Tomato Tips for Hudson Valley Gardeners
by Sheila Buff

As the warmer weather slowly returns to the Hudson Valley, it's time for home gardeners to plan for a plentiful supply of delicious home-grown tomatoes all summer long. The safe date in this area for planting your tomato seedlings without having to worry about cold damage is around June 1--give or take a few days of unseasonably cool weather. If you want to start your own plants from seeds, you'll need to get to work eight weeks before that, or somewhere around the end of March.

There are literally thousands of tomato varieties, but not all them will grow well in the mid-Hudson Valley region (zone 5 on the US Department of Agriculture hardiness map). Here are some easy-to-grow favorites that you should be able to find easily at garden centers in the area:

• Celebrity. This nearly indestructible and very disease-resistant hybrid has great flavor. A good choice for new or weekend gardeners.
• Brandywine. Developed by Amish farmers in the late 1800s, this heirloom variety is the most flavorful tomato you can grow. The fruits are big, juicy, and delicious. Because it is an heirloom, however, it is not as disease-resistant as hybrid varieties. Be careful not to overwater.
• Early Girl. For the earliest tomatoes of the year, try this variety. The round, red fruits will be ripe about sixty days after planting.
• Big Boy. If you want big tomatoes, this classic hybrid is an excellent choice for size, texture, and flavor. The fruits weigh in at a minimum of 8 ounces. Be sure to stake the plants.
• Sweet 100. Very easy to grow hybrid cherry tomato--a great choice for introducing kids to gardening. This variety bears very heavily until the first frost. The tall, vigorous vines must be staked.
• Sungold. Small, sweet, orange-yellow cherry tomato that bears heavily. Excellent for salads.

When you buy tomato seedlings, look for vigorous plants about 4 to 6 inches high, with stems about the diameter of a pencil and several sets of healthy-looking green leaves. Avoid any plants with yellowed, wilted, or curled leaves--they could be diseased. Also avoid plants that already have buds or blossoms.These have been held in their seedling pots too long and will never develop strong roots.

Growing Your Tomatoes

Tomatoes love the sun and hate the cold. Plant your tomato seedlings where they'll get plenty of sunlight--at least six hours of full sun a day and preferably more. The plants grow best when they are about two feet apart. For each plant, dig a hole about six to eight inches deep. The hole must be deep enough to contain not only the entire root ball but also the stem all the way up to the first true pair of leaves. Planting your tomatoes this deeply will make them develop plenty of strong roots--and strong roots are the true secret of great tomatoes. Before you put the seedling into the hole, drop in a few pinches of crushed eggshells. The calcium in the shells helps the fruits grow evenly into nice round shapes. Put in your tomato stakes at the same time. Even bushy tomato varieties do better when you stake them up to keep the fruits and leaves off the ground.

Tomatoes need plenty of water on a regular basis--roughly two to three gallons per plant per week, or about a pint a day. Check the moisture level in your tomato patch every two to three days by digging down a couple of inches; if the soil is dry below the surface, it's time to water. By far the best way to water your tomatoes is with an inexpensive soaker hose snaked around the plants. Open the tap just a crack and let the hose run for two to three hours.With a soaker hose, the water gets right down to the roots where it's needed--and it stays off the leaves and fruit, where wetness can cause disease problems. If you can't use a soaker hose, bury a one-pound coffee can (ends removed) next to each plant. Fill the can with water; it will slowly soak in. Repeat if needed. Never use a sprinkler to water your tomatoes. All that water on the leaves and fruits can cause mildew and other problems, while the water doesn't get deep down to the roots. A thick layer of mulch or landscape cloth will help retain moisture in the soil and keep down the weeds.

Don't have a garden? You can still grow great tomatoes in a container on a porch or even a sunny windowsill. Choose a smaller or dwarf variety such as "Tiny Tim" cherry tomatoes. You'll need a fairly large plastic or terra cotta container--32 inches in diameter is a good size. Fill it with potting soil (not soil from the garden), plant your tomatoes, and keep a sharp eye on the moisture level. Container-grown tomatoes dry out very quickly--you may need to water as often as twice a day.

My final tip: Harvest your tomatoes when they're at the peak of their flavor, just when they've turned a nice solid red all over. And never put tomatoes in the refrigerator! It ruins their texture and flavor.

Sheila Buff is the author of The Great Tomato Book (Burford Books, 1999). She lives in Milan.

For anyone interested in trying to grow heirloom tomatoes you might want to consider consulting, in addition to The Great Tomato Book mentioned above, One Hundred Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden by Carolyn J. Male, with photographs by Frank Iannotti (including the one above showing the proper depth at which to transplant seedlings) — a Smith & Hawken book published by Workman Publishing, New York, 1999.

Places to Buy Tomato Seedlings

Adams Fairacre Farms
Rt. 9W, Kingston, 336-6300
Heirlooms & basics, patio & grape, cherry & yellow pear, La Roma plums, Early Girl, Beefsteak or Beefmaster, 15-20 varieties in all.

Grandiflora
144 Pitcher Lane, Red Hook, 758-2020
Heirloom varieties like Stupice (new to market, German, disease resistant, 3" quarter-lb fruit), Persimmon (tasty, looks like the fruit), Aunt Ruby's (green fruit, pink inside, spicy), Sungold (hybrid cherry, annual sell-out).

Mac's Agway
68 Firehouse Lane, Red Hook, 876-1559
Half dozen to a dozen varieties, including the most popular (Big Boy & Beefsteak).

Northern Dutchess Botanical Gardens
389 Salisbury Tunrpike, Rhinebeck, 876-2953
Sungold cherry, grape tomatoes, Big Boys, Beefsteak, early varieties. Large selection of others as well.

The Phantom Gardener
Rt. 9 North, Rhinebeck, 876-8606.

Thunderoc Farms Nursery
Rt. 9, Clermont, (518) 537-4686
Principe Borghese plum tomatoes (perfect for sundrying & paste), small, medium & large heirloom (including Brandywine) & cherry tomatoes & many other varieties (including New Yorker, Celebrity, Early Girl).

Wonderland Florist & Nursery
East Market St. Extension, Rhinebeck, 876-4981
Early Cascade, some heirloom, cherry & grape & plum & yellow tomatoes, lots of varieties.