How to Grow Tomatoes

Tomatoes are one of the most popular edible plants to grow at home, and for good reason. A fresh tomato picked warm from the plant has a flavour and texture that is hard to match from a grocery store. Whether you are growing a few cherry tomatoes in a pot on the patio or planting a full row of slicers, paste tomatoes, and heirlooms in the vegetable garden, tomatoes reward a little extra care with a long season of delicious harvests.

In the garden, tomatoes are warm-season plants. They love heat, sun, rich soil, steady moisture, and good air movement. In Metro Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest, that means choosing the warmest, sunniest spot you have, giving plants protection from cold nights early in the season, and being realistic about the varieties you choose. Early-maturing varieties and cherry tomatoes are often the easiest and most reliable outdoors, while larger beefsteak and heirloom types may perform best in a greenhouse, under a covered growing area, or against a warm south- or west-facing wall.

Tomatoes can be grown in garden beds, raised beds, large containers, grow bags, and greenhouses. The key is matching the variety to the space. A compact determinate tomato in a large patio pot can be very productive, while a vigorous indeterminate cherry tomato may need a tall cage, stake, trellis, or string support to keep it under control.

Understanding the Main Types of Tomatoes

There are thousands of tomato varieties, but most home gardeners can start by thinking about how they want to use the fruit. Do you want sweet tomatoes for snacking? Big juicy slices for sandwiches? Meaty tomatoes for sauce? Or unusual colours and flavours for fresh eating? Once you know that, it becomes much easier to choose the right plants.

Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes are small-fruited tomatoes, usually round or slightly oval, and they are often the easiest tomatoes for beginners to grow. They ripen quickly, produce heavily, and are great for fresh eating. Many cherry tomatoes are very sweet, making them perfect for children, patio snacking, salads, lunch boxes, and grazing straight from the plant.

Cherry tomatoes are especially useful in cooler summer regions because smaller fruit usually ripen faster than large beefsteak types. Many of the most popular cherry tomatoes, such as Sweet Million, Sweet 100, and Sungold, are indeterminate plants, meaning they continue growing and producing over a long season. They need support, but they are often among the most rewarding tomato plants in the garden.

Slicer Tomatoes

Slicer tomatoes are medium to large tomatoes grown mainly for fresh eating. These are the tomatoes you want for sandwiches, burgers, salads, and thick tomato slices with a little salt and pepper. A good slicer has a balance of sweetness, acidity, juiciness, and classic tomato flavour.

Many slicers are red, but they can also be pink, yellow, orange, purple, green, or striped. Early Girl is a well-known early slicer, while Beefsteak types are grown for large, meaty fruit. Slicers are a great choice for gardeners who want versatile tomatoes that can be eaten fresh but still used in cooking when harvests are heavy.

Paste Tomatoes

Paste tomatoes, sometimes called plum tomatoes or sauce tomatoes, are usually more oval, elongated, or blocky in shape. They tend to have thicker walls, denser flesh, and less juice than many slicers. That makes them excellent for sauces, pastes, roasting, canning, and freezing.

Roma and San Marzano are two of the best-known paste tomato types. Amish Paste is another favourite, though it is often larger and juicier than some classic paste tomatoes. Paste tomatoes are not always the sweetest when eaten fresh, but they shine in the kitchen because they cook down into a thicker, richer sauce with less time and less watery liquid.

Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes are varieties that have been preserved and passed down because gardeners valued their flavour, appearance, history, or performance. Most heirlooms are open-pollinated, which means seed saved from a properly isolated plant can usually produce plants similar to the parent variety.

Heirlooms are loved for their flavour, colour, and character. They may be pink, purple, black, yellow, green, striped, or oddly shaped. Mortgage Lifter, Black Krim, Amish Paste, and Stupice are all examples of varieties often grown by gardeners who appreciate old-fashioned tomato flavour. The trade-off is that some heirlooms can be less uniform, more prone to cracking, or less disease-resistant than modern hybrids. They are still well worth growing if flavour is your top priority.

