All About Growing Tomatoes

Nothing says summer like a fresh sun-warmed tomato from the garden. If you love tomatoes and want to grow your own, but aren’t sure where to start, this is the collection for you. Below you’ll find articles all about growing tomatoes from the archives of Fine Gardening and Kitchen Gardener magazines as well as videos that will help you to not only start your tomato plants right, but care for and harvest them correctly, too.

Types of tomatoes

There are two types of tomato plant types we discuss, determinant and indeterminate. Determinate plants are more bushlike and will typically have a shorter harvest than the indeterminate varieties. However, determinate tomato plants are smaller and so better for little gardens and for growing in containers. Indeterminate varieties will grow continuously, and can reach heights up to 20 feet! These varieties will have a continuous harvest until the first cold snap, at which point you’ll have to say goodbye to your tomato plants till next year.

Some varieties we like

 
Indeterminate

‘Sungold’, ‘Rose’, ‘Brandywine’, ‘San Marazano’, ‘Pineapple’

Determinate

‘Amelia’, ‘Heatmaster’, ‘Defiant’, and ‘Roma’

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  Design

  Get to Know Heirloom Tomatoes

  Heirloom varieties are gaining ground

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  Article

  How to Deep-Plant Tomatoes

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  How-To

  How to Grow Tomatoes in Containers

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  How-To

  The Supporting Cast for Tomatoes

  Provide your vines with some structure for easier harvesting, bigger fruits, and a better yield

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  How-To

  A Classic Approach to Pruning Tomatoes

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  How-To

  How to Train Tomato Plants

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  How-To

  Troubleshooting Tomato Problems

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  How-To

  How to Harvest Tomatoes

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  How-To

  A Quick Canning Method for Preserving Tomatoes