 soil, and added the Epson salt. The Epson salt keeps it from having blossom end rot.
A couple of the tips involving the overuse of Miracle Gro needs to be addressed. The ground can only absorb so much of the chemicals and the rest runs off into the rivers and streams on into the ocean. There is some research that supports the notion that runoff from chemical fertilizers is partially responsible for the destruction of the coral reefs and other habitats. There is a lot more evidence that it is home farmers contributing a large portion of that. Getting the biggest tomatoes is not the point, growing the healthiest tomatoes is the wiser choice and not adding to an overwhelmed eco system.
Good Comment. I love people who are careful with our planet!
You are so right, too much Miracle gro only makes lots of leaves and no fruit. I am a horticulturalist. Also all organic material like coffee grinds, fish heads, egg shells etc. have to be broken down in order for the plant to use it. So don’t over feed you are polluting the ground water and wasting your money. Sugar cannot be used by the plant either to make sweeter fruit, that is impossible. The fruit are sweet because of the variety (I worked for a very large seed company) of tomato and the weather, lots of sun and not too wet. Wet weather makes fruit taste bland, so don’t water everyday. If you need to water that much your soil isn’t holding the water and you need to add more organic matter to the soil. Tums or Rolaids will add nothing to the fruits and the plants will not use them in their present pill form. Blossom end rot is tied to some varieties and wet weather while the fruit are growing.
Pantyhose are the best things to tie up plants because thy stretch with the growing plant.
HI, my mane is maria I try to grow my tomates in a bucket that because I lived In apatments which they do grow but very small I try different thing but so far It hasn’t been a successful I have ask people and they just laught.,I would really love to get big tomotes atleast one time.
I appreaciated if you can give me some ideas please “thanks” for your time.
I have great lock planting my tomatoes in 5 gal buckets. Only 1 plant per bucket. Put holes 1 inch from the bottom on the sides of the bucket for drainage. Put about one inch of large gravel in the bottom of the bucket and then fill with 1/3 black cow, potting soil and peat moss. Plant tomatoe up to first set of leaves. After 1 week, if you drink coffee, and left over coffee after it cools water your plant with that. After 1 week of coffee sprinkle epsom salts around the plant and continue to water alternating coffee and water as needed. I plant mine on my deck and they reach above the gutter every year.
Hello,
How much epson salt to you use per plant, in 5 gallon bucksts? Have you hear of putting ES in the hole when planting tomatoes? I am planting mine tomorrow, I live in North Louisiana.
Thanks for any info and happy gardening.
When we plant tomatoes, we put them in the ground, we cut the bottom out of a 5 gal. bucket put that over the plant, then when you water them, the water doesn,t all run off of them, and it protects the plant from grounds insects and animals, then if the cold weather hasn’t left yet, put the lid over the plant at night to protect it from frost or cold, they do really good doing this!