I promised you an entire post on planting, growing and carrying for your tomato plants. Almost everyone with a garden of some kind decides to grow tomatoes; they are by far the most popular vegetable (well, actually fruit.. ) that's grown. So let's get digging.

Start by digging your tomato its appropriately healthy hole in soil that is completely warmed. Don't rush to plant these too early, because tomato plants will just sit in the soil until it warms up. Sit and invite disease and insects.

Loosen the soil about 2.5 times larger than the size of root ball, and dig the hole DEEP. Sprinkle some bone meal or powdered milk around the bottom of the hole; the calcium should help prevent blossom end rot if summer weather fluctuates much this year. If you've thought past years tomatoes weren't very flavorful, slip some chopped up banana peel into the hole too. As it composts (rots) it will add necessary potassium to the soil as the fruit is forming. Do not add fertilizer with a high nitrogen level (first number 20-30). This nitrogen will give you lush green plants but not much fruit.

Now that the hole is prepared, you want to plant your tomato seedling DEEP. Tomatoes are a rare plant that will grow more roots along all the stem buried in the ground. More roots mean a healthier, bigger plant and that means: more tomatoes! Bury your seedling up to the first set of leaves growing from the stem. I always gently pinch off these leaves. Firm the soil around the stem and root ball and give your plants a deep drink.

There are two main types of tomatoes: determinate and indeterminate. The care throughout the summer will vary slightly based on which of these you're growing. If you have the space, choose to plant a couple of each. Determinate tomatoes are varieties like "Roma", "Rocket", "Marglobe" and "Tiny Tim". These will often be the smaller, rounder, meatier varieties. Indeterminate varieties are the "slicing" tomatoes such as "Better Boy", "Early Girl" and "Beefsteak".

Determinate tomatoes will stop growing taller at one point and concentrate on producing fruit. Most of the fruit from a determinant plant will ripen in a fairly short period of time. This is good if you're looking for tomatoes for canning or freezing. Or if you have a short growing season. These plants do not need staking, nor do they need as aggresive pinching of the suckers (though I still go through that exercise). I like to plant these in cages, though, to support the weight of the bushes and tomatoes.

Indeterminate tomatoes will keep on growing until cool weather slows them down. For this reason, it's wise to stake the plants for support and to religiously try to pinch off suckers every week. What are suckers? At every juncture where a leaf grows from the stem, eventually a second "stem" will emerge just above that leaf. Ignored, it will grow into its own plant, I swear. These suckers drain nutrients from the main plant; although they do produce more tomatoes, the fruits themselves tend to be smaller. The plants, also, tend be more susceptible to disease during the summer. While eventually a sucker or two will simply get away from me, in the early spring it's a easy weekly task to simply pinch them off.

When your plants are about 3' tall, strip off all leaves on the bottom 1' of the plant. These leaves have done their job getting the plant to grow as much as it has; now those leaves will be the first to get disease or the most vulnerable to insect damage. Stripping them off insures some air circulation around the plants and makes it easier to see and pick your fruit.

Water with intention. When your tomato plants are growing, water deeply to insure healthy deep roots. Irregular watering will lead to blossom end rot or to cracking and "cat faced" tomatoes. But once the first fruit start to change color (lightening to pale green or white) decrease the amount of water. Your plants will begin to look ugly, but the fruit will concentrate its flavor in the meat that's there. While a juicy tomato is nice, a watery, bland tasting tomato isn't what we're doing all this work for.

That's it. How to plant and grow your tomatoes. I'll be revisiting the Gardening 101 theme through the season with more tips for your garden. What would you like to know?

Additional Readings:

Down-To-Earth has great photos and an excellent explanation for transplanting her tomato seedlings deeper.

Angela England wrote about Growing Tomatoes Upside-Down for Suite 101...

Dig In With Kym posted pointers for growing tomatoes on the Oregon Coast. These tips should help anyone living in a cooler location.

photo credit: Seed Savers Exchange.