9 Tomato Growing Myths to Avoid!

[@epicgardening]

Got a myth you think needs busting? Let us know below, and while you're at it grab a deal on Birdies Beds (have a few on sale for the next week or so): shop.epicgardening.com/collections/birdies-original

[@lukaslambs5780]

Not so much a myth but just a lack of awareness of what things are and aren’t good potential soil/compost additives. For example, if you have pet reptiles and keep colonies of insects as feeders, their poop (frass) is just as good as worm castings for nutrients. Pond scum is also fantastic. Egg shells are NOT nearly as effective in compost piles as people think they are.

[@itatane]

What about myths about weeds? I've found a great many plants that people stress about are edible and nutritious. For example, Galinsoga parviflora, a VERY prolific weed, is actually a wonderful herb for soups (guasca). Some weeds are also good companion plants as well.

[@epicgardening]

@@itatane Love this

[@epicgardening]

@@lukaslambs5780 Great call!

[@iamjustkiwi]

I'll echo the "weeds" issue. A lot of my plants seem to do very well when I let clover, dandelion, purslane and other supposed weeds hang out as long as they aren't completely choking the soil, and those are all edible to some degree or another which is an added bonus. Also my iguana and tortoise LOVE dandelions so they save me a ton on having to buy food during the growing months.

[@WARHORSE465]

I absolutely love the fact that you all show your tomato plants as they exist naturally, warts and all. It’s a positive reinforcement for me to see a few yellow leaves or dried out branches on the plants when you make the videos. It helps me not freak out when, what I thought where “issues” with my plants, are just nature. Not cleaning everything up to be “Instagram perfect” before filming is very refreshing and it gives me more confidence to know my plants are as “normal” as yours are. Thank you, as always for your refreshing perspectives, positive energies, and super-helpful education. EpicG has a lifelong fan in me!

[@jaykeinnes6793]

As with most things online 95% of what you see is made perfect for the shot, gardening is no different :) Also something to remember is just because you're not doing as well doesn't mean your doing it wrong, I have changed from acreage to pots and was worried for a bit and stressed out as i wasnt seeing the results i had in the ground, started reading a heap and watching heaps online and now I know that pots are far more fickle than large in-ground beds and even though I'm not having the same success(don't mean to brag but my gardens where top tier is terms of produce per sqm) and now ive accepted that they will be slower and get knocked around a bit more by weather until I get my ratios of soil components nearly spot on and watering nearly spot on and if I don't learn that much then I know I can still keep them healthy and happy in pots, I just need an extra plant or two compared to my old modified huglekulture/Ruth stout hybrid beds. Good luck and happy harvesting my friend, big love from down under!

[@alindasue]

My cherry tomatoes produce fruit steadily for a good couple months or so. Last year, after a couple months of picking tomatoes every day, I still had a lot of green tomatoes left on the vine when the frosts started to hit. Before pulling the plants for the year, I picked off about 3 gallons of green tomatoes, figuring I would do something with them. What I ended up doing was snacking on ripe tomatoes every day for the next few weeks as they gradually ripened off the vine in my house. I plan on doing the same with this year's end of season green tomatoes too.

[@silkee1922]

Way to go.👍

[@kimberlygiacometti6041]

I did that a few years ago. One of my furbabies loved the cherry tomatoes; pooped...passed away....left us another cherry tom. plant. I cherished that plant. He killed(tilled) that plant last year..,...I was heartbroken.

[@CWorgen5732]

I know this is a year later... But we did that this fall. I pulled all the tomatoes the night before the first frost. The ripest cherries were immediately halved and put into dinner or frozen. The larger ones were sliced for salmon burgers. As soon as any tomato started to look a tiny bit soft, it was chopped and frozen for future soup. After a few days, the originally green tomatoes were sorted by color: solid green, green-yellow, yellow-orange, almost red, and Ripe! I kept them in mesh baskets and plastic blueberry cartonsfor airflow, and none of them rotted ❤ over time they all ripened, and nearly none were lost to frost or rot!

[@SpaceMiner007]

I pickled about 10 lbs of last year's green tomatoes.

[@rachelash7299]

An old gardener I know told me to pull the plant out whole at the end of the season and green ones on it, hang it upside down in the sun but out of the frost (like under the eaves for example). We're just about to get frosts here so I'm keen to see how it works.

[@andrearc3002]

I started cutting my tomatoes at that 50% ripe stage and it stopped my tomatoes from being plagued by tomatoe worms. Thank you for posting this video. It's so informative.

[@Lilian040210]

My grandma always picks almost green ones, otherwise they crack.

[@45graham45]

Must they be in the sun to ripen indoors?

[@thomastonnessen8056]

Use BT spray it is a life saver if you want a natural pesticide it is a natural fungi .

[@woodson21]

@@45graham45No they don’t. We ripen ours both on a North facing window ledge and a brown paper sack in the pantry. The pantry ones ripen just as well as the window ones

[@thepeff]

I was growing some turned garlic in a plastic container by my window with some homegrown compost. A tomato seed sprouted from the compost and I decided to see what would happen and left it there. It strangled out four garlic plants and started climbing my window and is putting down roots in surrounding potted plants. Instead of a trellis I've just been taping the vine to the window. I've been getting some decent cherry tomatoes lately and I plan on propagating the seeds since the tomatoes taste decent and clearly this plant will stop at nothing to survive.

