KC’s ‘Tomato Whisperer’ shares tips on getting productive plants in summer heat
Struggling with the dog days of summer wilting your tomato harvest?
Kansas City’s own, James Worley, known as “The Tomato Whisperer,” shares some essential tips for keeping your tomato plants healthy and productive, even in extreme heat.
Watch the video to learn about proper watering techniques, and key strategies to protect your plants from pests and diseases to maintain a continuous bounty of fresh tomatoes.
Worley, a founder of Yum Yards, a complete home vegetable gardening setup and service business, has set up more than 200 gardens for local residents.
For a successful and satisfying harvest, Worley recommends planting a mix of heirloom and hybrid tomato plants. Hybrids boast disease resistance and higher yields, but often lack the exceptional flavor of heirlooms. Another key difference: heirloom seeds produce plants true to the parent, while hybrid seeds do not.
Worley says he is not a big fan of mulch for tomatoes, other than silver reflective film, which can be purchased online. “I like to keep the top few inches of the soil as dry as possible to avoid harboring slugs, rollie pollies, and cutworms,” he added.
Worley, who gardens in South Kansas City, doesn’t sell his heirloom tomatoes, but you can find them in some local restaurants. He barters his tomatoes for meals with chefs like Craig Adcock of Table Ocho, Jasper Mirabile Jr., of Jasper’s Italian Restaurant, and Ted and Pam Liberda of Buck Tui BBQ.
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 2:00 PM.
