Tomato Growing in Austin and Central Texas.
March is a busy month in the garden in central Texas. There is much to do including getting ready for the warm weather crops. Mid March marks the end of the frosty nights in Austin and most of central Texas, so it is important to be ready for the late March tomato planting run.
Soil prep for Tomatoes.
1. Dig in some coffee grounds. Lots of coffee grounds: they improve soil texture, provide some nitrogen, earthworms love them and they acidify the soil a bit.
2. Dress the bed with manure or aged compost. Rebuilding and improving the soil is an annual event.
3. Warm the soil before planting with dark plastic. This will hold back weeds and bring up the soil temperature a bit.
Spacing.
1. Your tomatoes will grown like they are on steroids in Austin. I would recommend 30" to 42" spacing. Be prepared to cage your tomatoes as well. I have tried bamboo stakes and they are just too small. Your tomato cages should be 4 to 5 feet tall.
Fertilizing.
1. I like to use a liquid fertilizer higher in Nitrogen for the first couple of weeks. Fish emulsion is just right for this purpose.
2. You can dress the soil with home made compost or aged steer manure. This will improve the soil texture and add more nutrients.
3. I then dress each plant with a good, balanced, organic fertilizer.
Tomatoes are very prolific in Austin and last year I harvested well over 120 pounds of Tomatoes from my garden beds.....and nothing is better than a vine ripened tomato straight from the garden.
You will notice pole beans adjacent to the tomatoes: pole beans create nitrogen which enhances the tomatoes efforts.
The tomato patch in late April. I tried out 21 types....my favorites were among the cherry tomato group.