Hi there garden friends.

I have had many questions regarding tomato plants and their needs. 

If you grow tomatoes in a planter box like me, then follow my special directions. 

After each season, replenish soil in planter box with organic compost containing shredded fir bark, bone, fish, alfalfa and kelp meal; bat guano and worm castings. Additionally, add either calcium carbonate or spent eggshells. This procedure should take place monthly. The Calcium will help the roots and fruit and help prevent brown rot. 

With all this added, turn soil weekly and keep moist. Just prior to planting, add Epsom salts to soil. The Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. It helps your tomato plants grow stronger and produce sweeter fruit. Apply Epsom salts to soil and around plants monthly. 

Mark Koehler

Mark Koehler of Los Banos is an arborist and master gardener, who has degrees in Landscape Architecture and Landscape Horticulture from UC Berkeley and Northeastern University.