HORTICULTURE HINTS
Five tips for tomato-growing success

1. Plant tomatoes in full sun locations. Sunlight is the energy source for growth.

2. Time plantings to have plants flowering when night temperatures are between 55 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Keep soil uniformly moist. Excess water kills roots and promotes fruit cracking. Inadequate water promotes blossom end rot. Mulching will help efforts to maintain uniform soil moisture. Planting on a raised bed is best. Even in June, evaporation loss can be 20 ounces per square foot per day. Weekly watering will be a good guide.

4. Select varieties with disease resistance. The more resistance the better. Varieties with the letters VFFFNTAB beside their name carry resistance to Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt race 1, 2 and 3, root-knot nematodes, tobacco mosaic virus, Alternaria (Early Blight) and bacterial speck. Park's Whopper Improved, Carnival, Sweet Chelsea and Celebrity both carry the VFNT resistance. Sweet Chelsea is a small fruit variety. A couple of newer varieties that should be worth evaluating are Bush Celebrity and Bush Early Girl. The Bush Early Girl is reported to have nematode resistance and be more compact than its' "big sister" Early Girl. Bush Celebrity is reported to have the same great resistance and flavor as Celebrity only more compact and 3 to 4 days earlier.

5. Do not allow nutrient deficiencies to develop. Nitrogen, potassium, calcium and magnesium deficiency can become problems. Low calcium makes blossom end rot worse. Spraying young fruit with calcium chloride or calcium nitrate at a rate of 5 tablespoons per gallon of water can help prevent the disorder.

-- Information provided by the Cherokee County Extension Office