Determinate vs. Indeterminate Tomatoes

One of the most important things to understand before buying tomato plants is the difference between determinate and indeterminate varieties. This affects how large the plant gets, how it should be supported, how long it produces, and whether it is better suited to containers, raised beds, or greenhouse growing.

Determinate Tomatoes

Determinate tomatoes are often called bush tomatoes. They grow to a more defined size, set a large portion of their crop over a shorter period, and then slow down. This makes them useful for containers, small gardens, raised beds, and gardeners who want a concentrated harvest for sauce, canning, or freezing.

Determinate tomatoes usually need less pruning than indeterminate tomatoes. In fact, heavy pruning can reduce their yield because many of their fruiting stems develop in a shorter window of time. They still benefit from a cage or short stake to keep fruit off the ground and improve airflow, but they are generally easier to manage in tight spaces.

Indeterminate Tomatoes

Indeterminate tomatoes are vining tomatoes. They continue growing, flowering, and producing fruit until cold weather, disease, or the end of the season stops them. These are the tomatoes that can climb well above a standard cage if they are happy.

Indeterminate varieties are excellent for gardeners who want a steady harvest over many weeks. Many cherry tomatoes, heirlooms, and large slicers fall into this category. They need strong support, such as tall cages, stakes, trellises, or greenhouse strings. They also benefit from selective pruning to manage size, improve airflow, and keep the plant easier to harvest.

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose determinate tomatoes if you have limited space, want patio-friendly plants, or plan to make sauce and want a larger harvest all at once. Choose indeterminate tomatoes if you want continuous fresh tomatoes through the summer and have room for taller plants. Many gardeners grow both: a few cherry or slicer indeterminates for steady eating, plus a determinate paste tomato for sauce-making.

Best Places to Grow Tomatoes

In the Ground

Growing tomatoes directly in the ground works well if you have a sunny, fertile, well-drained vegetable garden. The soil should be improved with compost before planting. Tomatoes appreciate soil that holds moisture but does not stay soggy. In heavy clay soils, raised rows or raised beds can help improve drainage and warm the soil faster in spring.

Space plants generously. Crowded tomatoes are harder to prune, harder to harvest, and more prone to disease because leaves stay damp longer. Good airflow is especially important in the Pacific Northwest, where cool nights and late-season moisture can encourage fungal problems.

In Raised Beds

Raised beds are excellent for tomatoes because the soil warms faster, drains better, and is easier to improve with compost and organic matter. They are also easier to manage if you want to install drip irrigation or soaker hoses. Raised beds are a great choice for determinate tomatoes, compact slicers, paste tomatoes, and well-supported indeterminate varieties.

Because raised beds can dry out faster than in-ground beds, keep an eye on watering during hot weather. Mulching around the plants can help keep the root zone more evenly moist.

In Containers and Grow Bags

Tomatoes can grow very well in containers, but the container must be large enough. Small pots dry out too quickly and can stress the plant, leading to poor fruiting, cracking, blossom end rot, and inconsistent growth. For most tomatoes, use the largest container you can reasonably manage. A 10-gallon pot or larger is a good starting point for many patio tomatoes, while vigorous indeterminate varieties often appreciate even more root space.

Use a high-quality potting mix rather than garden soil. Potting mix drains better, holds air around the roots, and is lighter for containers. Containers need regular watering and regular feeding because nutrients wash out more quickly than they do in garden soil.

In a Greenhouse or Under Cover

A greenhouse, high tunnel, or covered growing area can make a big difference in cooler or wetter regions. Tomatoes like heat, and protection from rain can reduce leaf disease pressure and help fruit ripen more reliably. This is especially useful for large-fruited tomatoes, heirlooms, and paste tomatoes that need a longer season.

Greenhouse tomatoes still need airflow. Open vents or doors on warm days, avoid crowding plants, and keep leaves from becoming a dense, damp mass. Tomatoes are self-pollinating, but gently tapping the plants or shaking the flower clusters can help move pollen in still greenhouse air.

