In this video I’ll condense 20 years of tomato growing experience into 10 tips.
MENTIONED PRODUCTS
Tomato Hooks: https://www.nextlevelgardening.tv/shop
Neptunes Harvest Fertilizer: https://www.neptunesharvest.com/shop.html
Use Code NLG05 at checkout for discount.
MENTIONED VIDEOS
How To Grow Tomatoes Full Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu1PucmTrVAl-4TTXB9p1gz8HvR3dD43D&si=dD-ERn1ynDBc-UDz
Companion Planting for Tomatoes: https://youtu.be/G731euRlCi0
DIGITAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
00:17 – What TYPE of tomato are you growing?
03:03 – How much sun do tomatoes need WHERE YOU LIVE?
04:26 – How deep to plant tomatoes
05:16 – Use companion planting for tomatoes
06:17 – How to fertilize tomatoes
07:22 – How far apart to plant tomatoes
09:07 – Tomato hooks (lower and lean method)
10:39 – How to prune tomato plants for better harvest
12:06 – How to water tomatoes, best way to water tomatoes
14:20 – BONUS! How to hand pollinate tomatoes if tomato flowers are falling off
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Hey Guys, I’m Brian from Next Level Gardening
Welcome to our online community! A place to be educated, inspired and hopefully entertained at the same time! A place where you can learn to grow your own food and become a better organic gardener. At the same time, a place to grow the beauty around you and stretch that imagination (that sometimes lies dormant, deep inside) through gardening.
I’m so glad you’re here!
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WHERE TO FIND ME
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46 Comments
Thank you for the video.
What do you think about the tomato Roma? To grow them in Africa (The Gambia).
Thank you
Oops. First year growing Romas. Started out pruning. Stopping that nonsense – thanks!
I live in St Louis and I had big oak trees in my yard. So I always had some shade in backyard. But this year no trees and no shade and I used shade cloth starting in June since the heat has gotten to near 100°. They are doing great. I also put basil and marigolds around the bottom and no insects.
Hilarious. Practically every YouTube gardener has been suggesting pruning cherry tomatoes for YEARS. Just this year – they are all pretending that the no-pruning method is what was promoted all along.
Thanks Brian! We know that Romas are determinate and do not need pruning, thanks to your videos on tomatoes :-), but due to the level of humidity and that we grow a number of plants in close proximity, we still prune them. We have had great harvests and no disease. Before we watched your videos we did not prune and the difference is substantial. Thanks again! Loved Bella showing up to say Hi too!
Va salut cu drag super roșii dana Gabriela din Romania
Thanks Brian! Excellent info throughout the video. Have always planted these two together, basil is my tomato plants best friend and are healthy for it.
Hi Bryan…I planted basil around my tomatoes and have a ton of hornworms…I’m here in San Diego. So frustrating!😠
Dang it!!! I have my tomatoes in pots, (but the bottom goes directly into the ground), and this year i tried the basil in with it to deter the horn worm but it didn't work! I was so shocked! I used mint last 2 years and it worked but is soooo invasive! Man! I killed them all but not before their terrible damage. This is just not my year
And thanks for the fertilizer tip. I wondered why not much fruit. Mine is 18-18-21…and it SAYS tomato and veggies. Baloney I guess. Thanks a bunch. So much to remember
I thought beefsteak referred to the size of tomato. If Kellogg’s breakfast is a beefsteak, should I not prune to one leader?
It will be interesting to see how your over wintered tomato performs. I’ve also heard you can let a tomato plant die where it does get frost and light freeze and it will regrow the next spring. I am testing that theory this year.
Also, Texas 8a The sun is brutal! I use 40% shade cloth over my tomatoes and peppers and add an extra layer of 30% shade cloth on the SW side. They do well and my peppers never stop producing.
Check out Kevin’s (Epic gardening) new experiment on different methods of planting tomatoes including planting deep, planting on an angle trench, planting at soil level. VERY interesting results.
Brian, I use the paint brush method on my tomatoes and had great results. However, I do get end rot on my tomatoes and didn't know why, now thanks to your advice I'll try to keep them watered. Thanks for all you information.
Bella 👅💦🩷🩷🩷
Where do you get your mulch? I dont like the straw. I'm here in San Diego, I can drag my husband to get some 😅.
Brian, Huge Congratulations on attaining over 1M subscribers! I readily refer your advice and information to anyone who admires my garden and give you the credit for why my tomatoes or peppers don't have insect damage! My flowers are on the job working, not just looking pretty! Your advice is sound and readily given. Celebrate!! 😄
So I have watched hundreds of YouTube videos with every “expert Gardner”…. how is someone supposed to figure out who to believe because depending on which expert Gardner you listen to you should prune or you should not prune…. i’m starting to think that watching YouTube videos is actually a detriment to almost every. subject.🙄
I really should have watched this BEFORE I pruned all my tomatoes. And I was so proud of myself…
"Pretty much disease free". What does that suppose to mean?
It is a good thing I am actually informed. Diseases can develop if someone does not know what he, or she is doing. Sometimes life lessons are going to have to learned the hard way!
I am not going to put my two cents worth to explain what I learned.
I brought in my cherry tomatoes. Last year I got 8 pints of tomatoe scauce from their second year of growth. Way better than first year.
Good tips, now do a follow-up at the end of the season to show us what to do with all the tomato vines:)
1M subscribers! YAY!