[@ravenmc7630]

how's the plant now?

[@CWorgen5732]

I'm curious to know how it turned out!

[@wealthNwisdom63]

Helloooooooo ????? How’s the plant

[@NSF8112]

🤯

[@rhyothemisprinceps1617]

please give us an update

[@karen_james]

Totally agree with you guys on the deep watering your tomato plants. Last year for me I was inconsistent with my watering and every plant got hit with BER. This year I made a concerted effort to be consistent with my watering by checking each plant at the soil level for moisture. If dry an inch down, I’d water. Kept up with regular fertilizing and big difference, I used deep compost as a mulch and nutrition. Not one plant developed BER this year! ❤️

[@2pugman]

I also plant with a powdered lime slurry as I plant the small tomato. It's been two years since I had a BER problem.

[@Toffnm]

Here's another one: You can freeze whole tomatoes! Last year I didn't have the energy to make a whole bucket of sauce so I just pulled the green top off of the tomatoes, threw all of them in a zip lock bag into the freezer, and we've been pulling out whatever we need for stews, soups, sauces etc throughout winter.

[@saralleverino]

I would agree with this with one caveat. The texture changes when they are thawed, so they aren't great for eating raw. Perfect for cooking, though.

[@lauranilsen8988]

Yes. That’s what my friend says. If I’m remembering right she also said the skins slip right off once they thaw.

[@cathiemariekelch75]

I’ve been doing this for years! Works great, especially for roasted tomato sauce in the dead of winter. Yum 🍅

[@starydwumas7481]

I would rather cook them and put them into jar than wasting space and energy in my freezer to take out something you still need to cook.

[@LincolnHawk-bk5yr]

We've been doing this for years. We always seem to have more tomatoes than canning jars. The ones we freeze don't get blanched, just thrown in a bag an put in the freezer. They work very well for sauces, just as well as the canned ones.

[@paulgaras2606]

One thing to remember about storing ripe tomatoes in the fridge is that tomatoes produce a ton of ethylene. In a closed container or small space like a fridge this could cause the tomatoes not to last as long as one might expect. I do refrigeration contracting and one of my customers is a produce wholesaler. Tomato storage is a big issue for them and over ripening can cost them a lot of money.

[@harambeegardens8705]

Blanch them & put them in the freezer.

[@GardeningwithFran]

@@harambeegardens8705 yes or I oven roast them, with some peppers too then freeze.

[@usx06240]

There are ok to store in the fridge for a day. The longer, the more flavor change.

[@iamjustkiwi]

I gotta say it's weird to me seeing that there are a lot of issues people have with tomatoes because I can't stop them from growing! The various spoiled ones I have tossed into my compost now pop up in ever plant I add the compost to so I just yank out the seedling and replant them somewhere else, and they tolerate it well because of the omnipotence of their stems to grow roots. Now I have like 8 random varieties growing all over my property and it's fun seeing what they come out with!

[@epicgardening]

It's funny the plants we do / don't have issues with!

[@iamjustkiwi]

@@epicgardening for me it's been cukes, and I learned that since I almost exclusively do container growing, that they are ESPECIALLY prone to standing water issues. This year I did side by side experiments with fabric vs traditional plastic pots and the difference has been amazing! That said I also have an aquaponics setup and the cukes in there do even better, so I think it actually has to do with oxygen in the water more so than the water itself. Since the aquaponic eater is constantly moving it is highly oxygenated and therefore the roots are happy even being constantly wet.

[@MrsB197something]

I have struggled with cucs for years. Im trying grow bags this year​@@iamjustkiwi

[@iamjustkiwi]

@@MrsB197something I hope it goes well for you, I actually just started all my cuke seedlings for this year yesterday! As long as they stay consistently moist, warm, and well fertilized in the grow bags they seem to do really well. The other thing I learned is that growing em on a trellis is super helpful because the slugs where I live go absolutely ham over them and I don't really like sharing with them so having them off the ground makes it much easier.

[@Frostfern94]

Yeah same here! They just grow in cracks in the concrete and side of the road here

[@circuitsalsa]

love seeing the combined perspectives of kevin, jacques, and chris all together in a video

[@ChipClarkSD]

The main reason Roma and cherry tomatoes are better for sauce is that they have much more pectin which helps thicken the sauce

[@Bob_Adkins]

Roma makes a thick sauce, but they have a dull taste. Cherries have a brighter taste, and I wish there were more large varieties because of their great taste and hardiness.

[@Dovey62]

​@@Bob_AdkinsTry Amish Paste!

[@allanpennington]

You can't go past San Marzano and its indeterminate so you can harvest and make sauce in batches over a season. Generally Roma ate determinate which means everything done once which might suit some people better.

[@sunflowerhill4349]

Yep, I agree with all of these! Definitely things I have discovered by trying them out for myself. You can also save most of the green tomatoes at the end of the season by picking them, and layering them in cardboard boxes, leaving a bit of stem on, stem end facing down. They will ripen gradually in the box, so you get tomatoes way into winter (cool temperate climate where I live in Australia). They just have to have started turning from hard dark green into a paler green with white starting to come through.

[@sbffsbrarbrr]

I discovered your green tomato info last season when I cut back all the tomatoes in mid October. Saved a lot of the green ones to make fried green tomatoes. Made one batch and decided it wasn't worth the effort 😁. So the rest of the tomatoes were sitting in a basket in the house, intended for the compost pile. And low and behold, most of them continued to ripen. That was a nice end of season surprise!

