Tips on Growing Tomatoes: What to Do in July for a Successful Crop

July is the tastiest month of the year. So many delicious crops ripen this month—corn, watermelon, peaches, and the home-garden favorite, tomatoes.

By now your tomatoes are hitting their stride, with the early ones, like ‘Early Girl’, making their debut in that first BLT of the season. They’re followed closely by cherry and grape tomatoes, which provide sweet, refreshing snacks as you tend to your garden beds. After that, the ‘Cherokee Purples’ and ‘Carolina Golds’, perfect for pairing with fresh mozzarella and basil in your Caprese salad, are ready to be harvested. And finally come the heirlooms, which need only to be sliced and sprinkled with salt.

The tomato season sadly doesn’t last forever, but here are five ways to make the most of it, for as long as possible.

N.B.: Featured photograph via White Flower Farm.

1. Prune…carefully.

Pruning is an art. You need to find the balance between helping and hurting. One of the first things you need to know is what type of tomato you have. Is the plant a determinate or indeterminate variety? Pruning the former may cost you tomatoes, while pruning the latter may encourage fruit production and speed up the ripening process. How can you tell which is which? First, check the seed package, plant tag, or ask the grower. If those aren’t options, generally speaking, a determinate plant (like San Marzano tomato) grows all its fruit at the same time. An indeterminate plant (like ‘Sungold 100’) sets fruit and until the cold weather kills it. Determinates are generally stocky and shorter, and don’t need much, if any, pruning. Indeterminates are more vine-like and may need pruning to remove suckers, and to direct and contain growth. Additionally, prune to remove any yellow leaves and those that have come in contact with the ground. That said, if you do nothing at all, your tomato plant will be fine.

2. Water…regularly.