The Better Boy may be a hybrid tomato that’s prized by home growers for its median maturity rate (70-75 days) and consistently excellent smooth-skinned fruits with a classic flavor. they’re extremely popular because of their resistance to Verticillium and wilt. they’re indeterminate and best-suited to cages or tepee-style staking.
BEST SOIL FOR GROWING BETTER BOY TOMATOES
Any good tomato-growing soil is great for Better Boys. an honest nutrient balance and slight acidity (pH of 6.5-7.0) is prime for these favorites. Although they’re immune to the more common wilting diseases, it’s still best to rotate Better Boy tomatoes as you’d the other quality crop.
PROPER CARE of higher BOY TOMATOES
Better Boy hybrids are one among the more care-free of the tomato crops home gardeners enjoy. Plants should be put within the ground (or raised bed) when all danger of frost is past. They require about 72 days in touch with ripe fruit, on average, so most areas will have many reasons for these love apples. Give many spaces for expansion – a minimum of 36 inches between plants. They grow large under good conditions.
Use stakes, hoops or other supports to carry them upright and pinch off early buds and shoots to encourage plant growth for max yield. Add a balanced (10-10-10) fertilizer or compost to the soil about halfway through the season. Water frequently, but don’t drown the plants. Water is particularly important once the fruit has appeared so as to maximize growth and avoid splitting and end rot.
WHEN to reap BETTER BOY TOMATOES
Harvest when the tomatoes are firm and round and full red color. this may begin to happen at about the 70-day mark under good growing conditions, a touch later if something has affected the plants. Most Better Boys are fully ripe by 80 days and nearly all yields are going to be complete by 90 days.
BETTER BOY TOMATO PESTS AND DISEASES
While Better Boys are generally disease resistant and can suffer little or no disease if properly rotated, they’re vulnerable to most predators. like other tomato varieties, encourage beneficial insects like ladybugs, dragonflies, and even birds.
Watering at ground level (drip or furrow) within the morning instead of the evening will avoid many other problems.
HOW TO PREPARE BETTER BOY TOMATOES
Better Boy yields are often used for almost anything tomatoes are favored for. they’re juicy, have few seeds, and if just ripe, they’re crisp also. Better Boys make great salad slices, sandwich tomatoes, sauces, salsas, stew additions, and more. Even green Better Boys are less bitter than most other varieties and bring good frying or pickling.
TIPS FOR GROWING BETTER BOY TOMATOES
The real secret to the present favored hybrid is to start out them from seed indoors and provides 6-8 weeks to realize size and stamina before transplanting. due to its size, Better Boy isn’t generally an honest container tomato, but it’s often a favorite porch-side and vegetable garden variety. they will be grown in large buckets (5 gallons) also.
Soil nutrition is vital to having great yields with these tomatoes. make certain the soil is prepared for the plants once you transplant and keep it nutritious by adding compost a minimum of once (preferably twice) during the season.
