Growing tomatoes in Houston (& Texas)

Did you know that people once feared the tomato as a killer 🍅☠️??

In the 1700s, Europeans were terrified of tomatoes, calling them “poison apples.” The reason? Wealthy folks would eat tomatoes on pewter plates, which were high in lead. The acidic tomato would leach the lead from the plate, and people would mysteriously fall ill—or worse. Instead of blaming their fancy dinnerware, they blamed the poor, innocent tomato!

Now that we have been enjoying growing & eating tomatoes for 300 or so years, let us dig into how to grow & harvest tomatoes in the Houston (& all of Texas) area.

As many as 85-90% of beginner gardeners try growing tomatoes first! 🍅

Why? Because tomatoes have that perfect mix of excitement and challenge. They grow fast, produce delicious fruit, and give you a real sense of accomplishment. But they also come with their fair share of drama: finicky watering needs, sneaky pests, and the classic “why are my leaves turning yellow?!” panic moment.

It’s almost like a gardening rite of passage. If you’ve never battled tomato hornworms at 10 PM with a flashlight, are you even a real gardener? 😂

Choosing the Right Tomato Varieties

Tomatoes love fast-draining rich soil with plenty of organic matter and hate the humidity (Hello! Houston). But with the right soil and strategy, you can grow way too many tomatoes to eat (Ain’t that the dream!).

Before we go into full-on strategy mode, there are a few key definitions if you want to enter the world of growing tomatoes.

Types of Tomatoes:

• Determinate vs. Indeterminate:
• Determinate: Grow to a set height and produce all at once (e.g., 'Roma,' 'Early Girl').
• Indeterminate varieties, such as 'Brandywine' and 'Sun Gold', continue growing and producing throughout the season.
• Semi-Determinate is a growth habit that’s a cross between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes. They are bushy plants with shorter vines that can produce multiple spurts of ripe fruit (e.g., ‘Celebrity’).
• Heirloom vs. Hybrid:
• Heirloom: Open-pollinated, flavorful, often with unique colors and shapes.
• Hybrid: Bred for specific traits like disease resistance and yield. 
• Strategy 1: Choosing heat-tolerant and disease-resistant varieties:

• Heirloom: 'Arkansas Traveler,' 'Homestead,' 'Cherokee Purple.'
• Hybrid: 'Solar Fire,' 'Heatmaster,' 'Sun Gold.'
• Strategy 2: Choosing the Right Planting Time
   Tomatoes are warm season plants that germinate at 70°F and grow best at 70-85°F. Temperatures above 95°F stress the plant and render the pollen sterile (meaning, they can’t set fruit). Texas (especially Houston) summer climbs to 100°F by end of May/June. By planting tomatoes in March, we can get a harvest by early summer. An ideal second window would be planting them in late August for a fall harvest.

Soil Preparation and Planting Tomatoes:
 

Tomatoes love well-draining soil, rich in organic matter. They are also heavy feeders and would appreciate regular organic fertilizer once a month during flowering and fruiting. The determinate varieties grow like a bush and would appreciate wider space(18-24 inches apart) between them, whereas the indeterminate varieties are best grown on a trellis. Also, the deeper you plant a tomato, the more stronger it grows.

Watering and Mulching

Tomatoes require consistent moisture during fruiting and appreciate mulching with organic materials like fallen leaves or organic straw mulch in summer months. Irregular watering leads to blossom end rot and split fruits.

Managing Pests and Diseases

Common pests for tomatoes include aphids, hornworms, spider mites. Organic control methods like Neem oil, Bt spray & insecticidal soap, and companion planting help manage pests without harming other pollinators.

Tomatoes succumb to diseases like blight, wilt, and leaf spot. One of the major factors that cause late blight is high humidity in the Houston area. Ensure good air circulation by trimming unwanted leaves, providing adequate spacing between plants, avoiding watering on the leaves and using disease-resistant varieties.

Supporting and Pruning

Big-box stores sell tomato cages that might work for determinate varieties, but indeterminate tomatoes outgrow them in a few weeks. There are a few better support options including Texas tomato cages, stakes, and trellises. You can also use options like A-frame, vertical trellises, and cattle panels based on space and number of plants.

Removing suckers and ensuring good airflow will help the plant focus its energy on fruit production.

Harvesting Tomatoes

When tomatoes turn color and have a slight give when gently pressed, they are ready for harvesting. Continued harvesting (for indeterminate tomatoes) will encourage continuous production.

However, if there is pest pressure or an upcoming severe weather event, tomatoes can be harvested when mature but green. They can be ripened in a cardboard box, sunny windowsill or a heating mat.

Tomatoes have a relatively short shelf life once harvested, so it's best to enjoy them as soon as possible. They can last up to a week in the refrigerator with proper storage. To maximize flavor and texture, it's recommended to store them at room temperature. Surplus tomatoes can be canned, frozen, or made into sauces and preserves to enjoy throughout the year. Proper post-harvest handling and storage are crucial for maintaining the quality and extending the shelf life of your homegrown tomatoes.

The joy of growing tomatoes lies in the journey of discovery. Experiment with various cultivars, from classic slicing tomatoes to vibrant cherry varieties, to find the ones that thrive best in your unique growing conditions. Embrace the challenges, learn from your experiences, and share your successes with fellow gardeners. The bounty of homegrown tomatoes is a reward that transcends the effort, reminding us of the simple pleasures that come from nurturing life in our own backyard oasis.