When the Tillamook Farmers’ Market opens for the season, the Tillamook County Master Gardeners will set up their booth and be ready to answer gardening questions for visitors to the market. In the past, the majority of the questions the Master Gardeners were hearing had to do with tomatoes. They ranged from “what happened to my tomatoes this year?” to “is it too late to plant my tomatoes?”
As we gardeners all know, it was a tough spring for planting just about anything. The persistent rain in May kept the ground colder and wetter than we would have preferred.
So, when answering the first question about what happened to my tomatoes this year, we have to answer, “Mother Nature wasn’t kind.” In reality, tomatoes in our coastal climate are hard to grow in the best of conditions. They need a lot of heat and sun, neither of which are frequent occurrences in a Tillamook summer. When the topic of tomatoes comes up, I often hear people transplanted from Pennsylvania or Ohio reminisce about the ‘Big Boy’ and ‘Beefsteak’ tomatoes they used to grow. Alas, those days are over for them as long as they live on the coast.
But there are some very good tomatoes that Oregon State University and other growers have developed for cooler climates. What you need to look for are tomatoes with a short span of “days to harvest.” Sixty to 75 days is about right, and ‘Santiam’ and ‘Northern Delight’ fit that window. So do ‘Siletz’ and ‘Early Cascade.’ OSU’s ‘Legend’ tomatoes harvest in 68 days and are pleasant-tasting smaller tomatoes.
For my money, though, I like the cherry tomato ‘Golden Nugget’ or ‘Honeybunch’ grape tomatoes. I find they have a big tomato taste in a small package. Of course, you can’t slice them for a sandwich, but right off the vine, a handful will give you your tomato fix. I like mine in salads.
I also found seeds this year for a dwarf tomato called 'Sweet Sue.' This one is indeterminate and has an 80-day harvest. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this one was to grow from seed. (Not usually my forte.) It can reach 4 to 5 feet tall and has bright yellow fruit that is reported to have outstanding flavor as well as being prolific. We shall see. (Photo courtesy of Croatian Seeds Store)
"Indeterminate?" You ask. "What does that mean?" Well, there are two basic types of tomatoes: determinant and indeterminant. If you are planting in a large, deep pot for the patio, determinants are a bushier tomato and work best as they will start producing blossoms as soon as they reach a mature size.
Indeterminant tomatoes grow more vertically, thus need more support, and will continue to set fruit until the first frost, so they are good to place directly into the ground. This is information you will need to glean from seed packets as nursery-grown stock will not generally have this information. Try to find a location with at least six hours of sun per day…when we have sun.
Ah, now we come to the crucial point. Before placing the tomatoes outside into the ground, you will need to be sure the soil is warm enough to sustain their growth. This has been the catch for lots of gardeners this year as they were planting according to the calendar and not the thermometer. Tomatoes (and other warm weather lovers such as peppers and eggplants) need a sustained soil temperature of at least 50-60 degrees. When you consider the air temperatures have barely reached 60 degrees this spring, you will understand why your tomatoes may have failed to thrive. A soil thermometer is made especially for this purpose and can be found in good garden centers.
Next year, warm the soil up earlier by laying down some clear plastic to hold in the heat. This will also help dry out the soil. You may have heard in the past to use black plastic, but that tends to kill off all the beneficial organisms in the soil, leaving dead areas instead of healthy, nutritious soil. Or you can plant in raised beds or pots, which tend to warm the soil sooner, or grow under row covers, cloches or – if you are very lucky- a greenhouse. These last three options also help cut down on the summer winds which affect tomatoes adversely, too.
If you do plant in containers, be aware you will need to fertilize on a regular basis, using a fertilizer approved for use on vegetables.
To avoid typical tomato fungal diseases such as early blight, late blight, or botrytis, place your tomatoes far enough apart from each other and other vegetables to allow for good circulation. Check the plants every few days to look for signs of disease so you can remove them at the first sign of a problem. It would be nice to be able to cure these diseases, but once a plant is infected, it is best removed and destroyed, not composted. There are preventative fungicides that can be applied every 7-14 days, stopping at least a week before harvest.
Don’t forget a strict regime of crop rotation to avoid spreading disease as well. This will also help with insect problems. Rotate plantings of potatoes, tomatoes and peppers on at least a three-year cycle. If you are using pots, be sure to disinfect them at the beginning or end of the season. I use a mild bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water), let them soak for an hour or so, and then rinse them thoroughly. Then I set them in the sun to dry.
Yes, having tomatoes in a coastal garden can be labor intensive. But isn’t the taste of your home-grown tomato worth every bit of the effort we need to put into growing it?
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