@epicgardening debunked the deep tomato myth and the trench tomato. both versions failed to produce as much as the shallow.
Great video! Gosh I wish you could do a video about growing blueberries and soil pH. I’ve just about had it with my blueberries. They are all in container so it will be expensive to test all the containers. The meters don’t work. I’m at a loss and would love to hear your experience with blueberries.
Just starting this video (for reference). I have watched countless hours of tomato videos across many channels. I understand what is a determinate v indeterminate, but I’m hearing exceptions beyond just cherry tomatoes. And what about grape tomatoes? I don’t hear anything about them.
And while I can appreciate that some great tips can be gleaned across many videos but it now seems like videos are on repeat even on the same channel.
I live on the coast in San Diego. My cherry tomato plants (red and yellow) made it through the winter. Then when summer hit, they have been producing like crazy. I get a huge bowl full every day. I actually never planted these tomatoes at all. I empty my dishwater onto my plants in the garden. Then these two tomato plants volunteered to come up.
With cherry tomatoes i wait till its a foot or so and prune the lowest branches early to keep the leaves off the soil to avoid disease especially with wetter climate and the allow it to go after that . I get a nice bountiful crop. I fertilise early too with Nettle tea but after its going i dry out organic banana skins in sun till black and its truss after truss, i think one year i got about 4-5 kilo on one plant. I use homemade compost as a soil conditioner. For calcium i made a decent batch of Calcium acetate and add some to the base periodically. I bring bees in as i also have chives that flower nearby , the bees love them.
I loved the special guest appearance!
Brian, should we place the irrigation tub on top of the mulch or underneath the mulch? I have been using grass clippings and have been placing the irrigation tub underneath.
I have no idea if y tomatoes are determinate or indeterminate will it hurt to prune either if I don't know?
Instead of a toothbrush, just tap the stem of the plant.😊
After a week of 100°+ weather, it's cooling down, but the few beefsteak tomato flowers I had are gone. Plus, I'm a novice and started growing about 3 weeks after everyone else. Is there any way to force blooms, or should I just wait and pray?
Following you except watering from above is just like 🌧️. Another Tip, keep groundhogs out of your tomatoes, they will wipe you out!
I have 2 heirloom Cherokee purple tomato plants. Every tomato on them so far has developed blossom rot right away. I've been vigilant about keeping the soil watered. So maddening !
Great tips on growing tomatoes, I have used these and had great success growing tomatoes. I use a Qtip for pollinating many of my plants.
whoo hoo!!! thanks B, my kelloggs breakfast are doing great!!! btw the basil never helped me, I still grow it but the marigolds are keeping the worms away!!
My tomatoes have exploded this year in Texas. Those sungolds are the best!!! We had a much cooler Spring with lots of rain. Then last week we had a rainy day with a high of 72!!! Tomorrow the high is expected to be 79. In JULY! Unheard of here!!! I'm loving it. And I'm in tomato heaven. I have also pruned a lot more this year, removing any branches with leaves turning yellow or brown. Air flow makes a huge difference. Easier to harvest too! We also have 7 garden spiders in our small section of raised beds. I am attributing a much smaller grasshopper infestation to those spiders. Nice! By the way, I LOVE Kellog's Breakfast tomatoes but have only gotten 3 tomatoes from my plant. Huge, juicy tomatoes but only 3. Wish it produced more.
@next level gardening I got thiemen tomatoes from Australia. Are they determinate or indeterminate?
Wait. Didn't you lose a tomato growing contest this year? 😂😅 I jest, I wouldn't have a bumper crop this year without YOU!!!! ❤ THANK YOU for all your tips!!!!
Been seeing a lot of videos over the years about deep tomato planting. I think the answer is it simply doesnt work… you'll get an early and generally bigger harvest if you just plant it like other plants. Whats my source? Dan Sutherland…he's grown verified record tomatoes. Plus, the epic gardening channel just did a trial to confirm this. But seriously why listen to anyone but Dan?
😮
Best hooks, I bought some on amazon and had to replace the string after one season.
I always learn something new and get reminders, too. Thanks to you my tomatoes this year in all my gardens are doing fantastic feeding lots of people who need nutritious food. I've been using your tips, but I admit that I have not planted basil with the tomatoes, and I did have to pick off two hornworms, this week. I have basil seeds and I have planted nasturtiums, mint, thyme and marigolds. I heard you say it before, but neglected to do it and one of those worms had a nice feast before I stopped him. So, Ill be sprinkling basil seeds tomorrow.. Thanks for the reminder.
Hello, that was SO helpful I grew two tomato plants from a tomato from the grocery store. I know that it wasn't any kind of determinate plant so that is helpful, which i learned from you. I have one that is being grown hydroponically and the other is in soil. I was worried that they would not have flowers but have started producing flowers so i am very excited! I do think i may have to prune them as you suggested and buy some stakes. Thank you ever so much for all your tips. I may bring out the basil i have on my window sill and put them outside. Thank you i hope you and your family have a lovely evening.
My beefsteak tomatoes turned out to be large cherry tomatoes! Also the rainbow mix tomato turned out to a cherry, too! So 9 plants, a few cherry varieties then a few that were supposed to be cherry varieties and 3 that were what the packet stated! 🤦🏼♀️ I have cherry tomatoes by the tons!