Nothing beats the taste of a home grown, fresh picked heirloom tomato! Follow these 5 easy steps listed below to grow delicious, plump heirloom tomatoes in your own garden! 

STEP 1: Start with 4" tomato plants that have been grown pesticide-free and from non-GMO seeds. Each spring we grow literally thousand's of 4" heirloom tomato plants for sale at our farm stand and on our websites. The hardest part of growing tomatoes is getting them started from seed to transplant size in the early spring when temperatures are well below the ideal 70-90 degrees needed for seed germination and the 60-70 degree temperatures needed for plant growth.

At our farm we grow our pesticide-free Heirloom Tomato Plants in commercial greenhouses with heat mats, metal halide lamps, fans and more to ensure that we consistently produce a successful crop of healthy heirloom tomato plants each year. Unless you want to invest a lot of time and money into growing a few tomato plants, skip the weeks and weeks of coddling your young tomato plants and the cost of equipment and start out the right way by purchasing healthy, sustainably grown, pesticide-free heirloom tomato transplants.

You can PRE-ORDER Heirloom Tomato Plants at Farm Fresh Living for spring 2011 delivery.

STEP 2: Tomatoes need well drained soil and full sun to grow properly. To check the aeration qualities of your soil, scoop up a handful of moistened soil and squeeze into a ball. If your soil falls apart your aeration is good, if your soil sticks together like clay then begin by adding in compost to increase the aeration properties of the soil.  Every season rotate where you plant your tomatoes to avoid soil borne diseases. Read our blog on Stargazer Perennials "for more information on How to Know When Your Garden Soil is Ready to Plant.

STEP 3: Plant tomato plants deep to encourage strong, sturdy plants. When planting your tomato transplants, set the plants a little deeper than they were originally growing so lower leaves are next to or buried under the ground. The roots of the tomato plant will then develop along the buried portion of the stem producing a stouter trunk.

STEP 4: It is all about the water!  Uniform watering is necessary to allow the heirloom tomato plant to uptake calcium and other nutrients. Do not over water and do not underwater. Keep the soil consistently damp with deep watering and the use of mulch. Consistent watering can prevent leaf-end roll, blossom end-rot and "cat-facing". Remember growing delicious tomatoes is all about the watering!

STEP 5: Feed your heirloom tomato plants calcium to promote healthy fruit. In addition to proper watering, heirloom tomato plants also require calcium to produce the best fruit. Amending your soil with bone meal provides your tomato plants with an excellent source of calcium with the added bonus of phosphorus. Sprinkle bone meal into the planting hole and cover with a 1/4" of soil before planting your heirloom tomato plant. For an extra boost of nutrients during the summer you can feed your tomato plants with Down to Earth All Purpose Organic Fertilizer. Use Down to Earth All Purpose Fertilizer just as your tomato plants start to set fruit for the first time and fertilize again mid-season.