How to Plant Tomatoes

Tomatoes are usually planted outdoors after the danger of frost has passed and night temperatures are reliably mild. In the Pacific Northwest, gardeners often wait until late spring or early summer, depending on the year and the site. Warm soil matters. Tomatoes planted too early into cold soil often sit without growing and may never perform as well as plants set out a little later into warmer conditions.

Plant tomatoes deeply. Unlike many plants, tomatoes can form roots along buried stems. Remove the lowest leaves and plant the tomato deeper than it was in the pot, leaving several sets of leaves above the soil. This encourages a stronger root system, which helps the plant take up water and nutrients more effectively.

Add support at planting time rather than waiting until the plant is large. It is much easier to place a cage, stake, or trellis when the root system is still small. This also prevents accidental root damage later.

Watering Tomatoes

Consistent watering is one of the most important parts of growing good tomatoes. Tomatoes do not like cycling between bone-dry soil and heavy soaking. Irregular moisture can contribute to blossom end rot, fruit cracking, poor fruit set, and stressed plants.

Water deeply rather than giving a light sprinkle. The goal is to encourage roots to grow down into the soil. Water at the base of the plant and avoid wetting the leaves when possible. Drip irrigation, soaker hoses, or careful hand-watering are all good methods.

Mulching with straw, leaves, compost, or another suitable organic mulch can help keep soil moisture more even. Mulch also reduces soil splash, which can help limit the spread of some soil-borne disease spores onto lower leaves.

Fertilizing Tomatoes

Tomatoes are fairly hungry plants, but more fertilizer is not always better. Too much nitrogen can produce large, leafy plants with fewer tomatoes, delayed ripening, and softer growth that may be more prone to problems. The best approach is to start with good soil, add compost, and use a balanced tomato or vegetable fertilizer according to the label directions.

At planting time, mix compost into the bed or container mix. A balanced organic vegetable fertilizer can also be added at planting. Once plants begin flowering and setting fruit, many gardeners switch to a tomato fertilizer with moderate nitrogen and relatively higher phosphorus and potassium to support flowering, fruiting, and overall plant strength.

Good fertilizer options include:

• A balanced organic vegetable fertilizer worked into the soil before planting.
• A tomato-specific granular fertilizer applied according to the package directions.
• A liquid tomato or vegetable fertilizer for container plants, used regularly at the recommended dilution.
• Compost as a soil improver, not as the only source of nutrition for heavy-producing plants.
• Calcium-containing amendments only if your soil or growing mix needs them; blossom end rot is often more related to water stress than a simple lack of calcium in the soil.

For containers, feeding is especially important. Nutrients leach out of pots as you water, so container tomatoes usually need regular supplemental fertilizer through the growing season. Follow the product label and avoid the temptation to overfeed.

Pruning and Supporting Tomatoes

Support keeps tomato plants upright, improves airflow, makes harvesting easier, and keeps fruit cleaner. Even determinate tomatoes benefit from support when heavy with fruit. Indeterminate tomatoes absolutely need it.

Common support methods include tomato cages, bamboo stakes, wooden stakes, metal spirals, trellises, string supports, and greenhouse clips. For large indeterminate plants, use a sturdy support from the beginning. A small decorative cage may look fine in May but can be completely overwhelmed by August.

Pruning depends on the type of tomato. Determinate tomatoes need little pruning beyond removing damaged or diseased lower leaves. Indeterminate tomatoes can be pruned by removing some suckers, especially near the lower part of the plant, to reduce congestion and improve airflow. A sucker is the shoot that grows in the angle between the main stem and a leaf branch.

Do not strip the plant bare. Leaves feed the fruit and protect tomatoes from sunscald. The goal is not to create a naked stem, but to create a plant that is supported, breathable, and manageable.

