Growing your own tomatoes is EASY!

Step 1: Select good varieties. See reverse side. Varieties with “days to harvest” of 60 to 75 days are best for our area. Early Girl is our most popular and dependable variety.

Step 2: Plant in a sunny area. If plants are tall and leggy plant with the rootball horizontal. (See illustration at right.) Roots will form along the buried stem for a more robust plant.

Step 3: Water in with Fertilome Root Stimulator solution (according to directions on bottle). Thereafter water with plain (non-softened) water when soil surface is dry.

Step 4: Protect from wind and frost with Wall o’ Water, hot cap, or other protection as necessary.

Step 5: Feed monthly with Save-a-Tree plant food. (1/2 cup per gallon of water)

Step 6: Support with stake or cage. Indeterminate varieties (see back) should be staked or caged for best results. Determinate varieties can be grown without support.

Step 7: Enjoy your harvest. Tomatoes out of the garden are SO much more flavorful than those purchased at the supermarket. Depending on the variety chosen and the use of plant protectors you should harvest your first fruit between mid-July and early September.

Tomato Varieties

Determinate- Bush type that doesn’t need support. Tend to ripen all at once.

Indeterminate– Vigorous, viny plants do best when staked or caged. Fruit continuously until frost.

Heirloom- An heirloom tomato is an “old-time” open-pollinated (non-hybrid) variety.

VFNTA- Symbols for disease resistance- Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, (a second F indicates resistance to more than one race), Nematodes, Tobacco mosaic virus, and Alternaria.

AAS- All-America Selections winner. Selected for outstanding performance.