Grafted Tomato Plants - Key Growing Information
INDETERMINATE: (vining) varieties ripen fruit over a long season and do best staked, trellised or caged, and pruned.
TRANSPLANTING OUTDOORS: Plant into moderately fertile soil, 24–36" apart for unstaked indeterminate varieties or 14–20" apart for staked plants. Keep the graft union above the soil line so the top (scion) variety never touches the soil. Water in with a high-phosphorus fertilizer solution. For the earliest crop, plant around the last frost date under floating row cover, which protects to about 28°F (-2°C). Where possible, hold off on unprotected plantings until nights stay above 45°F (7°C); frost does serious damage.
FERTILIZER: Plenty of soil phosphorus supports early, heavy yields. Too much nitrogen leads to rank growth and soft fruit that rots easily.
DISEASES: Find out which tomato diseases are common where you live and choose resistant varieties. To prevent problems, plant young, healthy transplants, avoid overhead watering, turn under crop debris in fall, rotate crops, and don't handle tobacco or smoke before touching plants. Fungicides chosen and applied correctly can help control some diseases.
BLOSSOM END ROT: Prevent blossom end rot by keeping soil calcium high and soil moisture even.
INSECT PESTS: Row cover protects young plants from flea beetles. Bacillus thuringiensis controls tomato hornworms, and spinosad controls potato beetle adults and larvae.
HARVEST: Let fruit ripen fully on the vine only if you're selling locally or using it yourself. The farther and longer the trip to the customer, the less ripe the fruit should be when picked so it arrives sound.
STORAGE: Keep firm, ripe fruit at 45–60°F (7–16°C) for 4–7 days.
DAYS TO MATURITY: Counted from transplanting.
