Use these tomato care tips to get the best home-grown tomatoes

Have you ever purchased a tomato plant from your local nursery only to find that it has drooped in the summer heat? Maybe the leaves turn yellow or look dry and have spots on them. There are a lot of things that can go wrong if you’re not familiar with pruning and fertilizing your plant, but how and when should you step in with the shears and fertilizer? While growing tomatoes may seem like a piece of cake when you’ve purchased a starter plant, basic summer growing can be tricky to maintain until you master some best practices.

So, to learn how to grow the best tomato plants at home, I visited Brooklyn Grange, the largest network of rooftop farms in New York City. Visible from my desk, Brooklyn Grange’s farm at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is the envy of our office, and seeing it in person made me briefly consider switching careers in favor of being one with plants (as if I could stand the relentless sun!).

Head of Horticulture and Maintenance Junior Schouten showed some of the Food52 team members the various products the farm donates to food pantries, sells at farmers markets (you can find them every Saturday at McGolrick Park), and uses for its CSA.

Junior and his team are on track to complete 30 new or revitalized green spaces this year, including clients who have been with Brooklyn Grange for nearly nine years, so he knows a thing or two about preparing tomato plants for a successful harvest.

Here, she shares her best tips and tricks for keeping tomato plants happy and healthy.

How to Grow Healthy Tomato Plants at Home

Mulch to retain (and keep out) moisture

When it comes to growing tomatoes, humidity (not too much, not too little) is key. Whether it’s for the leaves or the fruit, maintaining stable water levels is crucial to the plant’s success. Even a heavy rain can have disastrous effects on the health of your tomatoes. Covering your plant with straw, wood or a plastic sheet helps keep the soil moist despite the relentless rays of summer and protects it from overwatering. Just add it on top of the soil and leave an opening near the base of the plant for watering and fertilizing and you’re done!

Prune your plant from the beginning

If you’ve done any research into growing tomatoes before, you’re likely familiar with pruning, a care method meant to redirect energy into producing high-quality fruit by cutting off excess leaves and stems from your tomato plant. It’s one of the most reliable methods for ensuring tomato plant longevity. With his knees in the dirt, Junior showed me the basics. (If you have a trellised plant, as most home gardens do, you’ll be spared the scrubbing of gardening later.)

First of all, pruning should begin as soon as you buy your tomato plant, by cutting off the flowers from the plant. When you bring your tomato plant home, it will not yet be ready to produce fruit, so by cutting off the flowers, the plant will be able to concentrate its energy on producing leaves and therefore higher quality fruit.

According to Junior, your tomato plant should have no more than three stems. Not only will this help ensure that the leaves and fruit are getting adequate energy, but it will also make it much easier to stake the plant (this helps ensure that the tomatoes don’t crush it). So when you receive your tomato plant, look for the three healthiest stems and cut off the rest.

Pruning also helps maintain stable humidity levels. By cutting off leaves that are about 30 cm below the plant, you increase airflow around the plant, making it easier for the plant to dry out in the rain. Removing excess moisture ultimately prevents the growth of fungi and bacteria.

For a more detailed guide, check out this tutorial on how to prune tomatoes.

Feed your tomatoes with fish (emulsion!)

In addition to pruning, fertilizing your tomato plant is essential to keep it producing delicious fruit. The only downside: your garden may smell a little fishy afterwards. Literally.

Junior put down his scissors and picked up a large bottle that reminded me of the swampy smell I’d smell on the way to the beach. Fish emulsion, a byproduct of the fishing industry, is rich in nutrients and ideal for fertilizing tomatoes, Junior tells me. Add a little to a full watering can and pour it over the roots or leaves every three weeks to restore nutrients to the soil.

Choose (and store) your tomatoes wisely

After all the effort you put into growing tomatoes, the last thing you want is for them to go to waste on your counter. Here are some tips for harvesting and storing them to get the most out of them.

Remember when I said moisture is the most important thing? That includes harvesting. First, make sure the fruit is soft and ripe on the vine before picking (vine-ripened tomatoes are the most flavorful). Then, when harvesting, you want to keep the star-shaped leaves intact by cutting the tomatoes just above the calyx—this ensures that no excessive moisture enters or escapes the tomato while it’s on the counter.

Another pro tip: If a storm is coming, harvest your tomatoes. before The rain starts to fall, so the sudden influx of moisture does not cause the tomatoes to burst.

Once you’ve harvested your tomatoes, Junior stresses that you shouldn’t wash them until you’re ready to eat them. The bacteria that naturally occurs in water ruins the natural balance of bacteria in the tomatoes, resulting in less flavorful, shorter-lasting fruit.

And as a tomato lover, you probably already know the golden rule: Don’t refrigerate your tomatoes! Refrigerating tomatoes completely eliminates their flavor. Instead, keep home-grown tomatoes unwashed on the counter until you’re ready to eat them.

Make the most of your tomato harvest

Now that you’ve got an arsenal of tomato care tips, it’s time to enjoy all those ripe, juicy tomatoes! And what better way to make the most of your harvest than by participating in Food52’s Tomato-thon? Throughout August, we’ll be featuring our favorite tomato recipes to inspire you to try something new. Post the recipes you make (or just your pretty tomato photos) with the hashtag #f52tomatothon.

A special thanks to all the folks at Brooklyn Grange for being so welcoming to their Food52 neighbors. We’ll be waving to you from our desks!

---

Do you have any growing tips we haven’t mentioned? Share yours in the comments!