Plant those tomatoes Deep! 

Tomatoes are one of the only plants that really enjoy being plants way deep. Bury the stem right up to the first set of real leaves. You will get another whole set of reets to sprout and this in turn kicks that rascal into overdrive.

Nutrients for the big Guys

Fertilizing... a continuous process and a better understanding of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium.

Your tomatoes need a proper "balance" of nutrients. Packaged fertilizer should include on its label the Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium ratio of 5-10-10 or 10-10-10. For best results, stay with these numbers; since, a change from the stated numerical format like 20-5-5 [too much nitrogen] will create tall, very green, leafy tomato plants with little or no tomatoes. 

If you are using a dried, rotted manure... mix it with bone meal to obtain a proper nutrient balance. Many organic tomato growers like this combination of nutrients to grow good tasting, champion tomatoes. 

To fertilize... Sprinkle the fertilizer mix approximately one foot from the base of the tomato plant. Make sure you encircle the entire plant. Cover the mix with 2" of top soil and then place a light covering of grass cuttings or hay over the fertilizer mix and soil. Then soak the area! The objective is to always keep the soil moist! Your cut grass or hay covering will do this. 

Fertilize every 15 to 21 days, depending on package instructions and repeat the above "how to" procedure. What will happen is that you will create a "layering" process where you will have a nice "hill" build-up of soil, mulch and nutrients encircling your plant. 
Avoid making direct contact with any part of the tomato plant with your fertilizer... this could burn your plant or create other problems. 

Tomato Suspenders 

To suspend or not to suspend... what's the benefit? Over the years, our champion tomato growers have unamamously taken their plants to great heights in order to have tomatoes that are cleaner, easier to inspect for insects and potential disease; and, and We've noticed that over the past years, champion tomato growers are a meticulous group. For the most part, growing big tomatoes isn't an accident and below are several simple steps you can take for insect control. 

Trellis... your tomato growing area needs to be free of "all" weeds and debris, even from last year's garden. Some insects will stay in your garden area from season to season. 
We will help you with preventative and remedial action to control these insects. 

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Going for a Fall Crop!

Extending your Season - Your summer game plan...People have asked, "Can I extend the tomato growing season?" If you feel, you have at least two months warm climate conditions before the first frost, then you can go for a Fall Crop. 

This is what you can do for the 2nd Crop... 

Look for some of the sucker shoots on your tomato plants that have a bud on them,  Cut approximately 8" of the sucker which includes the bud, Remove the leaves from the shoot, don't touch the bud, Put the stem in water for a couple of hours, Plant these suckers directly into your garden. Make sure the soil is loose and moist. Mound the soil around the shoots, Put a basket over the top of the cuttings (5days) to protect it from the sun. Water constantly for four days.  In the second week of your new plant growth... liquefy an organic fertilizer and feed once a week. Figure mid October you will start getting tomatoes. They will be smaller but should taste great! If it starts getting too cool at night, think of putting on a protective plastic to cover the plants at night. Remember, don't keep the cover on during the daylight hours. Also try staying away from the synthetic fertilizers... use organic nutrients!. By utilizing organic fertilizer, you will start a great base for next year's tomatoes!