[@gracehSF]

Thanks for the info. I’m going to try this.

[@WillPellKB926]

As a kid growing up in Michigan, we get a brilliant, but short, growing season. At the end of October, or so, I would pick all the decent tomatoes and we would wrap them in newspaper ( the horror) and then put them in paper grocery bags and put them in the basement. I did all the picking and most of the wrapping, but my mom would pick out the ripe ones and we would use them for anything. We probably had tomatoes up until December. Also, my Mom routinely put tomatoes in the refrigerator and they were great. Then all the snobs said that this was wrong and I wasted a lot of tomatoes. Conclusion: listen to your Mother.

[@jennifergayman3575]

@@WillPellKB926 I tried saving the green tomatoes one year and let them ripen; they did turn a beautiful red, but didn’t have much flavor. Next time I made tomato relish (but not very well 😅)

[@truckywuckyuwu]

I found that this is the best way for me to grow tomatoes. Most indeterminates have a growing time that's a bit too long for my area, but it doesn't matter, because I do get a bunch of green tomatoes from them. I found not putting them in boxes extends how long they take to ripen, when you do it this way, the gas that's released stays in contact with the tomatoes and ripens them faster, I also achieve this by separating the green from those that ripen. It lets me eat fresh tomatoes all the way from september till mid January most years. It depends what you want to achieve. I still get tons ripening at the same time, and I make sauces/salsa's out of them, but this way pretty much every day I get a few large tomatoes ripening and can have a few plates of sliced tomatoes to eat. Last year my crop weighed in at about 280 pounds. I was eating them for almost half the year. I love fresh way more than cooking them. So it's been wonderful.

[@pascalxus]

I thought I knew all the basics of tomatoes. But, you guys have taught me several knew things today! I had no idea tomatoes could go in the fridge. and thanks for the comment about bringing tomatoes in at 50% ripeness. My mice won't be happy about that lolz. Keep up the great work guys. You guys are Awesome!

[@eileenwineinger3173]

This tip is helping me too. Less for the birds/ mouse and more for my hubby.

[@jennifergayman3575]

@@eileenwineinger3173whatever was eating my ripe tomatoes started eating the green ones when I picked the semi-ripe ones.

[@truckywuckyuwu]

I replied to another post about this. I've been growing tomatoes for 10 years. I basically have to bring in the bulk of my harvest all green because of the length of my growing season. I have never noticed any appreciable difference between ripening green tomatoes inside, or ripening the tomatoes on the vine aside from the amount of time it takes. The flavour is the same. The only thing I have to watch out for is, the smaller tomatoes don't ripen properly. They have to be sufficiently developed/large enough. This is something you kind of just know based on your variety of tomato after growing it a few times. The only real difference between them is how long you get till you can use them. Green tomatoes can ripen anywhere from a week or two, or up to 2-3 months after you pick them. I don't mind this at all, because it extends the length of time I have eating tomatoes each year to about 5 months. Hundreds of pounds. Heaven to me is eating tomatoes every day. So I'm about 1/3rd of the way there. Can't complain too much. I get to sit down and eat 2-3 plates of sliced tomatoes a day, with a bit of pepper and salt, and a slice of cheese each day for almost 120-140 days each year. Pretty sure Vine ripened is part marketing. And partly farmers knowing when their crops are ready to picked and used within a week or two. Not something you have to do to ensure a tasty tomato.

[@bessiewilson1784]

In Alaska we would wrap green tomatoes in newspaper & have them at Christmas we check them every few weeks

[@oldladyfarmer7211]

In Massachusetts too.

[@SandraPerez-tz3fw]

Omgosh this year was my first time growing tomatoes from seed. I was beating myself up because the lower leaves kept falling off!! Happy to know that's totally normal. 😁😊

[@theshoemeister2582]

Oh

[@pennylaur7687]

It CAN be tomato blight as well. A fungus they get from the soil that splashes up when it rains or if you spray over tops of plants instead of just the ground. I try to be organic but gave in this year n bought a copper fungicide spray. I also keep the bottom leaves pruned up off the soil.

[@miguelito2361]

You want to get rid of the leaves below 12-18 inches. They're susceptible to getting splashed with soil or otherwise trapping too much moisture, which leads to decay & disease.

[@squashit339]

I really needed this video! Last couple years I've had a lot of lower dying leaves on my tomatoes and thought I had a HUGE problem and come to find out that it's normal 😅

[@Anjerz]

I follow a few of the Epic tomato tips. I TRY to leave my Everglade bushy when I can. But Florida can be humid, even for Florida varieties so I still get septoria on my leaves and about once or twice a year I have to groom the plant back to almost nothing and hit restart. It works fine for me. Mostly I groom the plant to avoid to much interior growth. I love my giant shaggy everglades tomato. 🍅

[@Cheezyjr]

I had blossom end rot my first year. Tested my soil to see if it was actually calcium deficient. As you said, my soil actually had plenty of calcium. BUT the pH was much higher than recommended for tomatoes (8.5 or so). Which can also interfere with nutrient absorption. I believe higher pH promotes the formation of calcium carbonate which is not bioavailable. I acidified my soil and haven’t had BER since.

