Growing Tomatoes: From Seed to Sauce

A variety of colorful heirloom tomatoes freshly harvested on a wooden table outdoors

Tomatoes are the crown jewels of my summer garden. Nothing compares to a sun-warmed tomato eaten right outside, juice on your fingers and all. It really is a different fruit from store tomatoes. Here’s what I’ve learned over the years, including a few lessons I learned the hard way.

Choosing Your Tomato Varieties

Determinate vs. Indeterminate

Determinate (Bush) tomatoes:

  • Compact, bushy growth (3-4 feet)
  • Fruit ripens all at once
  • Great for containers and small spaces
  • Good for canning and preserving
  • Examples: Roma, Celebrity, Bush Early Girl

Indeterminate (Vining) tomatoes:

  • Continuous growth (6-10+ feet)
  • Produce fruit all season until frost
  • Need sturdy support
  • Best for fresh eating
  • Examples: Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Sun Gold

My Favorite Varieties

  • Cherry: Sun Gold (sweet and prolific), Black Cherry (complex flavor)
  • Slicing: Cherokee Purple (heirloom perfection), Big Beef (reliable producer)
  • Paste: San Marzano (sauce heaven), Amish Paste (meaty and flavorful)
  • Container: Tumbling Tom, Patio Princess

Starting Tomatoes

From Seed

Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before your last frost date.

  1. Sow seeds ¼ inch deep in seed-starting mix
  2. Keep warm (70-80°F). A heat mat helps enormously
  3. Provide strong light once sprouted
  4. Transplant to larger pots when first true leaves appear
  5. Keep soil consistently moist but not soggy

From Transplants

If you buy nursery starts:

  • Look for stocky, deep green plants
  • Avoid leggy or flowering plants
  • Check for pests and disease signs

Planting Out

Timing

Wait until:

  • Night temperatures consistently above 50°F
  • Soil temperature at least 60°F
  • 1-2 weeks after last frost date

The Deep Planting Secret

Here’s my best tomato tip: plant them deep! Remove the lower leaves and bury the stem up to the top set of leaves. Tomatoes root along their stems, creating a stronger, more robust plant.

Spacing

  • Determinate: 2-3 feet apart
  • Indeterminate: 3-4 feet apart
  • Rows: 4-5 feet apart

Support Systems

Tomatoes need support. Options include:

Cages: Easy but need to be sturdy (those flimsy cone cages aren’t enough for indeterminate types)

Stakes: Traditional method, requires regular tying

String trellising: Commercial technique, very effective for indeterminate varieties

Florida weave: Great for rows, uses stakes and twine

Care Throughout the Season

Watering

  • Deep, consistent watering is key (1-2 inches per week)
  • Water at soil level, not on leaves
  • Mulch to retain moisture
  • Inconsistent watering causes blossom end rot and cracking. For a full routine, see How to Water a Vegetable Garden the Right Way

Feeding

  • Side-dress with compost when fruits start forming
  • Use balanced fertilizer, not too much nitrogen (causes lots of leaves, few fruits)
  • Stop fertilizing when plants are loaded with fruit

Pruning (Indeterminate Types)

Remove suckers (the shoots that grow in the “armpit” between the main stem and branches) for:

  • Better air circulation
  • Larger fruits
  • Easier management

I let 2-3 main stems develop and remove the rest.

Common Problems

Blossom End Rot

Symptom: Dark, sunken spots on fruit bottoms
Cause: Calcium uptake issues, usually from inconsistent watering
Solution: Mulch, water consistently, don’t over-fertilize

Early/Late Blight

Symptom: Brown spots on leaves, spreading upward
Cause: Fungal diseases
Solution: Remove affected leaves, improve air circulation, mulch, avoid overhead watering

Tomato Hornworms

Symptom: Large green caterpillars defoliating plants
Solution: Hand-pick (they’re actually easy to spot!), attract parasitic wasps

Cracking

Symptom: Cracks radiating from stem
Cause: Irregular watering, especially heavy rain after dry spell
Solution: Consistent watering, harvest at first sign of cracking

Harvesting and Storing

When to Pick

  • Color is fully developed
  • Slight give when gently squeezed
  • Easily detaches from vine

For best flavor, let tomatoes ripen on the vine. But if frost threatens or pests are a problem, pick at “breaker stage” (just starting to color) and ripen indoors.

Storage

Never refrigerate tomatoes! Cold temperatures destroy flavor and texture. Store at room temperature, stem-side down.

End of Season

When frost approaches:

  • Pick all remaining tomatoes
  • Green tomatoes will ripen indoors (place in paper bag with a banana)
  • Make fried green tomatoes or green tomato salsa with truly unripe ones

My Tomato Journey

I grow about 15-20 tomato plants each year: cherries for snacking, slicers for sandwiches, and paste tomatoes for sauce. There’s nothing like spending a late summer day turning that harvest into jars you’ll open in the middle of winter.

The first ripe tomato of the season is always a celebration. I slice it thick, add a little salt, and eat it standing right there in the garden. If this is your first tomato year, that first bite makes every wobble worth it.