Tomatoes are queens of the garden.
We LOVE helping people grow tomatoes. Tomatoes are the most popular backyard crop and they get many people into gardening for the first time. Idaho's Treasure Valley soils are perfect for growing productive, healthy, and delicious tomatoes. Zamzows has developed and carries many products that will help you grow amazing tomatoes yourself!
Healthy Tomatoes Need Healthy Food!
Zamzows has three products specifically formulated for our Treasure Valley soils to grow healthy tomato plants loaded with tasty fruit packed with nutrients. Using these three products during the growing season will give you better-tasting tomatoes that are more nutritious than store-bought tomatoes without chemicals!
Tomato Boom
Several years ago Jim Zamzow set out to grow a giant tomato plant. That tomato ended up growing almost 25 feet! To reach these record breaking heights with 100's of pounds of tomatoes, Jim devised a collection of amendments and nutrients. He then turned those ingredients into Tomato Boom. This secret formula provides your tomatoes with everything your tomato needs to grow delicious, healthy tomatoes from planting day until harvest.
Directions: Add one cup of Tomato Boom to the hole when planting. Side dress with one half cup every three weeks. Feeds up to six tomato plants.
Super Tip: When planting dig several small holes in a circle two to three feet away, around your tomato. Bury half a cup of Tomato boom in each hole and cover with soil. As your tomatoes roots spread out they will eventually find these pockets of tomato boom, giving them a late season boost!
Jim Zamzow's - Sweet Friday The Sweet 100 Tomato
Sweet Friday 5/13/2022
Friday, the Sweet 100 tomato, was planted Friday, May 13th 2022. Jim used 1 cup of Dr. JimZ Tomato Boom, then watered Friday in with 1 TBS of Chicken Soup for the Soil in a gallon of water.
Over 9 Feet! 8/11/22
With a cool wet spring Friday was a little slow to get going. But once the temperatures rose she took off! She reached almost 10 feet in August. With loads of fruit she was growing an inch a day!
12 Feet Tall! 11/1/22
By the time fall hit Friday had reached over 12 feet and had produced over 130 pounds of delicious sweet 100 tomatoes! Using no chemical fertilizers or pest controls.
Zamzows Thrive
Our original flagship fertilizer. Zamzows Thrive has been a staple for countless gardeners in the Treasure Valley for almost 30 years! Jim Zamzow spent years perfecting this unique fertilizer specifically formulated to provide plants with every nutrient they need to grow with optimal performance. Thrive isn't just a fertilizer, it also activates the beneficial microfauna in our soil. These beneficial fungi, bacteria, and insects, help to aerate our soil, break down compounds, improve our soil for all plants!
Directions: Mix 1/2 cup of Zamzows Thrive with one gallon of water. Water in your tomatoes after planting with approximately 1/4 gallon of the mixture. Use the same mixture every two to three weeks while tomatoes are establishing in spring.
Tomato Growing Reminder: It's very common for your tomatoes to start very slow in spring. After planting, your tomatoes will be shocked and need time to recover. The first three to six weeks of growth will be below ground as they establish a healthy root system.
Zamzows Thrive Testimonials
Tomato Planting Tip
Tomato plants have a unique ability to root from almost any point along their stems and branches. We can use this to our advantage when planting to encourage a deeper, more robust root system, giving our plants greater ability to grow larger and produce more! Watch the video to see how it's done.
Dr. JimZ Chicken Soup
Chicken Soup for the Soil® is the culmination of 60+ years of hands-on experience in agriculture. This product contains natural ingredients that we have found will cultivate the soil ecosystem and allow our plants to maximize their genetic potential. The broad range of ingredients was scientifically selected in relationship to each other so your plants can reap the benefits. Any plant will grow, bloom, and fruit to its highest potential if, and only if, it has everything it needs to do so. Try some Chicken Soup for the Soil® today to see the amazing version your plants can make of themselves!
Directions: For fruit trees, use one cup of Chicken Soup per inch of trunk diameter per gallon of water. Apply in the drip zone 2 times per year, approximately six months apart. For garden crops, mix one ounce of Chicken Soup into one gallon of water. Apply every two to three weeks during the season.
COMPOST TEA FOLIAR FORMULA: First, ferment the Chicken Soup® Compost Tea, then mix the compost tea solution with an additional 10 parts water. This will cool the Chicken Soup® down enough to be safely applied as an amazing foliar spray. Using Chicken Soup® Compost Tea as a foliar spray gives the plant a nice bump of nutrition and creates biological exclusion on the leaf. Bugs and diseases do not like the microbes or the microbe waste that you are spraying on the leaf. Learn how to ferment your Chicken Soup into a compost tea by reading our article here.
Popular Tomato Varieties for Beginners
"Sweet 100"
The Sweet 100 is a small tomato packed with huge flavor! This indeterminate variety will produce hundreds of bright red cherry-sized tomatoes, perfect for a salad topper or a fresh-of-the-vine snack. Use a tomato cage as they like to spread out. Don't be afraid to prune this variety back if it gets overgrown. The Sweet 100 is the perfect variety for beginners because they are hardy and forgiving.
"Celebrity"
The Celebrity tomato is a versatile variety that is perfect for beginners. They are disease resistant, produce all season long, and don't overgrow your pots or garden. The medium-sized, consistently round fruit makes them great for slicing. So add them to your sandwich, or make a fresh Caprese salad!
"Roma"
If you want to make your own tomato sauce or love homemade salsa, you'll want to grow a Roma tomato. Roma is a determinate variety. So you can grow them almost anywhere, even in your patio pots. These versatile tomatoes are very fleshy with low moisture content. Roma's are hardy and disease resistant, making them a staple in many gardens.
More Tomato Reading
Zamzows Compost tea
There comes a time in every gardening season when all the plants are planted. All the vegetables tended. This time of year comes so much faster than we ever realize. For organic and natural gardeners the options for getting plants to put out that little extra is very limited. What if I could show you a way to feed your plants naturally and you would see miracle-like results?
Zamzows Tips For Growing Tomatoes
When it comes to the home garden. People that don’t “Garden” still like to grow a tomato or two. Over the years, we have compiled some great advice to help everyone be successful.
Taking Care of Your Tomatoes When It's Hot.
The heat can make things difficult for our tomatoes. While the do like warm temperatures, there comes a point where they just can't take it any more. This article will tell you how to prepare your precious tomatoes for the summer heat, so they stay healthy and productive.
