It’s nearing the end of summer, so obviously it’s not a good time to start some tomato plants from seeds. Instead, the tomato plants are in full bloom, and there are many things that you can do to ensure that the fruit ends up beautiful and perfect, free from blemishes.
To get the perfect tomato, you must first make sure they are aptly pollinated. Tomatoes are self pollinating and usually do fine with the help of wind and insects. If a tomato flower is not fully pollinated though, it can result in a deformed tomato. If you are really worried about that happening or you’re growing tomatoes indoors, you can try hand pollinating. There are many ways to hand pollinate a tomato flower but my favorite way is to take an electric toothbrush and turn it on while touching the flower stem with it. The pollen will fall out into my waiting container and thus I can use it to pollinate the flowers.
After your tomatoes start fruiting, make sure they get plenty of water (Although you should also ensure that before they start fruiting too). Water regularly because sudden influx of water will cause the fruit to swell too much causing cracks to appear. This usually happens after irregular watering with a period of dryness and then a bunch of water. I’ve had many experiences with them cracking in years past from forgetting to water for a few days with no rain so be careful and make sure you water them.
Sometimes, tomatoes also don’t ripen. I’ve had times where I stared down my immature tomato fruits for months on end and they still don’t turn red. Fret not. Usually, the culprit is the temperature. When the temperature is too high or too low, the tomatoes won’t ripen. From experience, the sweet spot is usually around 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (search it up if you want an exact temperature). There could be other reasons that your tomatoes aren’t ripening like a lack of nutrition. So although it might be heartbreaking, if you have too many tomato fruits on one plant… please cut off a few. I know it sounds cruel, but too many tomatoes on one plant will just cause too much competition for nutrients, leading to slower growth of your tomatoes. If fruits seem too heartwrenching to cut away, then cut away some of the flowers before they become fruits. Though it’s basically the same, It feels a little better to cut off a flower compared to an infant tomato.
On the topic of cutting, you should cut off the suckers of your tomato plants too. They are usually located between the main stem of the tomato and the stems that are sprouting from the main stem. The suckers are pretty useless and just take up more nutrients that could be better used elsewhere.
There many more things that you could do to ensure you get the perfect tomatoes but that;s all I’m going to mention right now. If you have any tips or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment. I hope the tomatoes you harvest will be picture perfect (although to be honest, the not so perfect tomatoes taste just as delicious).