Common Tomato Problems and Solutions

Blossom End Rot

Blossom end rot appears as a dark, sunken, leathery patch on the blossom end of the tomato, opposite the stem. It is a physiological disorder related to calcium movement within the plant, but the underlying trigger is often inconsistent watering, root stress, or rapid growth. It is especially common on the first fruit of the season and on some paste tomatoes.

Solution: Keep soil moisture even. Water deeply and consistently, mulch around plants, avoid letting containers dry out completely, and avoid overfertilizing with high-nitrogen fertilizer. Remove badly affected fruit so the plant can direct energy into healthy fruit. Adding calcium is not always the answer unless a soil test or growing mix issue shows calcium is actually lacking.

Fruit Cracking

Cracking often happens when tomatoes receive a sudden rush of water after a dry spell. The fruit expands faster than the skin can stretch, causing cracks around the stem or down the sides.

Solution: Water consistently, mulch the soil, harvest nearly ripe fruit before heavy rain if needed, and choose crack-resistant varieties when this is a recurring problem.

Leaf Spots and Blight

Tomatoes are prone to several leaf diseases, especially when foliage stays wet or air circulation is poor. Lower leaves may develop spots, yellowing, or browning, and disease can move upward through the plant.

Solution: Space plants properly, prune lower leaves that touch the soil, water at the base, avoid overhead watering, mulch to reduce soil splash, and remove diseased leaves. Do not compost badly diseased foliage if your compost does not get hot enough to kill pathogens.

Poor Fruit Set

Tomatoes may flower but fail to set fruit when temperatures are too cool, too hot, or when plants are stressed. In greenhouses, still air can also reduce pollination.

Solution: Grow tomatoes in a warm, sunny location, avoid planting too early, keep plants evenly watered, and gently tap or shake flower clusters in greenhouses to help move pollen. Cherry tomatoes often set fruit more reliably than large-fruited types in marginal conditions.

Yellow Leaves

Yellow leaves can be caused by many things, including natural aging of lower leaves, inconsistent watering, nutrient deficiency, root stress, poor drainage, or disease.

Solution: Start by checking the basics. Is the soil too wet or too dry? Is the plant in a large enough container? Has it been fed? Are the yellow leaves only at the bottom, or is the whole plant pale? Remove old lower leaves, correct watering issues, and feed appropriately if the plant is actively growing and appears hungry.

Tomato Hornworms

Tomato hornworms are large green caterpillars that can strip leaves quickly. They are excellent at blending in with tomato foliage, so gardeners often notice the damage before they find the pest.

Solution: Hand-pick hornworms when found. Look for chewed leaves and dark droppings on leaves below. Encourage beneficial insects and inspect plants regularly.

Sunscald

Sunscald appears as pale, papery patches on fruit exposed to intense sun. It often happens when too many leaves are removed or when fruit suddenly becomes exposed.

Solution: Prune lightly and keep enough foliage to shade developing fruit. Support plants well so branches do not break and expose fruit suddenly.

Common Tomato Varieties to Know

Sweet Million

Sweet Million is a popular red cherry tomato known for heavy production and sweet flavour. It is an indeterminate hybrid, so it grows as a vigorous vine and needs strong support. The small red fruit are produced in clusters and are excellent for snacking, salads, and children’s gardens. It is a great choice for gardeners who want lots of small tomatoes over a long period.

Sweet 100

Sweet 100, often seen as Super Sweet 100, is another classic red cherry tomato. It is known for producing long clusters of small, sweet tomatoes on indeterminate vines. This is a good variety for gardeners who want a reliable snacking tomato that keeps producing. Give it a tall cage or trellis, because a happy plant can become very vigorous.

Sungold

Sungold is one of the most famous orange cherry tomatoes, loved for its intense sweet, fruity flavour. The fruit ripen to a rich golden-orange colour and are best picked fully ripe. Sungold is an indeterminate hybrid and can become a large, energetic plant, so it needs good support and regular harvesting. It is often one of the first cherry tomatoes people fall in love with because the flavour is so distinctive.