[@Bob_Adkins]

Same here. My soil isn't bad at all, 7.0-7.5, but still get BER if I'm not careful. A light sprinkling of sulfur pellets and I get 6.5 and BER is not a problem.

[@hughjones1460]

I have been growing tomatoes for 25 years and five years back started growing San Marzano's for sauce making and lost 50% due to Blossom End Rot, something I had never experienced before. There are many reasons this could happen but as I applied regular liquid tomato feed enriched with seaweed, the nutrient problem and soil PH were eliminated. On the following years I kept my eye on making sure there was sufficient watering and that simple act resolved the problem. Cherry tomatoes in containers can be easily taken care off as these containers come with reservoirs that can be filled but tomatoes grown in beds are where BER happens and watering is not monitored as easily.

[@busker153]

I did not know tomatoes ripen from the inside out, and from the bottom up. Three cheers for a regular, daily regime of continuing education! (And, three more for Epic Gardening!)

[@danikashton13]

Thank you for the video! New gardener here in my first year of gardening, and my beefsteak tomatoes just started seriously yellowing at the bottom. I've been trimming them as I notice yellowing in an attempt to stop or prevent disease. It's reassuring to know that I haven't done anything wrong!

[@kimhansen-mason2481]

I have been following Epic Gardening for about 3 years. I just want to thank you for all the tips and amazing content. I have always enjoyed your work and it's even more fun to watch when you bring in other gardeners to share their tips, too! I'm growing a TON of tomatoes this year and have experienced so much success the last few years, thanks to growing tips from you and your peers.

[@ceecee-thetransplantedgardener]

After 10 years+ of growing tomatoes and cukes in ground with zero problems, I moved them to raised beds (variety of reasons, too long to go into) and man - have I had the issues. It has taken 4 months to decipher watering, fert, and a bunch of other problematics. Very humbling. BUT - I'm hanging in; this video hit many of those points and affirmed my process is right on track. Great vid - Thanks!

[@MyAussieGardenKitchen]

G'day. I LOVED the fact you shared about picking before ripening. I have a problem with mice here in country Australia and when it comes to tomatoes, I like to pick them before ripening, so they mice don't eat them. This has saved my from losing so many tomatoes. All the information was great, but that certainly is a great one to share when people have pest issues. Thanks as always for the quality content and all the best. Daz.

[@cathleenbaldwinmaggi2252]

I LOVED this with all of you adding to the info. I will add... If you are a fish keeper, any fish that die through the year, freeze them. Bury them about a foot deep under your tomatoes, add a gallon jug with holes you have punched into it buried around the base of the tomatoes. You water by adding to the jug, any organic fertilizer you add to the jug, remember too much water gives you leaves not tomatoes.

[@erinsmith2373]

Thank you for discussing blossom end rot!!! sooo many people keep telling others to put egg shells in their soil next season to fix it

[@Bob_Adkins]

Egg shells take about 10,000 years to decompose. Well, maybe not that long, but a lot longer than say bone meal.

[@xavkoston16]

Egg shells is a total myth for adding calcium to the soil. Take too much time to decompose and there is not that much calcium available for the plant in an egg shell.

[@robertkat]

I dissolve antacid tablets in water and water tomatoes with it.

[@denisebrady6858]

What a brilliant video- Thank You Guys as you have answered a lot of my questions regarding my tomato growing. Cheers Denise- Australia

[@Megan-nt7dm]

I didn't have time to deal with my pots/wood beds this year past dumping all my worm compost on them. I currently have an absolute tangled mess of cucumbers, zucchini and so many cherry tomatoes 🤣 I love that I didn't have to start seeds, but I still got the three things I like to grow on my porch

[@PegsGarden]

Super informative video, really I have learned so much from your channel Kevin and I have been gardening now for 14 years, also really enjoy you having Chris and Jacque's input they have so much good information!!

[@sully9088]

I grew tons of cherry tomatoes last summer thanks to the amazing advice from this channel. I was hesitant to pick the tomatoes when they were 50% ripe, but it's really cool to see them turn bright red right in the kitchen after a few days.

[@WildBearFoot]

If I go a couple days without watering in Oklahoma I don't have to worry about them cracking, they'll all be dead. 100+ temperature days for months on end are no joke. I do like this video, subscription added.

[@siamstation]

What a fabulous information tomato video. In Australia, we are just starting to plan our crops of tomatoes for the upcoming season. I'm going to try this coming seasons tomato plants, growing them with some of your techniques. Had a fantastic season last year 😊. Blessings from Australia ❤️

[@mattdonna9677]

I gave up on container gardening due to compaction of soil and the hot sun baking the containers. I do raised beds made of stone borders and it works great. I appreciate your knowledge that you share with us,thank you from southern Indiana.

[@FlyingSagittarius]

Get a deep saucer and fill it with water. The water will be drawn up through the soil as the plant uses it. In order to prevent water logging, let the saucer and the soil dry out before refilling it.

[@mattdonna9677]

@@FlyingSagittarius thanks for that, I just find the containers to be more maintenance compared to raised beds.

[@Jacq892]

I'm glad you settled the refrigerate tomato myth! So much info!

[@wurzelle1999]

What a nice, informative, pleasantly delivered video. One of the very best!

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

I've been having massive pest problems this year, so I'm reluctant to leave my tomatoes on the vine too long, and have been picking them the moment they start to show any signs of ripening. It turns out this makes little to no difference, as they will continue to ripen off the vine anyway. Just as long as you don't pick them when they're completely unripe, they'll taste just fine in the end.

