May is here, so, in NJ family tradition, all interest turns toward… tomatoes!

Some people think you can just dig up a piece of ground and put the plants in. Not so! Tomatoes require a lot of preparation to yield their best. These are the steps I use in my climate, where the growing season is shorter and the soil more acid.  But they would work in any clime.

1. In mid-April or early May,  break up the soil of the planting bed (hoe, pitchfork, or shovel) to a depth of 8 inches.

2. Work in lime (a small handful of dolomite or gypsum per plant, tomatoes like lime) and some organic fertilizer like compost or steer or chicken manure. I eyeball it –  the other day I worked in one cubic foot of steer manure to a 6′ x 40″ planting space, plus 3 buckets of moist, juicy compost from my compost bin.

3. Plant tomato plants. I always buy mine and make sure they’re healthy (no wilted leaves or yellowing.) If the side branches have fallen off that is OK, but the central stem should be strong.

4. I use a wall o’water around each plant because springs here are cool. This is a water-filled tube that fits around each plant in a teepee shape that acts like a miniature greenhouse. I have found that putting 2 or 3 2-foot stakes inside the wall o’ water helps to keep it from collapsing on the plant in a wind.

5. When plants start to grow out of the wall o’water, or days and nights are warm enough, you can remove them.

6. I don’t bother with metal tomato cages. I make my own out of long wooden stakes and garden twine — three or four stakes around each plant with twine stretched in between to support the branches. It holds up very well and more stakes and strings can be added if plants get bigger.

7. I fertilize every few weeks with Alaskan fish fertilizer. Miracle Grow is OK too.

8. When I follow these methods, and the weather cooperates, I get my first tomatoes at the end of July.

I’ve been doing at least five plants per year. Some are old favorites, others new Heirloom varieties I like to try out. This year I’m trying ‘Sweet Olive’ red grape tomatoes, Oregon Spring, Caspian Pink, and ‘Snow White,’ a cherry tomato that’s white. I am re-planting Green Zebra because I like it so much, and depending on the space, I might do Sungold again. I will post pictures of these beauties when they are ripe.