Early Girl

Early Girl is a well-known early red slicer. It is popular because it ripens sooner than many larger tomatoes while still producing useful, medium-sized fruit for sandwiches, salads, and fresh eating. Early Girl is generally grown as an indeterminate tomato, so it continues producing through the season with good care. It is a practical choice for gardeners in shorter-season areas who want a dependable slicer.

Beefsteak

Beefsteak tomatoes are not one single variety, but a group of large-fruited slicing tomatoes. They are grown for big, meaty slices that are perfect for sandwiches, burgers, and fresh plates. Beefsteak types often need a longer, warmer season than cherry tomatoes, so they perform best in the warmest part of the garden or under cover in cooler regions. Because the fruit can be heavy, sturdy support is important.

Mortgage Lifter

Mortgage Lifter is a famous heirloom beefsteak tomato with a great story and a loyal following. It is known for large pinkish-red fruit, meaty texture, and rich old-fashioned flavour. Plants are indeterminate and can become large, so they need strong staking or caging. This is a tomato for gardeners who want impressive slicing tomatoes and are willing to give the plant enough space and attention.

Black Krim

Black Krim is a dark heirloom tomato originally associated with the Black Sea region. The fruit are usually deep reddish-purple to mahogany with darker shoulders, especially in warm conditions. The flavour is rich, complex, and savoury, making it a favourite for tomato tastings and fresh eating. Black Krim is indeterminate and benefits from consistent watering because large heirlooms can be prone to cracking if moisture fluctuates.

Amish Paste

Amish Paste is an heirloom paste tomato used for sauces, canning, and fresh eating. The fruit are larger than many paste tomatoes and can be somewhat juicier than classic Roma types, but they still have a meaty texture that works well in the kitchen. Amish Paste is typically indeterminate, so it produces over a longer season and needs support. It is a good choice for gardeners who want a paste tomato with heirloom character.

Stupice

Stupice is an early heirloom tomato often valued in cooler or shorter-season gardens. It produces smaller red tomatoes with good flavour and tends to ripen earlier than many larger varieties. This makes it a useful choice for Pacific Northwest gardeners who want dependable outdoor production. Stupice is commonly grown as an indeterminate potato-leaf type and is a good option when early harvest matters.

Roma

Roma is a classic paste tomato type known for firm, meaty fruit with less juice than many slicers. It is widely used for sauces, cooking, canning, and roasting. Many Roma varieties are determinate, which means they produce a concentrated crop that is useful for sauce-making. However, gardeners should always check the plant tag or seed packet, because there are multiple Roma-type tomatoes and not all have the same growth habit.

San Marzano

San Marzano is a famous Italian paste tomato type prized for sauce. The fruit are elongated, meaty, and well suited to cooking down into rich tomato sauce. Many San Marzano varieties are indeterminate, though some compact or determinate selections exist, so check the label before planting. In cooler regions, San Marzano often performs best in a warm site, greenhouse, or protected bed where it has enough heat to ripen well.

Final Tips for Tomato Success

• Choose the sunniest, warmest location available.
• Wait until conditions are warm before planting outside.
• Plant deeply to encourage a stronger root system.
• Use compost and a good tomato or vegetable fertilizer.
• Water consistently and avoid letting plants dry out completely.
• Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce soil splash.
• Support plants early before they become heavy.
• Match the tomato type to your space and your cooking needs.
• Grow cherry tomatoes for reliability, slicers for fresh eating, paste tomatoes for sauce, and heirlooms for flavour and character.

Tomatoes are one of those crops that can become a yearly tradition. Every gardener has favourites, and every season teaches you something new. Start with a few reliable varieties, give them sun, warmth, steady water, and support, and you will be well on your way to a summer filled with fresh, homegrown tomatoes.

Whether you are growing a patio pot of Sungold, a row of sauce tomatoes, or a greenhouse full of heirlooms, the best tomato is usually the one you are most excited to pick and eat. Visit Art’s Nursery to choose tomato plants, soil, fertilizer, supports, and growing supplies for a successful tomato season in your own garden.