Getting serious about tomatoes

I was at my mothers house yesterday and she told me she wanted a lot of very productive tomatoes this summer.
There is little I can provide for her that she can't do for herself, but this I should be able to do.
In my own gardens I plant and forget, with mixed results, and I'm fine with that, but this year I am ready to step up my game, to get Mom the tomatoes she deserves!

I always provide what I think is good nutrition, a layer of rabbit bedding, on top of the beds in the fall.
I plan on boosting this with bone meal this year.
There is not any automatic irrigation, so I could add that.
I don't think she prunes them, I rarely prune my own, so that is on the table.
Lastly, in the past I have planted our gardens exclusively with indeterminant tomatoes.
I could grow or buy waves of determinate tomatoes , to improve production.

Any other suggestions on improving tomato yields in Mom's garden?

Seems like you have it William.

In the past I have used blood and bone meal with very good results.  I, too, have grown almost exclusively indeterminate tomatoes and probably will continue to do so.  I have found that watering is not a terribly big deal so long as it is even.  Oddly, even though tomatoes are big, juicy fruits, they are strangely adapted to arid climates and I would think your area would be suited just fine to growing them.

My usual planting setup is

4 beefsteaks or better boys (depending on availability) for general use

2 Romas for canning

2 cherries for snacking


This setup, if put in during April usually gives me an abundance of tomatoes—in fact, more than I can harvest!

Good luck to you and your mother.

Eric

what kind of challenges has she had? I know here our challenge is mildew/fungal disease, and so growing under cover makes a world of difference. If it's bugs, providing protection.

I've tried the old plant-on-top-of-an-egg thing and that has been pretty successful, but I also throw in rabbit manure and later side dress with this bone meal/coffee/charcoal concoction I make, as well as comfrey tea.
As you mention, regular irrigation makes a world of difference.

It sounds like you have things under control- I would add a few different varieties just to mix things up and stagger what is ready when. It seems like here, there, and everywhere the weather is all over the place, I'm learning to plant a whole bunch of different things just to be sure I get some kind of yield.

Hi William,
There are people here with far more experience than I have, and I'm sure they will chime in. I have grown mostly paste tomatoes over the years with some cherry tomatoes thrown in. How many tomatoes are you hoping for? I grew around 140lb of tomatoes in an 6x8 area one year (mostly paste). That was plenty for our family of 5 to make ketchup, BBQ sauce, tomato soup, and pizza sauce for the year. The reason I ask, is if you could maybe double how many plants you grow, but do the same thing?

To really step it up, you are going to want to increase the heat (in most northern climates) with something like a greenhouse. This will help them grow bigger faster.

Control the watering as much as possible. Too little water or too much water can cause problems, so I would recommend an organic mulch of some sort to help with moisture (and weeds).

I would have said, amend the beds with compost or manure, but you said you already do.

I have heard good things about epsom salt sprays, or putting a bit of epsom salt in the hole when you plant. The year I did that, my plants did well... but I also kept them weeded and watered far better than I had previous years too, so I don't know if the epsom really helped.

I'm sure some varieties are better than others for production. I really like the Martinos Romas for paste tomatoes. It is an older heirloom variety, with smaller paste tomatoes, that is very prolific and also determinate (mine tend to top out between 3 and 4 feet. Because we make sauce and soup and whatnot, having a big crop all at the same time is desirable. For fresh eating, not so much. For cherry tomatoes I like Matt's Wild Cherry Tomatoes. They grow like crazy, but also produce like crazy these small flavorful cherry tomatoes.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Wow, thank you all for the responses!
We haven't had any obvious insects or disease, just low and slow yields.
We grow inside cages, to protect from 4 legged pests, and that seems to work.
Last year went from wet spring to dry summer, with not much of mister in between, and between 4 different yards in the family, none did great.

I've had success with tiny current sized to tomatoes on both properties, I get plenty of volunteers and usually plant some as well.
Harvesting is the only challenge for these.
My go to medium/small sized tomato is Stupice, it starts early and goes till first frost.
Nothing extravagant, just reliable despite a total lack of care.
They didn't do as well at Moms house, and that puzzles me.
Our big tomatoes produced low number of tomatoes, slowly.
I don't remember much about them, but I chose the shortest day indeterminate varieties  I could find from a provider that has dozens of tomato varieties to choose from.
I will seek these out again, and try to get them out earlier, probably under cover.
I will also increase the number of plants, I think  we have the room.
Buying starts , starting indoors and winter sowing should give me extra chances to succeed.

Should I increase and the amount of rabbit bedding?
I worry about over doing the rabbit poop, it is nitrogen dominate.
Does bone or blood meal balance that out?
I have never really "fertilized" a garden, instead choosing to add compost, finished or otherwise.
When I've grown bunches of zucchini vines, without any fruits, it was suggested that my compost might be  too nitrogenous or short on P an K.
That was before I had chicken compost, so the problem might be worse now.

Hi William,
An inbalance where one of the NPK is significantly higher than the rest, could cause some weird growing, but from your description I wouldn't suspect it. You could do a soil test. I know there are some places you can send it out to, but here in Maine, I ususally just use the cooperative extension services. I think it was like $15 for the test.

Slow growing tomatoes sounds like not enough heat to me. Maybe try starting them a little earlier or look into ways to increase the heat for the plants?

Hi William, I think it's a great way to help out your mom.
I think you're off to a great start.
* Let's start from the ground up, literally. Every planting season I add a layer of compost ( still working on mine, so I buy organic compost) then I throw in a hand full of what ever I have. So usually azomite, bone and blood meal. Worm castings, BioLive, it an organic fertilizer with mycorrhizae fungi, maybe a organic fertilizer.  I just through it on the top. I don't work it in so I don't disturb the soil life. The only constant is the compost. Everything else is if I remember, what I have on hand, and what was planted there before, and to be planted. I try to do this as much before planting as I can. Last year I got a ton of tomatoes, and didn't do anything but water.
* Next mulch. I never realized what a huge difference mulch makes. Less water needed, less weeds, healthier plants.
* Companion planting. This is a controversial one, but I believe in it.  There's tons of info on the internet about what is benafisal to tomatoes. Some are said to benefit taste and growth, some deter bad insects, and some attract preditory insects.  If you're a believer or not, for most veggies it seems to be the more the merrier.   Policilture is a healthier garden then a monoculture.  Plus I manage to get so much more, veggies, herbs, and flowers in the space I have, and it looks beautiful. Win win.
* Prune the suckers.  Honestly I'm not sure about this one. I've read I should, and sometimes I do, but Last year I was to busy, and didn't get it done, and had tons of tomatoes.???
* The tomato flower is both male and female. When you see an open flower if you tap or shake it, some use a small paint brush, but I just tap them when I notice them. Most flowers you tap will be a tomato. I don't do this often, but I have tried it and it definitely works.
* Water consistently. I'm terrible at this one, but it makes a difference.
* Last but not least pray to the garden God's. Because you can do everything right, and still end up with nada.  This is not meant to discourage you. It just happens sometimes. Sometimes you just shake your head and try again next year.
Good luck to you, I hope you and your mom have an abundant tomato crop.