Tomato timing

Columbian; Vancouver, Wash., Apr 15, 2010 | by Erin Middlewood

Stucky says if you put large tomato plants in the ground early, and then protect them, you can enjoy a July harvest. Here, he has wrapped a square cage with plastic, and used a red Kozy Coat around the tomato plant. He also recommends using red plastic for mulch because it helps increase tomato production.

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Michael Stucky, owner of Millenium Farms in Ridgefield, prefers square cages for tomatoes because they provide more room for the plant.

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Plump, juicy tomatoes are the prize of the summer garden the more the better.

If you usually stick a couple of plants in the ground in late May and wait expectantly for the harvest, only to coax a handful of golf balls from the vine before first frost, take some advice from Michael Stucky. He runs Millennium Farms in Ridgefield with his wife, and has tomato-growing down to a T.

Stucky recommends putting large tomato plants in the ground early, then protecting them, so they can develop a vigorous root system that will propel early growth.

Heres how he does it:

* Plant the biggest plants you can find as early as possible.

Stucky recommends gallon-sized plants. When properly protected, they can go in the ground as early as March 1.

* Pick the right variety.

For high yields and deliciousness, Stucky likes Sungold, a prolific golden-orange cherry tomato with dessert-wine sweetness; Super Sweet 100, a red cherry tomato; and Stupice, a billiard-ball sized early tomato thats both thin-skinned and sweet.

* Prep the soil.

After you dig a hole, throw in one or two handfuls of sweet lime and a handful or two of slow-release fertilizer, Stucky said. To sweeten Early Girl tomatoes, add a half a handful of Epsom salts as well.

* Strip the bottom leaves before planting.

Remove leaves from the lower two-thirds of the tomato plant, and then put the stripped stem below the ground to double the root mass, Stucky said.

* Use red plastic for mulch.

The wavelength of red reflected on the underside of tomato plants convinces them that theyre in an overcrowded condition, so they produce a third more growth hormone internally, which turns into a third more fruit, Stucky said.

* Protect the plants.

You can use commercially available Wall o Water or Kozy Coat plant protectors. Or you can make your own tent for the plants using cages and sticky plastic wrap, like Saran Wrap, and then stick liter bottles or gallon jugs of water inside the cage to provide warmth. Be sure to leave holes for ventilation. Leave the protection on until the plant fills the cage.

* Use square cages.

Square cages give plenty of room for the plant to grow, and for four one-gallon jugs of water. If you use a conical cage, place it upside down. When the plant grows, affix another conical cage right- side up on top of that.

Stucky said his method will produce ripe tomatoes in July.

It seems like a lot of work, Stucky said. But its easily worth multiple weeks of peak production.

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