Ideally you should start caring for your tomatoes early in the season, if you prefer organic methods you should be thinking of getting some companion plants in around your tomatoes that will deter common pests such as greenfly and aphids. Garlic is a good choice for this, or if you prefer flowers then lavender is also a good deterrent. Other choices are herbs such as sage or thyme.

Another organic approach is to encourage predators of the pests, the best known is of course the ladybug or ladybird as it is known in the UK. They are attracted by plants that produce lots of nectar; we have buddleia in our garden because it is really easy to grow and produces lots of flowers.

For treating an infestation of tomato pests, you can try a simple soap and water mix and I have read recently that adding a splash of vinegar will make this even more effective.

Disease Control for Tomatoes

The main source of disease for tomatoes comes from the soil, so keeping lower trusses clear of the ground through pruning will help avoid contact with the ground. Mulching around the bottom of the plant is also a good way of preventing contact with the soil.

Other than that you should have planted your tomatoes at least 18″ apart for good air circulation and when you water don’t pour the water all over the plant, introduce the water to the base of the plant. This will help prevent the build up of moisture on the leaves which can cause mildew or bacterial infection.

Don’t let the weeds around your tomato plants get a good hold, catch them early and clear them away. They will only compete with your plants for nutrients and may transfer problems to your plants if they are allowed to come into contact.

Caring for tomatoes is very often just using common sense and keeping an eye out for problems. If you do find any diseased plants you may be able to cut out the diseased portions for disposal if you catch it early enough. Failing that you may have to remove the whole plant to protect the rest of the crop. Always remember to bag and bin diseased plants as well so that you don’t contaminate compost or reintroduce the problem some other way.

Visit tomato pests and problems for a fuller overview of taking care of tomatoes.

• erratic watering
• erratic temperatures

These 2 causes are often responsible for a whole range of problems with tomatoes: -

• Flower shedding
• Blossom end rot
• Immature fruit fall
• Split skins
• Sun scald
• Blotchy ripening
• Tomatoes not ripening

Of course temperature extremes is the most difficult of the 2 causes to manage as you are very much at the mercy of mother nature and what she throws at you, certainly where we are in the South of France, it is not unusual to see temperatures of up to 100F during the summer on occasion which will actually halt the ripening process.

If you have a greenhouse then you do have options for whitening the glass or opening doors and windows when the temperature is very warm, there are automatic window openers available that operate on a temperature basis to make this easier to manage, other than that you just have to do things manually.

Ideally you want to keep your temperatures constant and somewhere between 65F and 70F, the minimum temperature you can live with is about 55F and the maximum is around 90F. Out of doors this will be very difficult to control, so for cooler climates you may need a greenhouse and for warmer climates you can try temporary shading at the hottest part of the day or you can perhaps position them so that they don’t get full sun at the hottest part of the day, a little tricky because you still need sufficient sun to ripen the tomatoes i.e. at least 6 hours.

Watering is to a lesser extent affected by the weather but you do need to monitor whether there has been a lot of rain and whether you actually need to water that day, if the soil is moist and not dried out then you can probably  miss a watering session. It’s been said before but it is a fact that watering of tomatoes is extremely important they neither like to be dry or saturated and if you struggle to keep on top of your watering program then you may need to consider an automatic watering system.

* Top tip – extremes of moisture and temperature are compounded by the use of containers that are too small, the minimum size pot that should be used is 12″ diameter. The extra mass of compost slows the rate of temperature change and is less susceptible to drying out quickly.