Tomato Ideas, Tips & Guides

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While this may sound something straight out of some fairy tale, but this actually works! Tickle, and see your tomatoes producing bumper fruits!

There are certain global events that everyone knows. If you've never heard of St Patrick's Day, people will likely ask you what planet you are from. Globally, people grow up hearing tales of Carnival in Brazil, Oktoberfest in Germany, and several other festivals that are also celebrated in smaller numbers outside their home countries. But what of the world’s lesser-known celebrations? Have you ever heard of Spain’s baby jumping festival? Or the Monkey Buffet Festival in Thailand? (No, it doesn’t involve humans eating them.)

Planting disease resistant tomatoes is an important step in promoting healthy plant growth and a large harvest of delicious fruits. Tomato plants can be affected by many plant diseases including early blight, late blight, and verticillium wilt. Tomato breeders work hard to develop disease-resistant tomato varieties to help prevent or reduce the impact of common tomato diseases. When reading seed catalogs or seed packets, read the description carefully to discover if that variety is a disease resistant tomato. Below you’ll discover sixteen delicious, productive, and resilient disease resistant tomatoes like Galahad, Defiant PhR, Purple Zebra, and Sun Gold. Keep reading to learn more.

To extend the time frozen foods taste fresh, package foods in material intended for freezing and keep the freezer’s temperature at 0 degrees F or below. It’s recommended frozen vegetables be eaten within about eight months for the best flavor and to maintain quality.

Brie Williams

If you’re as keen on growing tomatoes as I am you’ll be getting read to sow now. I sow them as early as February to grow inside and late March for plants to go out in the veg patch. Don’t panic if you’re late sowing, they do catch up, you’ll just be picking a little later.

When I moved to my current apartment I had windows along the south wall perfect for a winter garden, but no patio or yard in which to put my compost. The solution? A compost column built from two recycled two-liter plastic bottles, an idea from the University of Wisconsin’s Bottle Biology Resources Network.

After the last couple of weekends being frantic, one with ringing for the Jubilee, and the other with a retirement party and collecting George from university, I finally had a weekend to myself and at home. Saturday morning was busy with shopping and getting pet supplies, the chickens eat so much. The afternoon was house chores and we had a BBQ in the evening which I managed to get it all cooked before it rained. There are 6 of us in the house at the moment so that’s a lot of food for a BBQ. Still the best thing about a BBQ is the left overs for the next couple of days.

Apart from the odd bit of snow about the rest has all gone, and the world is green again! I only worked a morning today, so this afternoon I was able to get out into the greenhouse and sow a load of seeds. The temperature in the greenhouse is about 15 degrees so that’s a good temperature for seeds to germinate. I’ve got a lot to go through, so if you’re ready and sitting comfortably, then I’ll begin.

This weekend looks to be the last weekend of summer weather, as next week rain is coming in and the temperature will definitely feel more autumnal. Still we’ve had a lovely Summer, albeit a little wetter than last year and this caused problems with blight on most of my tomatoes and some of my potatoes. But other things thrived like courgettes, onions and sweetcorn. So swings and roundabouts really. But that’s the joy of gardening, you never know what each year will bring, I think that’s why I love it so much.

Being British we love to talk about the weather, it’s just one of those things we do. Many of us are never happy whatever the weather brings. It’s either too cold (but it’s the winter so what do you expect, put a few extra layers on), or too hot (again it’s the summer and that’s what happens, drink something cold and buy a fan). It rains when people don’t want it to (I must admit sometimes when it pours and I’m working I do get cross but I can’t do anything about it), and then sometimes it gets very windy (we live on a small island that is right next to the Atlantic ocean so it’s gonna happen). Stop complaining about the weather all the time and just live your life and enjoy your life. You only get one life so make the most of it and stop moaning about something that really doesn’t effect you that much. Yes you might get wet when it rains or sweaty when it’s hot, but there is always someone worse off that you. Ok so moan over, here’s what I got up to today and how the weather has effected my plants.

It’s the last Bank Holiday until August (that’s in England anyway), so as the sun was shining I wasn’t going to waste any of it.

For those who don’t live in the UK this weekend was a 4 day Bank Holiday. We don’t usually get these, but we were celebrating our Queen being on the throne for 70 years so they added a couple of extra days holiday in.

The structure that I lovingly constructed for my beans was holding together very nicely until we had the last lot of wind (which had nothing to do with me eating any sprouts). Because the runner beans had grown so thick on one side it was unevenly weighted. Therefore the wind broke all the twine and both sides had drifted apart. Fortunately no canes broke, but I needed something strong to hold them back together again.

I’ve checked the BBC weather app and it looks like we are not due anymore frost which is brilliant. This means a couple of things…..firstly Summer is very nearly here thank goodness, and secondly I can start to plant out my tender crops!! Yay!!

Some tomato plants, even high-acid varieties, produce lower-acid fruits under some conditions. Always add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to avoid the risk of botulism.

