The journal

Growing notes

Practical guides to choosing and growing tomatoes, with the facts traced to extension sources.

• Common Tomato Problems, and the Varieties That Dodge ThemLate blight, cracking, and blossom-end rot ruin more tomatoes than anything else. Here is what causes each and which varieties resist them.
• Growing Tomatoes in ContainersYou do not need a garden bed. Here is how to pick the pot, the variety, and the routine for a productive container tomato.
• What "Days to Maturity" Really MeansThe days-to-maturity number on a tomato is more slippery than it looks. Here is what it counts, what it does not, and how to use it.
• Open-Pollinated Alternatives to Your Favorite HybridsLove a hybrid but want to save seed? Here are open-pollinated and heirloom tomatoes that scratch the same itch, hybrid by hybrid.
• Starting Tomatoes From Seed in a Cold ClimateWhen to start tomato seeds indoors, how to harden them off, and when it is actually safe to plant out in a short, cool season like New England's.