Question
Hello,
This is my first year growing tomato plants solo.
I've heard different ways for watering them.
With this heat wave would just twice a week be enough if you soak them?
Also the eggshell advice is good, but I have racoons and skunks that frequently visit and am afraid they would dig in to the plants and eat everything before the nutrients got in.
Aside from the epsom salt is there anything else I can do to  help my babies.
I have 2 tomatoes developing and would like to see them grow to their fullest extent.
Thanks
Carissa

Answer
Carissa, a deep soaking 2-3 times per week is preferable to watering every day. Doing so forces the roots to reach deep into the soil rather than reaching for the surface.

Other than the epsom salts, mulch around the plants with compost or peat moss. Also, you can spray the plants with a tea manure or fish emulsion as an organic alternative to synthetic fertilizers. If this is not practical, there are several fertilizers on the market that are made specifically for tomatoes. These products are high in phosphorus and potassium, and low in nitrogen.

Also, be sure to pinch out the suckers that form between the main stalk and offshoot branches, otherwise called the leaf axis. If you're not sure where these are, attached are some websites with good illustrations.

http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is0560.pdf

http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/pages/g00031.asp

http://ceinfo.unh.edu/pubs/HGPubs/baskweav.pdf#search='tomato%20suckers%20pinch'

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM608.pdf

http://msucares.com/lawn/garden/vegetables/tomatoes/

Pinching these regularly promotes a more stockier growth pattern and also increases the size of your tomatoes.

I hope this answered your question. Please write again if I can ever be of assistance.

Regards,

Mike