The Secret to a Big, Juicy Tomato Harvest
Tomatoes are the crown jewel of the summer garden, but they can also be a bit needy. To get the most out of your tomato plants (and other fruiting veggies like peppers, beans or zucchini), you need to give them what they crave: rich soil, consistent care, and a little pruning.
1. Start With the Soil
The secret to growing a lot of tomatoes and tasty ones starts underground. Tomatoes are heavy feeders, and they thrive in soils rich in nutrients and life. My Worm Manure products are packed with beneficial microbes that help unlock nutrients in the soil and feed your plants naturally. These microbes do more than just break things down; they team up with your plants’ roots, delivering nutrients to your plants when they need them the most.
As your tomato plant grows, it changes: early on the plant requires nitrogen to support green leafy growth; but later it will crave other nutrients needed to help the plant flower and fruit. It’s this microbial life in the soil that will help your plant interpret its needs and make the right nutrients available at the right time.
2. Determinate vs. Indeterminate: Know Your Type
Not all tomatoes grow the same way, and knowing the difference in the type you’ve planted will affect how you prune your plants:
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Determinate tomatoes grow to a fixed height and produce all their fruit in a short period, which makes this variety great for sauce-making or preserving. These generally need less pruning.
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Indeterminate tomatoes grow like vines and will keep producing fruit all season long. They can become a jungle if left unchecked, so pruning is key!
3. Prune for Productivity
More fruit means more maintenance. The trick to bigger yields is channeling your plant’s energy into fruit, not extra foliage. That’s where pruning comes in. Look for “suckers”: the small shoots that grow in the “V” between the main stem and a branch. If left to grow, they turn into full branches, pulling energy away from fruit production. By pinching them off when they’re small, you help the plant focus on producing more, highly nutritious, fruit.
4. Feed as They Grow
Even with rich soil, tomatoes benefit from top-ups. A monthly handful of Worm Manure around the base of the plant keeps your microbial population thriving and gives your tomatoes steady access to nutrients, with no synthetic fertilizer required.
Why does this matter?
Nutrient needs aren’t always the same. When your plant is pushing out new leaves, it needs one kind of support; when it’s producing fruit, it requires another. Worm Manure delivers a living soil system that responds to your plants changing needs, naturally, efficiently and effectively!