Purple Russian Tomato Care

Keeping your tomatoes well-watered is a must for heirloom tomatoes, especially once they set fruit. Watering deeply will encourage deep root systems. Assuming you did a good job preparing the soil, drainage should be excellent, so keep an eye on the moisture level and never let plants dry out. Allowing the soil to vacillate between moist and dry causes problems in fruit development, including cracking and blossom end rot. Use drip irrigation to further limit airborne diseases like blight.

Heirloom tomatoes are heavy feeders and need regular fertilizing to bloom and fruit. Organic and chemical balanced all-purpose fertilizers are both acceptable and a matter of personal preference.

When it comes to sunlight, heirloom tomatoes are one of the hungriest plants out there, along with plants like sunflowers or corn. These are plants that need full, direct, unfiltered sunlight all day long. Pay attention to any shadows cast by neighboring trees or buildings when you plan your tomato patch.

Healthy soil is a critical component of thriving heirloom tomato plants. They will yield the greatest harvest in rich, loamy soil that allows roots to penetrate deeply. If your soil is heavy clay, use raised beds or container culture. Add compost, leaf mold, or manure up to fifty percent to blend with the native garden soil.

Heirloom tomatoes need warm temperatures to grow. Planting them too early won't give you earlier fruits; wait until night temperatures are at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit before planting outdoors. Humid conditions don't bother heirloom tomatoes.

Tomato leaves are toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Ingestion may cause severe gastrointestinal upset, weakness, or slow heart rate. Barring allergies, tomato fruits show no toxicity to any species.

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