T omatoes are the most popular vegetable-garden plant in America. They're easy to grow if you...

Choose disease-resistant varieties. The letter V, N or F after the variety name indicates resistance to common pests.

Plant tomatoes where they'll be warm and get plenty of sunlight.

Water them regularly.

Every other year, rotate crops to different areas of the yard. This helps prevent infestation by nematodes, tiny worms that live in the ground and attack roots.

Planting repeatedly in the same place encourages heavier nematode infestation.

MY FAVORITE VARIETIES

There are thousands of types of tomatoes. Most tomato seeds and seedlings sold in garden centers are hybrids. These varieties have been crossbred to produce red, round, firm, blemish-free tomatoes.

Heirloom varieties are those that were grown at least 50 years ago and have been "rediscovered." They typically have more flavor and texture than the hybrid varieties. Many garden centers and seed catalogs now offer heirloom tomatoes.

Recommended varieties...

Banana Legs. A hybrid with small, yellow, pointed fruit that resembles bananas. Good flavor and easy to grow -- kids love this tomato.

Big Boy. Classic hybrid yields eight-ounce fruit -- or larger. Not as disease-resistant as some varieties, but an excellent choice for size, texture and flavor.

Brandywine. Heirloom variety that bears fruit continuously until the first frost. It was developed by Amish farmers in the 1880s. Brandywines are big, juicy and delicious. The most flavorful tomato you can grow. My favorite!

Celebrity. Nearly indestructible and highly disease-resistant hybrid. Great flavor -- my personal favorite among the hybrids.

Early Girl. This hybrid produces four- to six-ounce fruit. First tomatoes are ready unusually soon, about 60 days after planting.

Mountain series. Hybrids. Disease-resistant and flavorful.

Sungold. Easy-to-grow hybrid, bright-orange cherry tomato.

Sweet 100. Easy-to-grow hybrid cherry tomato.

When buying tomato seedlings, look for bright-green plants four to six inches high, with stems the diameter of a pencil and several sets of healthy-looking leaves.

Avoid plants with yellowed, wilted or curled leaves -- they could be diseased. Also avoid plants that already have small green buds or small five-petal, yellow flowers. These have been held in their seedling pots too long and will never develop strong roots.

GROWING SECRETS

Wait until after the last "frost date" before planting. To find the date for your area, check with your county's US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cooperative Extension Service agent. Look in the blue pages of your phone book. Or consult your local garden center.

If you grow tomatoes from seeds: Start in small pots in potting soil in a warm, light-filled room. Do this eight weeks before the last frost date so they will be ready to plant.

Plant your tomatoes about two feet apart. For each plant, dig a hole about six inches deep -- deep enough to contain the entire root ball and also the stem all the way up to the first pair of leaves.

Drop a few pinches of crushed eggshell into the hole before putting in the plant. The calcium in the shells helps the fruit grow into nice, round shapes.

Put in stakes when you plant the seedlings. Even bushy varieties do better when staked and tied -- to keep the tomatoes and leaves off the ground.

Water with one to two gallons per plant per week -- at least an average of one pint each day.

Check the moisture level in your tomato patch every other day. If the soil is dry two inches below the surface, it's time to water.

Water your tomatoes using a soaker hose snaked around the plants. Open the tap just a crack and let the hose run for two to three hours.

With a soaker hose, the water gets down to the roots -- and it stays off the leaves and fruit, where wetness can promote disease. Never water your tomatoes with a sprinkler.

If a soaker hose isn't practical, bury a one-pound coffee can (ends removed) next to each plant. Fill the can with water -- it will slowly soak into the soil. Repeat every two days or as needed.

A thick layer of mulch or black plastic sheeting helps the soil retain moisture and keeps down weeds.

Fertilize every two weeks. I recommend Miracle-Gro not just for tomatoes, but for the rest of the vegetable garden.

CONTAINER GARDENING

You can grow great tomatoes in a container on a porch or deck or even on a sunny windowsill.

Choose a dwarf variety, such as the Husky series, the Tumbler Hybrid or Tiny Tim cherry tomatoes.

Fill a 32-inch plastic or terra-cotta container with potting soil -- not soil from your garden.

Tomato plants grown in containers dry out quickly. You may need to water twice a day.