Growing Heirloom Tomatoes

If you grow Cherokee Purple tomatoes or any other variety of heirloom, there is one important thing you always need to do. Heirloom tomatoes need extra calcium to set fruit. Use pelletized lime to provide the extra calcium. When you dig the hole for your plant, put at least a cup of pelletized lime in the hole and cover it with 1-2 inches of soil. Put in the plant and you are done. The plant roots will grow down to the lime and use it all season. If you are not getting a lot of fruit you probably missed this step.

Heirloom tomatoes also need less water than hybrids so don't soak the soil. When the top 2 inches of soil dry out, it is time to water. They also need little if any extra fertilizer. Heirlooms also do better if you don't grow them in the same place each year. Rotate your plants each year to keep disease and nematodes from a bad season from hurting your tomatoes the next year.

Good luck with your crop. :cheers: