Tomato Patch Advice

Tammy Algood shares her tried and true methods for getting a good harvest of tomatoes year after year. It includes using red plastic film on the soil, and concrete reinforcing wire for caging. She also shares varieties that work well in her garden.

Gardener Extras

'Plastic Film': studies by Penn State University show tomato yields 20% higher with red plastic than with black. Eggplant have also shown increased yields when grown on red plastic.
Tammy's recommended varieties: Celebrity, Mountain Pride, Mountain Fresh, and Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes. Mountain Fresh performs well in climates of wet and humid summers.

Tammy Algood

Tammy Algood — Tammy has loved to garden and cook her whole life. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with her Grandmother who gardened and cooked, so she learned at her knee. Tammy is a marketing specialist with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. She has written numerous cookbooks, including Farm Fresh Southern Cooking and The Southern Slow Cooker Bible. “Being a host on Volunteer Gardener allows me to meld both of my passions into one activity…cooking from my garden.”