April 10th is the official last frost date in Oklahoma so you’ll want to plant your warm weather crops in mid-April. Everyone is familiar with tomatoes, but tomatillos are a fruit that isn’t as sweet but makes a great addition to salsa. I recommend growing both!
There are two types of tomato plants, determinate and indeterminate. Determinate plants grow to a certain size, put out fruit, and then stop producing. Indeterminate plants keep growing as large as they can and keep producing for as long as they can. Be ware that if your soil is good indeterminates can grow to be humongous! Don’t rely on the tiny tomato cages you buy at the store to hold these up. Check what type of tomatoes you have before you plant them.
How to Make a Tomato Cage
Get some sturdy wire fencing and make large, tall tube. Push one or more long stakes into the ground and anchor the fencing to the stakes. Space the plants 4 feet apart. I’ve seen people use thick lumber for a stake and make their cage 10 or even 20 feet high. If your soil is good enough, one plant will grow that big!
How to Transplant Tomatoes
Dig a hole deep enough to fit the pot your plant is in. Gently turn the plant over in your hand, putting the step between your fingers for support. Squeeze or tap the bottom of the pot to loosen the soil. When the pot comes off, turn the plant over in your other hand and gently place it into the hole. Fill around the plant with soil. Pull some mulch around the plant. Place the tomato cage around the plant.
If you’re using a stake to hold up the plant, put the stake in the ground before you dig your hole so you don’t accidentally hurt the plants roots putting in the stake. When the plant gets several feet tall, use a piece of string to tie the stem to the stake. Keep tying the top of the stem to the stake every few feet as it grows.
How to plant Tomatillos
You put tomatillos in the ground the same as tomatoes. The plants don’t get as big, but they could still use a stake or cage so they don’t sprawl on the ground.
Growing Harvesting Tomatoes and Tomatillos
These plants need a lot of water and a lot of nitrogen. Use lots of compost, keep the soil moist, and feed with organic liquid fertilizer regularly if you have it.
It’s pretty easy to know when a tomato is ripe, it turns red! Cut the stem just above the fruit with a clean pair of scissors. Gently place them into a breathable container and don’t pile them too high or the ones on the bottom will get squished.
Tomatillos form a papery shell and then the fruit grows in the center. Gently squeeze the shell to see how big the fruit is inside. When the fruit is filling up the shell almost all the way, pick one and taste it to see if it’s ripe. It should be crisp, juicy, and slightly sweet, not bitter. You have to give each one a squeeze test to know if it’s ready. Cut the fruit off like the tomatoes. Leave the papery shell on to protect them during shipping and storage.
