The Great Tomato Race

The first step in getting early tomatoes is to start with a variety bred to set fruit in less-than-ideal tomato conditions.

The vegetable gardener's Holy Grail seems to be the tomato. And we're talking real garden tomatoes, not minuscule cherries or container tomatoes babied through the winter under glass on a diet of secret formulas.

Start with a variety bred to set fruit in less-than-ideal tomato conditions, like a cruel, wet, cold spring. 'Early Girl' is a perennial favorite, and I've known 'Fourth of July' to be true to its name. 'Stupice' is a tasty, irregular-shaped heirloom that is one of my favorites. 'Oregon Spring' and 'Sub Arctic Maxi' are also good choices. There also are quite a few plants bred in Russia that set early; 'Siberian,' 'Grushovka' and 'Moskvich' all claim to provide tomatoes in a little more than 60 days.

Now that you've got the right variety, here are a few more tips:

• Tomatoes like it hot. Some gardeners warm the soil by covering their beds with black plastic, while others use a Wall-O-Water, a clear plastic mini-greenhouse filled with water. It's as wide as a five-gallon bucket and surrounds the plant. Place the Wall-O-Water where you will plant two weeks before the last frost date and the soil should be nice and toasty by planting time. Leave the Wall-O-Water in place until nighttime temperatures stay above 50 degrees.

• Wait to plant. I know people who plant their tomatoes in April and cover them every other night. I was taught to wait until Memorial Day. Last year, we had a late frost and some gardeners had to replant. A tomato planted when it's too cold will just sit there and wait for the proper temperatures.

• Plant in the sunniest location. Tomatoes love full sun and will produce faster and be more prolific in those conditions.

• Soil is everything. The dirt should be dark and crumbly. If it's not, improve it, adding mushroom manure, compost, dehydrated manure--any broken-down organic matter. Don't ever add fresh animal manure. It must compost for a few months before being added to the soil.

• Bury the plant. I love to plant my tomatoes horizontally. Dig a shallow trench and strip off the bottom leaves. Put the plant on its side and cover the stem all the way up to the top leaves. The stem will sprout roots, and they will be close to the warm sun, water and nutrients. Try it with a few plants. It works.

• Start with older plants. OK, it's probably not fair, but it works. Most nurseries sell big plants full of blossoms. Shed your guilt and buy one or two. Last year, I bought an $8 plant. I was eating tomatoes in June, yes June! You can imagine the smug look on my face when I told everyone and anyone who would listen that I was already picking tomatoes. It's not right, but it felt good.

If you're new to tomato gardening or just looking for a few new tricks, highly recommend the little book You Bet Your Tomatoes by Mike McGrath. The former editor of Organic Gardening magazine explains everything you would ever need to know about growing great tomatoes. I read my copy in a little over an hour sitting in a hospital waiting room.

As a confirmed tomato junkie, I thought I had heard just about every tip out there. McGrath added a few great ones to the list, written in a style that makes you feel as if you're talking to another gardener over the garden fence. It's a fun read, an indispensable resource for tomato growers and, for $12.95, a bargain, too.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)