How to Plant and Care for Tomato Plants in Hot and Dry Climates

Test the soil pH in a well-draining area that receives at least six hours of sun each day, six months to one year before planting the tomatoes. An east-facing side of the house is ideal for hot, dry climates for the shade it provides during the hottest part of the day.

Distribute ground agricultural limestone or elemental sulfur over the planting area using a broadcast spreader to modify the soil pH to between 6.0 and 6.8, if needed. Amend the soil with 3 to 4 pounds of ground agricultural limestone per 100 square feet to increase the pH of sandy soil by 1 point; use 7 to 8 pounds of ground agricultural limestone per 100 square feet to raise the pH of loamy soil by 1 point; use 8 to 10 pounds of ground agricultural limestone to increase the pH of heavy clay soil by 1 point.

Distribute 1 pound of elemental sulfur per 100 square feet to lower the pH of sandy soil by 1 point; use 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of elemental sulfur per 100 square feet to lower the pH of loamy soil by 1 pH point; use 2 pounds of elemental sulfur to decrease the pH of heavy clay soil by 1 point.

Work the limestone or sulfur 4 to 6 inches deep into the soil, using a spade fork or rototiller.

Spread 50 pounds of compost over every 100 square feet of soil about three months before planting the tomatoes. Work the compost into the soil 2 feet deep, using a spading fork. Water the planting area to a depth of 12 inches every two weeks until you plant the tomatoes.

Pour 1 gallon each of sterilized coarse river sand, vermiculite and sphagnum peat moss in a bushel basket to make the seed-starting mix about eight weeks before the last projected frost date for your area.

Moisten the ingredients with just enough water to allow mixing and mix them by hand until well combined. Fill a 6-inch peat pot with the seed-starting mix, until it reaches 3/4 inch from the top. Prepare one pot for each tomato plant you want to grow and use a pot with a drainage hole.

Press your finger in the seed-starting medium 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep and place three seeds in each hole. Scrape just enough seed-starting medium over the seeds to cover them and add water until it drains from the pots.

Place the peat pots on an unshaded windowsill that gets at least six hours of sun each day. Mist the growing medium three or four times each day to keep it moist.

Rotate the pots 180 degrees every other day to distribute the sunlight evenly. Thin the seedlings by pulling the two weakest ones from the growing medium after they develop their first set of true leaves, leaving only the healthiest one for transplanting.

Water the seedlings once a week until water drains from the pots after you thin them. Mix together 1 teaspoon of a soluble, slow-release, balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, with 1/2 gallon of water after the seedlings reach 2 inches tall, about two weeks after germination. Add the fertilizer to your watering can when you water the plants each week.

Place the plants outside in an area shielded from the elements for about one week to harden them off after the soil reaches 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dig one hole for each plant equal in size to the peat pot after they harden off, using a garden trowel for the task. Space the plants 2 feet apart in rows spaced 4 to 6 feet apart. Place the peat pots in the holes and cover the with about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of surrounding soil.

Mulch around the tomato plants with 2 inches of shredded bark, shredded leaves or wood chips, keeping it 1 or 2 inches away from the stems.

Water the plants once a week to a depth of 2 or 3 feet until the temperature reaches 80 degrees Fahrenheit regularly. Continue fertilizing with the same amount of diluted fertilizer, but only once every two or three weeks until the plants flower and fruits start to form. Water the plants two or three times a week to a depth of 1 or 2 feet during the hottest weeks of summer.

Grasp the plant stems after the flowers bloom and jostle them gently to help pollination. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of soluble, 45-0-0, urea nitrogen fertilizer in a 6-foot-diameter circle around each plant after the first fruits form and water it in 1 inch deep.

Insert a cylindrical, 18- to 24-inch-diamter, 3- to 5-foot-tall, wire tomato cage 6 inches deep in the soil around each plant. Wrap a piece of spun-bonded, polypropylene, 40 or 60 percent shade cloth around the cage and secure it with clothespins to the cage or staple the ends of it together to secure it.

Check the plants regularly for curly top disease, which causes the veins on the underside of the leaves to turn purple, the leaves to curl severely and the foliage to develop a yellow tinge. Remove and discard plants that have curly top.

Check the blossom ends of the tomatoes for blistered, dark, sunken, leathery areas, signs of blossom-end rot. Mulching and keeping the plants well watered prevents blossom-end rot.

Check for dropping blossoms when the weather heats up, an indication of blossom drop disorder. Blossom drop results from over-fertilizing and poor watering. Cut back on the fertilizer by one-half and spray the blossoms twice during the hottest parts of the day with high-pressure water from a hose if your plants have blossom drop.