[@harambeegardens8705]

I've experienced the same.

[@jbigfeather]

Wow! This is an impressive video having the three of you giving your info covers all the questions I have wondered about. This year I wasn’t able to have a garden due to a broken arm but there’s always next year. The squash video was really helpful as I have a few volunteers that are doing well, they popped up after the monsoon season started.

[@epicgardening]

Heal up!

[@davinasquirrel7672]

Indeed I started harvesting the larger tomatoes earlier, at about 70% ripe. I figured that removing them at this stage would help the remaining ones ripen faster. Anyway, I only had five plants going this year, and way too many tomatoes! Thanks for the pruning tips. I am never quite sure what I am doing there, making it up as I go along!

[@angelaanderson5360]

Leaving the stem on the tomato to ripen is a best practice or so I'm told.

[@user-friendlyhuman]

Thanks! Very helpful. I just purchased companion flowers to plant alongside my tomatoes to assist their health & well-being.

[@dsherman9438]

From a farmer who grew amazing tomatoes: "Vine ripened tomato does not mean the tomato is left on the vine until it is fully ripened and fully red. Vine ripened simply means that the tomato remain on the vine long enough to start ripening." That farmer (sixth generation) says that tomatoes that have started ripening on the vine and finished ripening in storage taste no different than tomatoes that are left on the vine until they finish ripening. So, harvesting tomatoes that haven't fully ripened on the vine, but are good size is a good thing as it allows the plant to use that energy to increase the size of smaller tomatoes.

[@truckywuckyuwu]

In all honesty. I've been growing tomatoes for 10 years now. There's no difference between a green tomato ripening inside on your counter and one that started changing colour on the vine. The only difference I find is how long they take to ripen. You have to make sure it's sufficiently large/developed enough though. As smaller tomatoes will not ripen properly. I just use those and make green pickled tomatoes. I eat about 200-300 pounds of tomatoes per year, fresh.. I think i'd be able to tell a difference if there was one. I think it's just a marketing ploy, or a way for farmers to ensure that their crop is usable by someone within a week, and not say, within 2 months. Because picking green tomatoes, some of them can take 2-3 months to ripen.

[@susannowak5544]

Fantastic and many thanks: now I know why we had such a sad crop last year, and how to avoid more blossom end rot. Whoopie!,

[@scottscriticalmass]

Always enjoy the tri-expert videos and this one is no different... Thanks to all 3 of you for the great advice! I'd love to hear Jacque's recipe for his Sun Gold Cherry Tomato pasta sauce recipe. Thank you!!

[@rachellemazar7374]

Such great tips, I didn’t know about the 50% ripe harvesting. The blossom end rot tip, the pruning tip and so much of this video will help me a lot. I have been a firm believer in never refrigerating tomatoes but I will give your tip a try.👩‍🌾

[@barbiedueck2273]

We built “wicking boxes” this year….. the tomatoes love them. The water is in the bottom of the garden box so the plants roots grow downward and have a consistent source of moisture. We live in Canada and are experiencing a drought… with hot dry weather. This method has allowed me to only have to add water once a week (to 10:days ) thru this weather. My tomato plants (as well as everything else I’ve been planting so far 🤞🏻) are growing strong and well. I’m still watering with rainwater we caught over a month ago as we now use so little. I’m just so happy about how well they are working I had to pass along.

[@teresaellis7062]

I am glad to hear the information when to harvest tomatoes. I often kept missing the timing of the '"perfectly ripe" tomato and having tomatoes go over ripe or splitting. I will pick them when they are 50% so we can have them on the counter when they fully ripen, not hidden in the leaves. Living in Western Washington with LOTS of rain, we do have to supplement our soil with calcium unless we cover the soil during the winter rainy season. My mom had very little success with onions until I researched what might be going wrong. Turns out tomatoes aren't the only plants that want calcium. Root veggies love calcium. We mixed bone meal in the soil before putting in onion starts, and that year she had MASSIVE onions.

[@truckywuckyuwu]

You can pick them full green, and so long as they're of sufficient size and development. They'll ripen inside. Anywhere from a few weeks, to 3 months or so. I have to do it because of where I live, I've noticed no difference in flavour. Just the length of time required for ripening.

[@anniecampbell8554]

I love your faux ‘special gift’ teasers. Thanks for being such a fun presenter / teacher!

[@nicolemaestas929]

Not only great info but great video! I love the new format with multiple experts talking.

[@troygillespie]

100% correct myth-busting! Keep up the good work battling persistent gardening myths

[@walkerpantera]

12:07 he said "I got a big juicy beefsteak" Glorious! 😁 Thank you for the advice. I'm just about to transplant some today, in the rain actually.

[@iamjustkiwi]

Oh man the point about the watering over the top inch or so of the soil is what I feel like 75 percent of houseplant watering issues are. Water thoroughly and deeply until runoff and then LEAVE IT ALONE until it truly is dry down to about 2 inches! So many folks just give their plants too much attention and kill them with love. That alone is the "black thumb" that many of my friends have claimed to have..."but I watered it every day, HOW COULD IT DIE"?! and it's just like, facepalm every time. All you are doing is giving fungus and fungus gnats a lovely home to kill your roots!