Harvesting and eating homegrown veg is one of life’s joys. Whether it’s picking leaves for a winter salad or harvesting sweetcorn for a summer barbecue, there’s something special about eating veg that you have grown yourself. Not only does it taste so much better than shop-bought, it also couldn’t be fresher or more healthy – or better for the environment, with no packaging or food miles involved. And of course being out in the fresh air and getting your hands in the soil growing your own veg is great for the soul. You don’t need a lot of space either as a container on a sunny doorstep will make a great spot for growing your own tomatoes or chard. Here we share some of our favourite veg to grow. Our choices include recommendations from the Gardeners’ World team and familiar faces from across the gardening industry.

For what seems like 8 million years, I have grown ‘Tomatoberry’. It’s a small cherry tomato variety that is not rare or superflashy, but it works well for me, so I stick with it. My gardening friends are similar: They plant the same varieties year after year because those varieties are proven performers and they don’t want to mess with what works. But when you rock the boat a bit, you occasionally stumble upon a new variety that is just as great, or perhaps even better, than the old standbys. That’s how I ended up replacing my ‘Sweet 100’s’ cherry tomatoes with ‘Tomatoberry’ many years ago. The following options may not be brand-new, but they have proven themselves to be  reliable “newer” vegetables, and they might be good additions to your garden this season.

Greenhouses have an abundance of benefits that can allow you to make the most of your plants. If you’re considering investing in a greenhouse but are still not sure whether to buy one, read on for our ‘need to know’ advice.

As winter approaches and we’re faced with another year of determining what's for dinner, we're sharing a glimpse at how BHG readers gather for a meal. Welcome to our new series, Dinner Diaries, where we're asking readers to anonymously share how they get dinner on the table including grocery shopping, budgeting, cooking, and their favorite family recipes. Here, a two-person household relies on garden-fresh produce and well-stocked pantry to get dinner on the table.

A surprising number of annual crops benefit from the support of a trellis. Because we love trellised crops and because we’ve been trialing a ton of varieties, we started carrying a selection of Renee’s Garden seeds in our shop! Here is a short list of some of our favorite crops and varieties to grow vertically in the garden and links to our store where you can find our favorite types:

Tomato plants supported by vertical strings on a Freyr trellis.

Rabbits have a notorious reputation for nibbling on greens, but do they fancy pepper plants? Stay tuned as we dive into all the details that will help you outsmart these fluffy intruders!

Skunks are easy to identify from appearance—and smell! But these handsome mammals typically mind their own business and are more interested in excavating their dinner than in what you’re doing. “They’re primarily insectivores so they provide a useful ecological service, digging up insects in the soil,” says Sheldon Owen, PhD, wildlife extension specialist atWest Virginia University. “The issue is if they decide to den under your porch or crawlspace.”

Poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima, is an attractive house plant with dark green leaves and leafy red ‘bracts’ that surround the green-yellow flowers in December and January. They’re commonly used to decorate the home at Christmas. Native to Mexico, poinsettias can be tricky to keep alive after Christmas and most are thrown away after the red bracts have faded and the festivities have ended. However, with a little care and attention it’s possible to keep your poinsettia alive throughout the year and even encourage red bracts and flowers to form in time for the following Christmas.

Basil is a versatile annual herb used in pasta sauces, pizzas, salads and Thai curries. It is a member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Sweet basil plants tend to dominate the supermarket shelves, but there are many other exciting types to try when you grow your own.

This is an armyworm egg mass on a tomato leaf, possibly from the beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua). The beet armyworm is a pest of vegetables across the Southern US.

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, it is time to consider how we can manage our health during a time of year filled with special food traditions. From Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing to Christmas candy to New Year lunches filled with hoppin’ john and greens, it is important that we look for meaningful ways to enjoy our seasonal favorites while also maintaining our commitment to health. In this blog, we will provide you with some tips and tricks for you when you attend your family’s holiday gatherings. We hope these suggestions help make this holiday season your healthiest one yet!

This is a corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) boring into a tomato. This common caterpillar pest is known by other names, including tomato fruitworm, cotton bollworm, and soybean podworm.

Do Deer Eat Tomato Plants? The answer is a resounding yes, and this reality can be both surprising and concerning for home gardeners. This article will explore why deer target these plants, the extent of the damage they can cause, and, most importantly, offers practical and effective strategies to protect your cherished tomato garden.

If you have always wanted to know about the names of Zucchini in Different Languages, then this informative list has all the details!

While their large size and vivid coloration can be alarming, their toxicity is a matter of great interest and importance. Are these gentle giants of the garden a hidden danger or simply a fascinating addition to the flora and fauna? Are Big Green Caterpillars Poisonous? Let’s find out!

As gardeners, we often face the challenge of keeping our beloved plants safe from pests, and marigolds offer an eco-friendly, visually stunning solution. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore Marigold Pest Control and the best types!

Most gardeners treat tomato plants like annuals. They are nurtured during the garden season and then tossed on the compost heap sometime in the fall, but what if you could overwinter tomato cuttings? Can you overwinter tomatoes? Overwintering tomatoes is possible but it does require some knowledge. Read on to learn how to overwinter tomato plants.

It's the season of gifting, and nothing sticks with you quite like receiving an amazing—or an amazingly bad—gift. Our goal is to help you avoid the latter and perfectly tailor a gift to its recipient, whether it be your grandfather, your friend who has everything, or your hard-to-please tween.