1. Buy good plants to begin with. You want a dark green color which means they have been fertilized properly. 

                     
Some greenhouses offer much better plants than others.

 

2. Buy a variety that is known to do well. Big Boy and Better Boy are good ones that I’ve tried. For extra  early tomatoes try Early Girl. Early Girl’s are a good eating tomatoes but aren’t so good for canning. Their water content is too high. Which variety you choose has a big influence on how big the plant will be.

 

3. When you get the plant home dig a hole for it asap, if there is no longer a chance of frost in your area.  Choose a spot that gets the sun most of the day. Dig the hole about twice as deep as the roots of the plant.
    

4. Put a little composted cow manure in the hole.

 

5.  Remove the plant and take off the bottom leaves until the plant is about 1/2 its original size unless its really a small plant. 4-6 branches are good.

Then plant the tomato plant in the hole covering everything but the top. It will look like you have a very small plant left, but don’t worry, because it will grow so much in a couple of weeks it will surprise you.

 

In the meantime it is making a lot more roots and that is what gives the plant a really good start.

 

5. Keep the plant well-watered and you will be amazed at how much bigger it has grown than the tomatoes you’ve had in the past. Along with the big growth will come more tomatoes too.