Tips for Growing Tomatoes

Companion Plants to Tomatoes: Asparagus, Basil, Borage, Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chives, Marigold, Grape Vine, Marjoram, Mulberry, Nasturtiums, Onions, Stinging Nettle
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Antagonistic Plants to Tomatoes: Beets, Fennel, Potatoes, Rosemary
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Blossom-End Rot - Stress brought on by both drought and too much rain is the cause of Blossom-End Rot. Drought can be defeated by providing a minimum of one inch of water a week, keeping the plants well mulched, and ensuring high amounts of organic material are present in the soil. A deficiency in calcium also causes Blossom-End Rot, so be sure to maintain a pH level of 6 to 6.5 by applying limestone to your container.
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The Tomato Journal

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April 19, 2014 - Tomatoes Planted
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There's the potatoes, which I moved off to the side, and behind them, in the corner against the wall is a tomato plant and the container with kale.
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June 19, 2014
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Tomatoes

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As for the rest of the garden, there are two beautiful tomatoes growing next to my chair (top right above) and a few more of the flowers are just beginning to turn into more tomatoes (bottom left above). The cherry tomatoes (bottom middle above) have flowered, but none of them have turned into tomatoes yet - they are certainly struggling compared to the full-sized ones, which is just the opposite of what I experienced for the past two years.
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June 21, 2014
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So, I came home today and went outside to admire my beautiful tomatoes in the garden, and what did I find? One of my tomatoes fell off! Like, what the heck? It's lying down there in the pot, but the stem it was hanging on is completely snapped in half and nowhere to be found.

A possibility is that it got pecked at by one of the cotton-pickin' pigeons that are hanging all around the apartment this year.

This sucks.
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July 25, 2014
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Cherry Tomatoes

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The cherry tomatoes are coming along alright, what few of them grew this year. Usually I have oodles of cherry tomatoes, but this year it looks like I'll hardly even get a handful.
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The best damn tomato on earth!

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But my, oh my, look at that one nice, big, juicy tomato, eh?

EH?

Isn't that beautiful?

I plucked that work of art and ate it all by itself, with only a little salt & pepper added. It tasted as good as it looked.

Good job on that one, Mr. Gardener!
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September 10, 2014
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Left: Nasturtiums / Right: Tomatoes

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Guess what else has happened recently? My very under-producing tomato plant gave me a late season suprise and produced two more tomatoes on the big plant, and a good dozen more for the cherry tomato plant. One of the large ones is a little deformed and I don't know how much bigger they will grow anymore this late in the year, but I'll take 'em!
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February 26, 2015
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I planted some tomato seeds and pepper seeds in small yoghurt containers I've been saving up over the winter. In another week or two, I'll start some cucumber seeds in a few more containers. I hope these little things work out. Last year I used a few coffee cups, and that worked out okay. I'm going to try to grow everything from seed this year, to cut down on expenses.
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April 7, 2015
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So, my five of my cucumber seedling and two of my tomatoes have been growing quite well in my little pots on the window sill since I planted them back in the end of February...
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Tomatoes sprouted up!

. I'd been watching them every day... watering them... talking to them... loving them...
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Tomatoes (Left) and Cucumbers (Right) growing bigger

.And the weather had been so nice over the past few weeks... it must have been a month since the last frost, so I started bringing them outside to harden them up before transplanting.
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Tomato Seedlings (Left) and Cucumber Seedlings (Right) Hardening on the Balcony

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And finally, after a few days of hardening, I proudly planted my little darlings, excited to get such an early jump on the growing season... until the next morning when I went out to my car - AND HAD TO SCRAPE FROST OFF THE WINDOWS!!!

Aaargh!
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Oh well, what can you do?
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April 22, 2015
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The carrots have come up well - and early. I left much more space between them this year, so hopefully they grow larger than they did last year. The two tomato plants seem to have survived the one night of exposure to the frost in the beginning of the month - it looks like they'll make it. 
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Carrots (Left) and Tomatoes (Right)

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