[@sunflowerhill4349]

Yes, this! You see it endlessly on houseplant groups, every second post is a plant dying from overwatering / dense substrate that holds too much water.

[@GreenGardenGamer]

my neighbor is on holiday with his family and I'm watching his tomatoes while growing my own. he has sungolds and I just made a pasta sauce with them, some garlic and spices, and it was SO good. Can just snack on them off the vine or throw them in salads/sauces/curries for added acidity/sweetness

[@AjArpopP52]

Great video! Thank you! I watch a run of different videos and get great information but I really liked watching this video.

[@Bland-79]

I have been avoiding cutting back my Tomatoe plants this year, and you are correct. Lot's more tomatoes.

[@grwilhelmi]

As someone who struggles with blossom rot every year with my tomatoes in my containers this gives me hope! My plants always grew so large healthy looking while keeping half the suckers I could not for the life of me get fruit constantly without losing so much yield to blossom rot. Thinking it was calcium deficiency, infection, or something else entirely over the past few years I'll reassess my watering technique and crush it this year :) Never stop growing!

[@Eriuqsrednef]

I live in England. But although our climate is different from yours, your tips & tricks have proved to work here. I belong to an allotment society too & have sent your links online to our members, so they can try the grafting of tomatoes & pruning tips. It is a shame that over here, we do not have the excellent simple growing aids you have across the pond. Over here I use calcified seaweed in my soil every 2 years, as this increases worms & aireates & conditions the soil for the following 2 years. I also use Chicken manure called 6X over here as a rich treatment for the soil, for a acid soil. Also I have recently moved into dual or triple cropping( Bio diversity). Using plants that compliment each other, putting the minerals, enzimes etc into the soil & the other plants use them and vis versa. So thanks for a great set of videos. Keep going, really interesting & maybe you could look into this use of mixed veg growing. ??

[@exec1085]

Awesome video - I am trying to grow San Marzano tomatoes at -18 Celsius - the video was a great help and inspirational source - Thank you!

[@RyltarSB]

Took me a lot of reading to learn all of these tips previously. Thank you! Great information!

[@montanaliving4769]

I always pick my large tomatoes at half ripe, love them.

[@pennylaur7687]

Great info. I was hoping for ideas on blight prevention or treatments since that seems to be a steady issue. Watering from the soil only not spraying, and tried moving to a new spot next year, but am running out of spots to move to. I used a copper fungicide this year but am trying to stay organic.

[@daviddelany7317]

I'm convinced! This registered with me all the way around! Just one video and subscribing is an absolute! Thank you all.

[@thegardenscientist]

Great video guys! Spring is on its way soon here in South Africa! I cant wait to start my Tomato's!

[@DEVUNK88]

the best sauce is made from multiple varieties mixed together

[@truckywuckyuwu]

Lol, true. I grow 12 different varieties. Whatever I have is what goes in the sauce. Always turns out amazing. I did make a white tomato salsa one year though. That was kinda neat o.o

[@oldfashionedcountrycooking9343]

You have a beautiful garden. Until recently, I had about 30 types of tomatoes. Now I sow 3-4 types because we couldn't eat that much in the season. 🙂

[@VaultDwellerGal]

Great video! The fridge myth blew me away. I’ve purchased grape tomatoes and mini san marzanos with “please don’t refrigerate me” on the packaging. Glad to know the crisper isn’t off limits. Who woulda thunk it?! Thanks y’all!

[@epicgardening]

You bet Vannessa!

[@videodistro]

This video is wrong. The fridge changes the chemically changes the tomato. It really does ruin the taste. Don't believe this misinformation.

[@helenmcclellan452]

I always learn something new or I gain greater understanding when I watch your videos. Thank you!

[@samurphy]

My personal experience with watering container tomatoes is that, assuming you have well draining soil and good drain holes on the container, you can't really over-water, except in as much as any water that drains out the bottom takes some nutrients with it, so you may strip your soil prematurely if you have a lot of runoff. If you're growing hugelkulture beds, the same applies, with much the same caveats regarding the soil drainage. If the soil is heavy, it's likely to just get mucky and can lead to root rot, but with lots of wood underneath a bed, there's plenty of room for quite a bit of excess water to go without causing a soggy scenario. I water my bucket garden every day, twice a day in high heat, and note from one bucket to the next how much excess runs out the bottom. If it's more than a little dribble, i'll adjust the amount down that I water the rest.

[@celondelon351]

I grew my first ever tomatoes this year this video came at the perfect time and plucked them as they were turning red as thanks to this video. Thank you so much.

[@02markcal]

Celon, Once you have eaten a homegrown tomato, no other tomato but yours will taste as good nor satisfying!

[@loisjohnson7272]

Wow . Thank you for this information, I learned a lot today from this video, I love growing my own vegetables especially tomatoes! , North Carolina Girl

[@jimscharfenberger2]

Thank you for this most informative discussion of popular tomato growing myths. Sincerely, Jim. Master Gardener, Orange County New York.

[@johnshopkins554]

This was a really informative vid, maybe one of the best all rounder condensed together. Excellent. And the purple buds behind the woman with glasses...what is it plz? I had 3 come up in my garden, the leaves smell kinda like licorice. Thanks.

[@FrazierMtnCheese]

What a informative channel 👏 I'm so glad I found it! I've subscribed. Looking forward to more.

