Grow your own tomato plants! It is the favorite choice of vegetable to grow in home gardens. Easy to grow with simple guidelines, and wonderful to harvest and eat.
Nothing is so sweet and enticing, as a big, red, delicious, tomato. Especially when you have grown it by the toil of your very own hands. The taste is so much better than that which is found at the local grocery. Tomatoes are the preferred choice of vegetables grown in American gardens today. These red beauties are full of Vitamin A and C along with, abundant amounts of iron, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, calcium, and cobalt and are ingredients in a myriad of recipes. "Wow, what a vegetable!"
Varieties
There are many varieties of tomatoes in which to choose; the old-fashioned dependable types, and newer very productive plants. Some well performing hybrid tomato plants are listed, the fruit is tasty, and their foliage has the ability to ward off diseases efficiently. There are many more choices, check with your local greenhouse.
* Celebrity: Short vines, that are bushy, thus does dot lend themselves well to staking. The fruit is red and firm and will weigh up to 8 oz. First harvest will be in about 70 days and the Celebrity will be very productive.
* Better Boy: Strong plants that have been a standard for many years. These can weigh up to one pound. The fruit is round, bright red, and firm, and will produce in about 75 days. It is usual to get an abundant growth of fruit.
* Floramercia: Good disease resistance, with tenacious growth and showy red fruit that can grow large. Abundant producing and suited to different conditions. First fruits in about 70 days.
* Pink Girl: This is as described a pink tomato. The variety is robust and will produce all through the summer months. Delicious flavor and resistant to cracks, will weigh in at about 8 oz.
* Beefmaster: This has been around many years and is well known. Can weigh up to 2 pounds and has firm significant flesh. Strong and productive plants these tomatoes will produce in about 80 days.
* Lemon Boy: Curious about yellow tomatoes? Lemon boy is your answer; this is a recent tomato on the scene and is a good producer. The color is lighter yellow. Firm fruit is noted with the Lemon Boy and will weigh up to 7 oz. at maturity.
* Jet Star: A long term favorite of gardeners. Produces an abundant crop and will weigh up to 8 oz. Meaty and with lots of flavor and low in acid.
Choosing the Perfect Tomato Plant
The simplest method is to purchase the tomato plants from your local greenhouse retailer, near the proper time for planting. Look for a healthy plant that is perhaps up to 8 inches tall. The foliage should be dark green and the stem should be thick-bodied and sturdy. The root system needs to be sound and well formed. Plant at least three plants per family member for fresh fruit during the productive season. If your aspiration is to preserve the tomatoes then consider planting at least 5-6 plants per household member.
Starting From Seeds
If you are starting your plants from seeds, be sure to start them at least six weeks before planting, it will take this amount of time to produce a plant 6-8 inches in height, and ready to place in the ground, when season begins. Purchase a good seeding mixture that is sterilized. After sprouting, then plant about 2 inches apart, set in an area that has lots of sunlight a southern window, and rotate them for equality of light. Make sure the temperature is below 80 degrees and no lower than 50 degrees.
Choosing the Best Growing Patch
Full sun is required for growing tomatoes. They will need full sun for at least half of the day. Shade grown tomatoes will be gangly and will produce very few tomatoes. Tomatoes like a soft loamy well-drained, soil but will grow in many different types. They prefer a pH of 6.2 or 6.8. Mix peat moss into your soil or compost, loosening the soil to about 12 inches deep. It may be useful to add lime and fertilizers when readying the soil. Use a soil test to determine actual fertilization needs. Consult your local gardening retailer about using the correct fertilizer for your plants.
Planting
Plant when all chance of frost is over, and soil is no longer cold. Make sure the temperature is at least a consistent 60 degrees. If frost is in the forecast, be sure to cover the plants to avoid being damaged.
Remove the tomatoes from the containers, and set plants a little lower in the soil, than set in the receptacle, at about the depth of the beginning of the leaves, which should after planting, be next to the ground. Place fertilizer according to package directions, around the roots after positioning the plant in the hole.
Cutworms can be a problem and will literally cut your plant at the base. You can use a water repellent, coated, paper around the plant, place the paper 2 inches or so below soil line and above the soil line 2-3 inches around the lower trunk of the tomato.
When spacing the tomato plants consider whether you will stake your tomatoes or not. For staking purposes place about 24 inches apart. Otherwise about 18 inches apart will be suitable for small bushy plants. Staked rows should be about 4 feet apart. Un-staked plants need about 30 inches between rows.
Watering Thirsty Plants
Water at least weekly, and saturate the soil with approximately one-inch of water. In the hottest month July 2 inches of water is required. A good soaking will be most effective, and will encourage strong growth in the root system.
Controlling Weeds and tilling the Soil
Mulching is a very good way to control weeds in your tomato plants. You will avoid weeds introducing diseases and competing for water. Mulching holds moisture in the soil and helps to produce strong viable plants. Add the mulch of your choice up to 4 inches deep, to discourage the growth of weeds. A few good mulching materials are:
* Ground up corncobs.
* Haw and straw.
* Grass clippings.
* Peatmoss
* Plastic sheeting.
Abundant Crop!
Warmer temperatures produce tomatoes with good color and flavor, around 80 degrees. Very hot weather will soften the flesh and impede the color. Tomatoes can be picked in the "pink" stage and allowed to ripen indoors if weather is cool or very hot. A room temperature of about 70degrees; light is not necessary for this process. A ripe tomato may keep in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
When frost is approaching pick the healthy tomatoes and wrap in newspaper. Store at about 60 degrees, (a cellar works great.) When the tomatoes begin to turn pink in color, remove them from the paper and continue to ripen. You may have tomatoes to serve at Thanksgiving with this method.
It is exciting to have a good crop of tomatoes; a sense of pride goes along with the feeling of accomplishment! It could be, that you may be tempted to call the local newspaper to let all your friends know about your "green thumb" talents.
