Foggy with a Chance of Tomatoes
By Carly Sciacca
The tomato, object of horticultural obsession, intrigue, debate and less frequently bliss, is the topic of my first official Laguna Beach Garden Column.
I have to say, I’m so happy to have the opportunity to write about what I love for a local paper in my native town, and I can think of no better place to start than with the elusive “love apple,” whose basic classification of fruit or vegetable is still hotly contested to this day. That’s just the beginning of the debate. How should one germinate, plant, stake, amend and prune their specimen? I can assure you that no two gardeners will agree regarding the tomato.
Unfortunately, Laguna Beach is not the best place to grow a prize tomato. My purpose in writing this column is to help local gardeners understand our unique climate and learn from the hundreds of mistakes and successes that we have witnessed at the Community Garden, so that they might have an easier time with their home garden. In my mind, more gardens make a happier and healthier community. Here are my top five tomato tips:
1.Choose the Proper Variety
For our climate Laguna’s climate is influenced by the ocean at least 85% of the time, which means we have high humidity, not much frost and a heavy marine layer in the early summer. These might sound like great growing conditions, but our temperate climate also encourages the growth of unwanted bacterial and fungal diseases that aren’t culled by a hard frost. Look for varieties that have high disease resistance, especially against Verticillium (V), Fusarium (F1, F2, F3), Early Blight (EB), and Powder Mildew (PM). Try Better Boy, Big Beef, Celebrity, Champion, Cherokee Purple, Early Girl, Japanese Black Trifele, Lemon Boy, Roma, Sungold and Yellow Pear.
2. Plant at the right time
Just because you can grow a tomato doesn’t mean you should. Tomatoes will grow all year round in Laguna Beach. In fact, we once had a volunteer that we pruned to grow over twenty feet that we decorated with Christmas lights and ornaments! Beware though, most tomatoes that overwinter here become diseased and then impart that disease to your soil which is difficult to eradicate. The best time to plant seedlings is from April to August. Start your seeds eight weeks before transplanting.
3. Keep tomato leaves dry
Wet foliage helps fungi and bacteria grow. You don’t want that. Always water at the base of your plants. Even better yet, remove all leaves a foot up from the ground level. Another tip is to let your seedling grow before planting and bury it a foot in the ground with the top of the plant above the surface. Roots will form along the stock, and you will be able to deep water less frequently.
4. Prune your tomatoes!
This is the absolute hardest thing for people to do because they feel like they are hurting the plant. If you don’t prune, you will end up with a beautiful green bushy plant without fruit, that is, before it succumbs to disease. Here is the rule: For medium to large varieties, prune so that there are three main stems on the plant. For cherries, you can have five to seven. How do you prune? If you trace your fingers along a tomato stem, you will come across a leaf, a flower/fruit, and more stems that emerge from the “crotch” above the leaf. That stem is called a “sucker” and will form a branch like the one you are examining. You only want three to seven of those in total. Try training your tomato along a trellis instead of using a tomato cage. You want air and sun to reach all parts of the plant. This is particularly important for Laguna Beach gardeners.
5. Feed your tomato the right food
Make sure to choose a food that encourages flowering. You might have seen N-P-K values on your fertilizer. Nitrogen promotes growth, Phosphorus promotes flowering, and Potassium encourages root development and the overall health of the plant. You want a high “P value” for tomatoes.
Drop a comment or send an email on your experience growing tomatoes in the coastal zone.
Carly, a Laguna Beach native, is a visual artist, writer and avid gardener specializing in varieties that grow in zones 23 and 24 along the California coast. She lives with her husband, daughter, animals and plants in South Laguna near the South Laguna Community Garden Park, where she is assistant manager. Contact Carly at [email protected].