[@timisaac8121]

Thank You Epic Team: This is the best Tomato Vid ever, anyone that I ever see. Jacques spoke about the "suckers"- Wow. Can you clip suckers and "recycle" or re-grow these in some way? Thanks again. So great you make this useful and timely vid. Best wishes from Sunny Mexico.

[@BrightestBlessings7899]

Excellent video! Thanks fellas. It was kind of blurry. I hope there is not any camera troubles.

[@MichaelFavier]

Great no nonsense and full of details video, well done!🎉

[@brandondavidson4085]

Jacques: "Not pruning your tomatoes, let's look at that" Jacques: *pops up out of a huge forest of tomatoes* "Hi" That made me chuckle.

[@nigelmccomb8106]

If you are growing indeterminate tomatoes,you will need to prune / sucker them.

[@SpaceMiner007]

Great tomatoe growing points. My main take away is my misconception of adding calcium to tackle blossom end rot and to o much watering in containers = watery tomatoes. Next year l plan to try Granadero Plums for my tom sauce. Thanks All @epicgardening

[@jacoblee5874]

This video is exactly what I’ve been looking for thank y’all very much

[@HurairaHerbals]

i'm a container gardener, and was definitely watering twice a day at the height of summer (Houston). Also, I put grocery store tomatoes in the fridge. Harvested tomatoes I keep on the counter. I've never had a problem with putting tomatoes in the fridge.

[@ekummel]

I've had some success with an upside down tomato planter. This year I'm growing grape tomatoes because they're easier to eat in a salad...

[@williamwaters4506]

I have been a gardener for fifty years, plus I am a master gardener. What amazes me is all the crazy stuff people put in their soil thinking it will improve the vegetable production. Products like epsom salt, rock phosphate, calcium, lime, biochar, fish heads and dozens of other items. People read that tomato plants need calcium so they add a Tums to the soil. As a master gardener I asked people if they ever had their soil tested. Of the thousands of people I talked to at various shows/events no one ever reports getting their soil tested. I had one women tell me she had her soil tested and I thought I was having an auditory hallucination. It is the same with people who take all kinds of vitamins/supplements believing they will become immoral and then wind up with liver damage. None of them ever get their urine/blood tested before taking whatever it is that is supposed to make them super healthy. The bottom line is that plants need certain nutrients and your soil has or does not have those nutrients. Guessing at what needs to be put in your soil is like guessing what the winning lottery ticket number is.

[@zb7688]

How does one become a master gardener? I am very interested.

[@williamwaters4506]

@@zb7688 Look for master gardener program in whatever state you live in. I do not know if every state has this program. The training/program is done through the state Cooperative Extension Program.

[@ganjalfcreamcorn8438]

all of those products you listed are great soil additives. idk what your trying to say here. what if my soils sucks ass, and it needs amendments? you can tell what deficiency the plant has by how its growing. calling yourself a master gardener multiple times make me not trust you lmao. ive grown plants for 20 years, but i wouldnt call myself a master gardener.

[@williamwaters4506]

@@zb7688 It depends on the state you live. I do not know if all states have the program. If you live in a county see if you have a cooperative extension office.

[@burnsaga]

How do you test your soil?

[@evelynbarnes8060]

This old but very informative for me thanks you😊

[@lindacooper4893]

Just what I needed thank you, I’ve just started my tomatoes so I will follow what you said, mine is in containers ❤❤

[@retiefgregorovich810]

Watering has always been a question with tomatoes. I hear water every few days, keep it consistently moist, don't water every day. The best tomato gardener I knew watered his tomatoes three times a day with a drip system. I've been using that methodology for ten plus years now. I do get end rot problems now and then.

[@helengabr5743]

We live i the desert and use drip method twice daily. I find it's not quite enough so from time to time I refresh the plants with a hose and that seems to help. As you can imagine the sun here is scorching and I don't have the luxury of a greenhouse or cover.

[@jennifergayman3575]

@elizknight8262you hopefully get early and late tomatoes and try to keep the plant alive in between :)

[@truckywuckyuwu]

I think the best thing you can do for your garden is mulch it. Even during heatwaves here. And they get hot, about 100F for a week and a half straight. I'm still only watering my tomatoes every 3-4 days. Mulch DRASTICALLY lowers your water loss. I use mostly lawn clippings for mine, but you can get an arborist to drop off an entire truckload of mulch for basically nothing, and sometimes even free. I've done this a few times. Or if you have enough land, you can make your own with a wood chipper and scrap branches and plants. The second thing you can do is add lots of carbon to your soil. Literally ashes from burning wood. Or vegetative matter. Kitchen scraps. Compost. It helps your soil retain moisture instead of having it drain lower. Especially helpful if your soil is a bit sandy or drains fast. Every year I'm adding layers of grass, mulch, wood ash, branches, the weeds I pick I basically just lay right on top of the soil, and I've even gone out to buy those huge bags of wood pellets and just mixed them into the soil. I've got a wonderful black, and super rich soil that holds moisture like a sponge now. Only took about 2 years to get it like this too. The wood pellets are one of the easier ways to do it. They're like 6$ canadian where I am. Basically nothing, and 2 or 3 bags bulks up a huge raised garden bed quite a bit, and then gives critters tons of stuff to eat. I only have issues with a few varieties doing this, and they're really susceptible to blossom end rot on the even the best of days. I just grow different varieties now. Not worth the hassle of losing tons of my crop because I forgot to water for an extra day or two. That's another thing you can consider changing. Unless you really like a variety, it's probably worth finding one that's a bit easier to manage. If you want to take it one step further. You can actually seed your garden with certain mushroom spores. It helps even more. I have also done this, but only recently in the last two years. My tomatoes this year are huge, and I've gotten a bunch of mushrooms to eat as well. Next year, I'm hoping for even more. I'm basically taking all the tomato plants and mixing them into the soil after they're done producing this year. I don't see lots of people doing mushrooms, but the plants seem to love having them around. Plant matter decays much faster too, less chance for diseases. It's something new I'm trying out, but so far the results are worth it. I have mushrooms all over the yard now. All edible. More people are doing them these days. But few think to seed their garden with the spores of native, edible mushrooms. They usually grow them inside. I think it'll probably reduce my need to compost entirely. These mushrooms are kings at breaking down matter.

