This is our third year with an garden and our tomatoes -- no matter which variety -- are consistently mushy. The flavor matches grocery tomatoes. We live in the Phila. area. Help!

Tomatoes have a very delicate root system, which can be damaged by hoeing. And they need to be supplied with a sufficient amount of water during their growing season. When the plants have been in the ground for a month, mulch them with a 6 inch layer of grass clippings, and do not hoe the rest of the summer.Pinch out any suckers,(the little new leaves between the crotches of the limbs), these will not produce any fruit, and will sap your plant of valuable energy that should go into the tomatoes, Water at least a couple times a week with a soaker hose. I spray them about every 2 to 3 weeks with SoapShield for bacterial wilt and other bacterial diseases. And Pyola, if I see any bugs. They are both organic materials, made from plants. They are available from Gardens Alive.com. This website is indispensible as a help in gardening. Good Luck, Hopefully the info is helpful.

Don't forget to use plenty of compost to build up the soil base under the tomatoes (about 12" deep of stuff). Use a good dry organic mulch like hay or dry leaves to keep off plant diseases and "moisture, fungus problems" on the plant stems. Also don't forget to use good organic foliar sprays like compost tea, fish emulsion, and seaweed fertilizers. They will give your plants an extra quick shot of benefical trace minerals that may not be in your soil as well as add organic matter to the soil.