Better Boy Tomato: Easy Guide How to Grow Them

When it comes to gardening, finding out basic information about the plants you are going to cultivate is necessarily important. For this reason, we come with the Better Boy Tomato review to provide you with the complete information about how to grow the plant and other related information which will contribute to help you start the plantation, caring and finally harvesting. 

In this article, you will be directed to check out the review including the sections about general information about the better boy tomato, the detail of the plants, how to take care of it, toxicity, pruning, propagating, how to grow it from seeds and overwintering. 

So here are the detailed information about Better Boy Tomato you need importantly to know especially if you want to grow it in your garden. 

Better Boy Tomato in General 

Do you know that Better Boy Tomato is one of the most well-known hybrid of indeterminate tomato varieties? This kind of tomato can grow well in most areas in the country.

Better Boy Tomato has some characteristics such as juicy, crisp and exploding with the taste of classic tomato. For any recipes, this tomato is considered perfect to pick up. 

Better Boy Tomato has generally a large size which is one pound fruit midseason. It ripe in about 70 to 75 days after being planted.

This tomato proves to be resistant to fusarium wilt, virticillium wilt and other disease. It has dense foliage that provides the fruit with the protection from the high sun exposure, preventing the sunscald. 

Better Boy Tomato is a kind of tomato that grows largely, making it not suitable to be planted in pots or containers. Further, it requires staking and caging to keep it upright. 

Better Boy Tomato Plants in Detail 

In detail, Better Boy Tomato has botanical name which is Solanum Iycopersicum while the common name is Better Boy Tomato. This kind of tomato is a type of annual vegetable.

When they reach their maturity, they will 5-8 ft. tall and about 2-3 ft. wide. 

Planting these plants need a full sun exposure. So let them receive the sunlight for 6 to 8 or more hours per day. Plant them in loamy, moist and well-drained soil to support them to grow well.

Make sure the soil pH is 6.5 to 6.8 which means that the soil is slightly acidic. 

Better Boy Tomato plants will arrive at their bloom time in the summer and fall.

One of their characteristics as a big tomato is the yellow color of the flower. This type of tomato is native to North America. 

Well, one thing to remember; Better Boy Tomato is toxic to pets. If you are leaving with dogs, cats and horses, make sure you keep them away from your plants.

If your pets are unintentionally touch or eat the foliage of the plants, recognize the symptoms that we are going to discuss in the next session. 

Better Boy Tomato Care 

As an indeterminate hybrid, Better Boy Tomato is popular for its ease of care. This means that it is easy to plant and care for it.

Further, its big size and delicious taste makes it more popular among the people who like consuming tomatoes.

Planting this kind of tomato usually requires 36 inches space apart to ensure that each of the tomato plants has enough space to grow.

This way, there will be no overcrowding so that they can avoid the disease from the lack of airflow. 

Start planting the Better Boy Tomato by trimming off the bottom two sets of leaves. Then, dig a deep hole for burying the plant down to its first set of leaves.

This way, the plants will be able to produce roots along their stems, therefore, it is much recommended to plant them deeply to create a strong root system. In the end, the tomatoes will grow as the sturdy plants. 

Due to the fact that Better Boy Tomato grows so large, staking and caging, it would be essential to provide support by adding a layer of mulch around the base of the tomatoes plants.

This will noticeably help retain the soil moisture. 

What a great luck! These tomatoes are resistant to disease, making it less difficult to fight against the most common disease. However, if you have these plants in your garden, be aware of the pests that might attack them.

To reduce the building up soil-borne pests and disease, it is recommended to do rotating crops. Rotating crops will also increase the soil health as well as keep the soil nutrients in balance. 

What To Consider in Taking Care of Better Boy Tomato

There are several things to consider in taking care of Better Boy Tomato plants in your garden. Those include the light, soil, water temperature and humidity as well as the fertilizer. Have a look at each of the detailed explanation below: 

1. Light 

If you are planting Better Boy Tomatoes in full sun which means they will receive the sunshine at least for 6 to 8 hours each day, the fruits produced will be so abundant.

Thus, enough light of sunshine is the first important factor to grow these plants and harvest more fruits from them. 

2. Soil 

Soil is the second thing to consider when you are growing Better Boy Tomatoes. In fact, these plants are able to adapt to soil which is suitable for most of the tomato varieties.

However, they prefer acidic and nutrient-rich soil along with the organic matter that would yield the healthiest tomato plants. In this case, Soil pH should be in the range of 6.5 to 6.8. 

3. Water 

Water is the next essential factor to support the growth of the plants. It will help keep the soil consistently moist so that the plants can avoid the fruit split or blossom end rot.

If the plants experience fruit split, the yields of Better Boy Tomatoes will be ruined. 

When you are watering these tomato plants, focus on watering the base of the plants. Avoid making the foliage wet and don’t splash the soil up onto the leaves.

