CLAYTON, CA (Apr. 28, 2025) — It’s tomato time.

Tomatoes are the single most planted food crop in Clayton Valley raised bed veggie gardens. Gardeners covet the tomato and base their entire veggie growing success on the production of this juicy, sweet fruit.

Many folks know which tomato selection they want. They have their tried-and-true tomatoes that yield yearly bounties, and they will only install those.

Meanwhile, those new to gardening are looking for answers. When advising folks on what types of tomatoes to install, we ask a lot of questions. Are you looking for heavy, fleshy varieties? Or are you interested in juicy varieties for sandwiches? Do you make sauces, or like to pick and eat straight from the plant? Do you like your tomatoes sweet, or do you like the acidic taste? What you want to do with your tomatoes helps determine which varieties to install.

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Tomato varieties for every taste

Champion tomatoes are an excellent choice for Clayton Valley growers who don’t have lots of room. Champions grow only 20-30 inches tall, and they produce 3-4 inch fruit after just 70 days. They are easy and fantastic.

San Marzano Roma style tomatoes are for those who love to make tomato sauces. They have meaty flesh, fewer seeds and thinner skin than other selections. They are pear-shaped and turn bright red when ripe. The plants grow 36 inches tall and wide, and fruit should begin to ripen after 75 days.

All Roma style tomatoes are susceptible to blossom end rot, so work agricultural lime or bonemeal into the soil prior to planting. Both will increase the calcium and magnesium in the soil, which will curb the blackening at the bottom of your tomatoes.

Celebrity is a bigger tomato, maturing to about 7 ounces per fruit. These are sweet, with an average amount of seeds and lots of juice. The Celebrity is good for the sandwich lover. Expect large yields from this plant. Ripening begins 70-95 days after flower has set.

Early Girl is the most popular tomato selection. It ripens early, is very tasty and successful to grow. Early Girl provides huge crops of 4-6-ounce tomatoes. It only takes 55-65 days after flower set to ripen, making them some of the earliest tomatoes you’ll enjoy.

For tomato lovers interested in heirloom varieties, Cherokee Purple has been rewarding and productive. The bi-color purplish red fruit is sweet and fleshy. Brandywine tomatoes are a good producer that ripen 90 days after flower.

Sun Gold is another sought after selection. The sweet flavor makes them desirable in salads and enjoyed right off the plant. Kentucky Beefsteak is an excellent, productive, large orange-colored tomato.

Best practices for planting

Plant tomatoes into well-amended, rich, replenished soil. When installing, remove many of the bottom leaves and plant 3-4 inches of the tomato stem below the soil line. Top-dress around new installs with a thin layer of earthworm castings.

Remove the blossoms on your new installs and remove the next set as well. You want your plants to focus on strong roots at first.

Once installed, work a granular, organic tomato/veggie fertilizer into the soil. Add a little dolomite lime to help prevent blossom end rot. Feed with a water-soluble fertilizer bi-weekly for growth. Use a product with a larger first number than the middle number, 15-6-3 for example.

When it’s time to allow the tomato to flower, change your fertilizing product to one that’s label has a larger second number than first, i.e. 3-20-20, or 2-10-10.

You can contact Nicole Hackett with ­questions or comments by email at gardengirl94517@yahoo.com.

Nicole Hackett

Garden Girl at R&M Pool, Patio, Gifts and Garden

Nicole is the Garden Girl at R&M Pool, Patio, Gifts and Garden. You can contact her with ­questions or comments by email at gardengirl94517@yahoo.com