Growing Perfect Tomatoes

Tomato sizes range from grape and cherry to truly giant. Literally hundreds of varieties are available through seed catalogs and nurseries

'Early Cascade' bears ripe fruit just 55 days after transplanting. Here, a single stake supports the tall vine, which is attached loosely with twine.

There are many types of tomato supports, including homemade bamboo tepees (above), stakes with string guides (below left) and space-saving tomato spirals (below right), which cost about $4.50 each

Healthy homegrown seedlings with deep roots, bushy tops and no flowers or fruit are ready to plant. Plant tomato seedlings deep with soil up to the first set of leaves, as indicated here by the cultivator.

BLOSSOM-END ROT results from wide fluctuations in soil moisture and calcium deficiency in the plant.

Minimize growth cracks by planting resistant varieties, and keep soil moisture uniform as fruits develop.

A doomed tomato hornworm carries white cocoons of braconid wasps that will parasitize and ultimately kill it.