To all my fellow “blue-thumb” gardeners who have taken the leap of faith and have decided to plant a garden this year—congratulations! You have now joined the legion of thousands of fellow backyard gardeners in western Pennsylvania.

Hopefully you’ve read my past features and, therefore, are not going to plant too many plants your first year. Try to avoid the temptation. I know the thought of making salsa, sauce, and having plenty of tomatoes to share with friends and family is tempting.

The goal for year one is a successful and stress-free garden. If you go too big it could be overwhelming, and that is what you want to try to avoid. Making the best of your time in the garden will make this a pleasant and enjoyable process that you’ll want to do year after year.

So now that you’ve done your homework, talked to your local farm markets, and decided on what to plant, the next step is proper execution. Hopefully you prepared your ground last fall, tilled your garden this year, fed your ground with nutrients, and nurtured your new plants as if they were young children. Taking proper care of the plants before they are in the ground is half the battle.

You can’t wait too long to select your tomato plants from your local farm market. If you do they will be picked over or simply sold out. Buy them early and take care of them until ready to plant. Do this while they are still in pots and then bring them outside during the sunny warm spring days. Then bring them back inside at night to protect them from the cold and possible frost.

The next step is the actual planting of the tomatoes. Start by planting them approximately two and a half feet apart. The plants won’t begin to set fruit until the overnight low is regularly above 55 degrees. Once again I suggest talking to your local farmers for advice in your area. Remember, frost will kill your plants. Once the plants are in the ground and you encounter an unusually cold night with a frost warning, you’ll need to cover your plants to protect them.

Many home gardeners will put stakes in the ground as soon as they plant. A stake can be a store-bought metal-coated one or simply a one-inch by two-inch piece of wood, approximately four feet tall. One stake between two plants will help you “tie” your plants as they start to get larger and need additional support from the weight of the fruit. Pound the stakes into the ground just far enough that they are firmly set.

Some use store-bought cages, but the best method I’ve found is buying wooden stakes and using a cloth material that will easily tear into long strips for your ties. Use a cloth that is similar to a thin one you’d use to clean a window. Cut the strips about an inch wide. Once you have a small cut in the cloth, they will tear very easily.

When you tie your plants, remember to be gentle around the stalks. Also remember to use a shoelace-style tie. This will help you retie the plants as they begin to grow and the ties get loose. Alternate the ties from one side of the plant to the other to make sure you have good support from both sides.

You need plenty of sun for your tomato plants to flourish. You’ll also need consistent watering to ensure best results. If you do not intend to water your garden daily, do not expect good result. Let me repeat that one more time: Water your plants daily! If you miss a day or two, it is not the end of the world; but if you go on vacation, make sure someone is watering your plants while you’re away.

Another item up for debate when it comes to tomato plants is how to let your plants grow. Some local experts insist on only allowing one stem to develop and pulling off suckers (the sprouts that form between branches and the main stem) when they first appear. Some gardeners remove all but two or three in an effort to grow only the largest and best fruit possible. Some also believe in eliminating fruit from the top of the vine, while leaving only older fruit at the bottom and only allowing one fruit per cluster. Others will tell you to just let the plants go, and you’ll harvest a lot of great tomatoes. Experiment and determine what you personally want to do. There is no 100% right or wrong way to grow your plants. One thing is for sure, though: you’ll have to be careful of tomatoes touching the ground. If they touch the ground without attention, it could ruin that fruit.

When to harvest is very important. Some home gardeners harvest too early in fear of deer or other vermin eating the ripened fruit. Try to hold out as long as you can. The more fully ripened the tomatoes the better the taste and size. Once you pick your tomatoes, try to store them in a dark, warm, dry place. Try to avoid refrigerating tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes begin losing flavor rather quickly once they are stored below 55 degrees.

You’ll also need to manage your harvest. If you start accumulating too many tomatoes, you’ll need to make sure you plan to make salsa or sauce. Cooked tomato sauce will freeze well, and the vinegar in your salsa will make it stay fresh in your refrigerator for a good week. Also, remember that your friends, family, and neighbors will gladly take a tomato or two if offered. Try not to waste any tomatoes; you’ve worked too hard to let even one of them go to waste!

I have a question for you: Have you ever tried the salsa recipe Designing HOME Lifestyles published many years ago? I’m going to ask our publisher to pull that recipe out of the archives for our next installment of the Blue Thumb Gardener. Many people have claimed that recipe is the best they have ever made—I have to agree. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

Here is some good advice: Consider adding a few additional plants to your tomato garden for use in salsa. Look into growing banana peppers, jalapenos, green peppers, and onions. Plant just a few plants of each and maybe a row of onions. That’s your homework until next time when you and your friendly Blue Thumb Gardener will be enjoying our homemade salsa from our very own gardens!