Key Points
Not giving tomato plants enough room to grow is the most common mistake professional farmers notice.
Space your tomato plants at least 2 to 3 feet apart. Containers should be at least 15 gallons.
Other common mistakes include pruning incorrectly or not at all and adding too much nitrogen to the soil.
When you put in the hard work of growing tomato plants, you expect to reap a bounty fit for all the BLTs and Caprese salads your heart desires. That’s why nothing can spoil a summer quite like a poor tomato yield.
You don’t have to learn every lesson the hard way when it comes to gardening. Spare yourself the tragedy of a poor tomato harvest by avoiding this major, yet common mistake that can absolutely ruin your tomato plants.
Meet the Experts
Tammy Sons is the founder and CEO of TN Nursery and studied horticulture at Tennessee State University.
Steve MacLean is a farmer and owner of The Farm at Glenwood Mountain.
Sam Tall is the second-generation owner of City Farmers Nursery in San Diego.
The Biggest Mistake People Make With Their Tomatoes 
Credit: Westend61 / Getty Images
Just like humans, tomato plants need some room of their own to thrive. Out of the three farmers we interviewed for this story, two of them agreed that not giving them enough space to grow is the most common mistake that can ruin tomatoes.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Sam Tall is the owner of City Farmers Nursery, and nothing makes him cringe quite like the sight of a tomato plant growing in a tiny container.
“The biggest mistake we frequently see is home gardeners planting tomatoes in too small a container,” Tall says. “Tomatoes want to get big and need room to grow, so we usually don’t recommend anything smaller than a 15-gallon container.”
It’s also still easy to crowd tomato plants even if you aren’t growing them in a container. Tammy Sons is the founder of TN Nursery, and she says that planting tomatoes too closely to one another is one of the worst mistakes that she sees new gardeners make.
“I understand your enthusiasm to pack in as many tomato plants as possible, but overcrowding is an open invitation for diseases to set in,” Sons says. “Limited airflow between the plants increases humidity and sets the stage for fungal diseases such as blight or powdery mildew to thrive.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
She recommends allowing at least 2 to 3 feet of space between plants, and that’s just a minimum. The more space you provide your tomato plants, the more sunlight can reach the leaves and fruit. This also means better tomato ripening and a better yield.
Other Tomato-Growing Mistakes 
Credit: Oleh Strus / Getty Images
There are several other pitfalls that can cost you your tomato yield. One other common mistake is failing to prune your tomato plants. According to Sons, you should definitely be stripping off the bottom leaves and sucker to improve air circulation on certain varieties like heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.
“It may feel counterintuitive to be pruning so much, but your tomato plants will reward you with healthier growth and tastier fruit,” Sons says.
However, there’s a balance you need to strike with pruning. Steve MacLean, owner of The Farm at Glenwood Mountain, finds overpruning to be one of the most common mistakes in tomato growing. In fact, not every variety requires pruning.
Advertisement
Advertisement
“We often hear people say they pruned their tomato plants because they saw it on TV,” he says. “The truth? Not all varieties should be pruned. If you prune sauce tomatoes or plum types, you’re likely cutting away your harvest.”
Speaking of too much of a good thing, MacLean also warns against adding too much nitrogen to the soil, especially at the wrong time.
Adding a bit extra nitrogen to the soil early on supports strong roots and healthy leaves. However, adding too much nitrogen when the plant starts to flower will lead to a poor harvest.
Read the original article on The Spruce
Comments are closed.