This will help you prevent the fungal problems or other soil-borne diseases. 

4. Temperature and Humidity 

Temperature and humidity are also listed as the things to consider when planting and taking care of Better Boy Tomato. That is because the plants will actually perform well in warm weather.

They like moderate humidity. Keep in mind that the high humidity will just lead to moisture related diseases. 

As frost can easily kill tomato plants, make sure that you keep your plants from the cold temperature.

If the temperature comes a frost or freezing, you must provide them with a sheet as covering. 

5. Fertilizer 

Now is fertilizer. For all plants on the globe, fertilizer is important to help the plants grow well. In this case, compost is considered as natural way to enrich the soil and provide additional nutrients to the plants.

So you can mix the compost with the soil before you start planting and before the plants start producing fruits.

The well-balanced fertilizer is usually designed for veggies plants like tomatoes. Thus, you can use it to make your plants grow healthy in your garden. 

Are Better Boy Tomatoes Toxic? 

Although tomatoes are kinds of mouthwatering fruits, their foliage is not edible and even becoming toxic if it is ingested in a large quantities.

According to ASCPA, the plants’ foliage is already toxic to pets like dogs, cats and horses. However, the fruits are not. 

So it is highly important to recognize the symptoms of poisoning because of tomato toxic. In this case, there are some symptoms of toxicity from ingesting the Better Boy Tomato plants foliage.

Those are the salivation, loss of appetite, weakness, severe gastrointestinal upset, depression, slow heart rate and even dilated pupil. 

Be careful of this toxicity and do some prevention. 

Pruning Better Boy Tomatoes 

For healthy and productive Better Boy Tomato plants, proper pruning is highly recommended. In this case, start pruning by trimming the lower leaves some inches from the ground to prevent the leaves or fruits from touching the ground especially the soil.

Pruning will also help prevent rot and allow for a better airflow. 

Direct the plants’ energy into its main stems and remove the suckers. Trim off the early buds to support the strong growth and plentiful fruit production.

When it comes to end the summer, trim off the tip of the tomato plants to divert the energy into the last remaining fruits. 

Propagating Better Boy Tomatoes 

Propagating Better Boy Tomatoes plants includes the use of some simple tools and a bit of your patience. Here they are: 

• Sharp and clean garden scissors or snips are effective to use to remove the suckers from better Boy Tomato plants. 
• Remove the lower leaves out of the cutting. 
• Position the cut end in a jar of water or a small starter pot filled with the nutrient-rich potting soil. Water them once you finished placing them in the soil. 
• Locate the cutting in a location that has a bright but indirect light to set a time to root. Don’t forget to adjust the sun exposure. 
• When the cutting has developed roots, expose it to receive the amounts of sunlight. Later, transplant the cutting into the ground. 

Growing Better Boy Tomatoes from Seeds

Is it possible to grow Better Boy Tomato plants from seeds? Why not? A number of gardeners prefer starting their tomatoes plants from seeds. Here what to do: 

• Start seeds indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost. Cover the seeds lightly with soil and keep the soil moist and warm as well. 
• Once you see the seedlings, move the seed starting tray or pot into a location where they can receive more sunlight. It would be very ideal to locate them in a bright windowsill. If this step is impossible, you can also use the grow lights. 
• Just after the last frost, you can start hardening off the tomatoes plants. You can generally do this for at least 7 days before moving them to be planted in your garden. 
• Select an area with rich and fertile soil in full of sunlight to allow you to plant the hardened seedlings. 

Well, growing Better Boy Tomato from seeds is actually easy, isn’t it? This method is mostly applied by most of the gardeners due to its simplicity. So if you want to grow these plants easy and simply, use seeds. 

Overwintering Better Boy Tomato Plants

It is widely known that growing tomatoes as perennials in warm climates is always possible. However, this kind of plants is also annuals in most areas of the country.

Now if you are planning to overwinter a Better Boy Tomato, these options can be the best trial: 

• Use a large bucket to grow the plants and move it indoors when the temperatures drop below the freezing. 
• Do overwinter sucker propagations. How can you do that? Start by planting the plant suckers in a large pot filled with the good quality of potting soil and keep them in a warm location. Make sure the location has enough moisture and sunlight. 

In overwintering Better Boy Tomato plants, one thing to keep in mind is that the plant may not produce fruits abundantly in its second year.

If you want to have the best results, it is recommended that you grow the plants annually. 

Conclusion 

Overall, Better Boy Tomato which is also known as a big boy tomato can be easily grown in most areas of the country. There are two methods in growing it; propagating and seeds.

Though growing these plants are mostly done in warm weather, it is also possible to overwinter them. 

Taking care of Better Boy Tomato plants is simply enough. Light, soil, water, humidity, temperature and fertilizer are all the factors that must be provided to support the healthy growth of the plants. 

Well, if you find this article beneficial, don’t hesitate to share with your family and friends.