[@JamesKibalama-yn5kn]

Most informative video on tomatoes. It summarises all I have watched.

[@tleparskas]

True, harvesting my tomatoes this year when they hit 30-50% -saved a lot of fruit from pests. Taste great and no attacks.

[@UrbanNatureSounds]

Thank you for the good information for us

[@busker153]

Definitely well worth the time to watch!

[@delmadehoyos1946]

Kevin you and your crew are awesome...no nonsense, and very informative, easy to understand garden helps. Love y'alls videos. Also, you had a recent video regarding Mr. Weekes, a man with a paralysis injury who gardens and has an awesome positive outlook....I really enjoyed that video too. Thank y'all so much. I am subscribed, and will keep watching!😊

[@epicgardening]

Appreciate you delma!

[@RolloTonéBrownTown]

Great tips from this and I will continue investigating the fridge myth. I've only done it with storebought ones. (My few homegrown ones are used fresh off the vine!) So maybe those are just bad store tomatoes before they ever leave the store. Grocers in Alaska have no clue how tomatoes should taste regrettably

[@susanrand512]

Great info answered all, my questions. Thanks so much guys.

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

1:50 America's Test Kitchen has a marinara sauce recipe that can use any type of fresh tomato, because the opening move is to squeeze or scoop out the seeds and gel and chuck that into a fine mesh strainer. Most of the liquid in a tomato will be in that part of the fruit, and there's also a ton of flavor in the gel, so you can cook the flesh of the tomato as you would normally, then throw in some of the gel at the end to freshen up the tomato flavor. There's also another recipe that calls for sauteing cherry tomatoes before adding pasta (I found the recipe interesting, but I forget most of the details). "Blossom end rot". So that's what that's called. Yeah, all but 3 Momotaro tomatoes got that, while none of the other tomato varieties I'm growing this year got any of that. Perhaps Momotaros are particularly sensitive to under-watering.

[@epicgardening]

I'll check that recipe out!

[@AjArpopP52]

From what I’ve been learning through my container gardening, some tomatoes are more susceptible such as Roma tomatoes. I’m having a problem with blossom end rot (BER) on my Roma’s. I definitely know it’s a watering issue. I started more Roma’s about a month after those and have really been watching the watering and this second batch of plants seem to be doing good.

[@gcc2313]

@@AjArpopP52 Also San marzano I planted have issues as well but the other variety don't have many issue. May be related to sauce/plum varieties. I believe I planted some Roma's as well. But I have to check if they'll develope it. It may also have a little to do with the spot because it's blasting sun on a slope, fairly compacted soil. So next year and try some in different spots.

[@dustinpage123]

Great job with this video, I love to see a team of people making a video together.

[@johnduffy6546]

This was very informative. Thank you

[@sherde10]

Love you guys and your informative fun videos - I’ve never had much luck with tomatoes but this year I’m sure it will be a different story!

[@marvinbrock960]

I’ve said that it before, thank you so much for the content.. I’ve learned so much over the past few seasons from watching your vids! 🇺🇸

[@RolloTonéBrownTown]

I am lucky if I can keep two small tomato bushes going for a few months. Luckily I have had success converting a catwalk upstairs into a sun-drenched, warm space that my plants just love! Cheers to all the growing and gardening family

[@TunaSoda]

10:38 The temp of the water can also create the cracks, they don't really like cold water much that I have noticed.

[@VT-ix5oh]

Wow, the content keep on comimg,, im an avid gardner and i still learn new things from you all. Thanks

[@Minnesotayankee]

This is helpful to know that my instincts were right a lot of times. So many KZbinrs tell you the reason you’re having this problem one thing and the remedy seems counterintuitive

[@erdemalegoz1816]

1-) Tomato leaves that turn brown or dry out is not a matter of concern if they are the early leaves. 2-)Tomato types for best pasta sauce 3-) Tickling tomato blossoms are not that important. 4-)Tomato doesn’t need sun ripening 5-) If you don’t prune suckers you might get slow yield but in long-term it’s better to not prune them. 6-) Blossom end rot is generally caused by irregular watering schedule. 7-) Harvesting tomatoes just before ripening increases it’s shelf life. 8-) Refrigerating fully ripe tomatoes won’t change it’s flavor. 9-) Don’t overwater your tomatoes (…duh…) (It has details though so you better watch that part!) 10-) Freshly composted Kevin talks in that part

[@paddyoak1]

Tomatoes hardly need water.