How to Raise Tomatoes in Houston, Texas

Prepare to plant your tomato plants as early as you can in spring. The average date of Houston's last frost falls at the end of February. The earlier you plant your tomato plants, the more time you'll have to harvest their fruits. The plants probably will stop producing fruits by the beginning of July because then the nighttime temperatures and humidity become too high for pollination.

Plant large tomato plants 36 inches apart, and bury the bottom two-thirds of each plant underground. Each plant's stem portion in the soil will develop many roots and help strengthen the plant. Large plants are less affected than small plants by the cool weather Houston experiences in early spring, and they grow faster than small plants as the weather warms. The 3-foot spacing allows mature plants adequate air circulation, which is particularly important in the high humidity of a Houston summer. Disease is more likely to fester in heavy, humid air that doesn't circulate well.

Lay a 3-inch-deep layer of mulch on the soil around your tomato plants, but keep the mulch a few inches from the stems. Mulch moderates soil's temperature, conserves soil moisture and prevents weed growth. Mulch also keeps soil from splashing onto plant leaves when it rains; splashed soil can spread soil-borne diseases. Spring thunderstorms with rainfall are common in Houston.

Apply about 1 inch of water to the soil immediately after planting and mulching. Ensure the plants receive at least 1 inch of water every week. Consider placing an empty tin can near the plants to measure the amount of rainfall the plants receive per week so you know how much to irrigate them. Because Houston typically experiences a marked increase of rain in June, ensure you do not end up with waterlogged soil by irrigating too much.

Support each tomato plant by setting a wire cage around it. The wire cages need to have holes big enough for you to reach through and pick tomato fruits.

Fertilize each tomato plant with 2 to 3 tablespoons of a granular, 8-8-8 or a granular, 10-10-10 fertilizer when the plant sets fruit. Sprinkle the fertilizer around each plant 4 to 6 inches from the plant's stem, and work the sprinkled fertilizer into the top 1 to 3 inches of soil. If the fertilizer gets within 4 to 6 inches of a tomato plant's stem, it may burn the plant. Water the soil thoroughly with 1 inch of water immediately after the fertilizer application. Repeat the fertilizer application every month.