{"id":803,"date":"2019-08-27T04:29:28","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T04:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/?p=803"},"modified":"2020-05-19T18:20:45","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T18:20:45","slug":"tomato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/27\/tomato\/","title":{"rendered":"Tomato"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lycopersicon esculentum<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong>: Tomato is native to South and Central America and was introduced\ninto Europe in the sixteenth century. It took a long time for it to be accepted\nthere as a safe and wholesome food. It first became popular in Italy, and is\nstill closely associated with Italian food. Tomato is actually a tender\nperennial, but must be grown as an annual in temperate climates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tomato is the most popular garden vegetable crop in America\nand more square footage of garden magazine space has been devoted to it than\nany other vegetable. It is popular because it is easy to grow, very productive\n(it is one of highest yielding vegetable crops) and because home grown fruit is\ngenerally far superior to commercial fruit. Few food crops have suffered as\nmuch as the tomato in the search for agribusiness perfection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutritional content<\/strong>: Tomatoes contain vitamin C and A (beta carotene) and a whole range of valuable phytochemicals (lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin and more). They are not a good source of energy, with only about 80 calories a pound!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the exception of the ripe fruits, all parts of the tomato are somewhat poisonous (not to mention unpleasant tasting).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate<\/strong>: The tomato prefers warm weather and doesn\u2019t like it when night\ntemperatures drop below 50\u00b0F, They don\u2019t like very hot weather either and may\nfail to set fruit above 95\u00b0F.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ease of growing<\/strong>: In a suitably warm climate the tomato is pretty easy to grow, which is part of the reason it is the most popular home garden crop of all. They are so easy to grow they sometimes even show up as volunteers in cracks in sidewalks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Tomato<\/strong>  <\/strong>

Seed facts<\/strong>
Germ temp: 60 (75 – 85) 90\u00b0F
Germination time: 5 – 14 days
43 days \/ 50\u00b0F
14 days \/ 59\u00b0F
8 days \/ 68\u00b0F
6 days \/ 77\u00b0F * Optimum
6 days \/ 86\u00b0F
Seed viability: 3 – 7 years
Germination percentage: 75%+
Weeks to grow transplant: 4 – 10  

Planning facts<\/strong>
Hardiness: Tender
Growing temp: 50 (70 – 75) 95\u00b0F 
                          50 – 55\u00b0F at night
Plants per person: 3 – 5
Plants per sq ft: \u00bd  

Planting<\/strong>
Start: 2 – 6 wks before last frost
Plant out: 2 wks after last frost
Succession sow: 6 wks later  

Harvest facts<\/strong>
Days to harvest: 80 – 120
50 – 85 days from transplanting
Harvest period:
Determinate: 4 – 6 weeks.
Indeterminate: 6 – 12 weeks
Yield per plant: 2 – 6 lb
Yield per sq ft: 1 – 3 lb sq ft   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Crop\nuse<\/strong>: The tomato\nisn\u2019t the most nutritious crop, but it is very much a kitchen essential, as it\nis used in a huge number of dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

pH 5.5 (6.0 – 6.8) 7.5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomatoes aren\u2019t particularly fussy about soil, but generally the\nbetter the soil the larger the fruit. The perfect soil for tomatoes is a deep\nloam with lots of moisture retentive organic matter. It should also be\nwell-drained as they are prone to root rot in wet soils. Early crops do better\nin light sandy soil because it warms up faster. They prefer a fairly neutral\nsoil, but aren\u2019t very\nsensitive to pH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomatoes are fairly heavy feeders, using quite a lot of nitrogen\n(180 lb \/acre), a moderate amount of phosphorus (21 lb \/ acre) and a lot of\npotassium (280 lb \/ acre). They have deep roots that may go down 5 feet, but\nmost of their feeder roots are\nin the top 2 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil preparation<\/strong>: Tomatoes are fairly hungry plants, so incorporate 2\u02dd of compost into the\nsoil generally and then put any additional amendments directly into the\nplanting hole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nitrogen<\/strong>: This is most important during the initial vegetative growth\nstage, though some is also needed for fruit set. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some gardeners make the mistake of giving the plants too much\nnitrogen. This isn\u2019t good as it can result in plants with too much lush foliage\nand not enough fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phosphorus<\/strong>: This is probably the most important nutrient for tomatoes, so\nput a handful of colloidal phosphate in the planting hole. This will supply\nphosphorus for early growth and good fruit set (a lack of it can delay\nmaturation). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I read somewhere that Alan Chadwick used to put a layer of\nphosphorus in the top 4\u02dd of soil and another down 18\u02dd deep to account for this\n(but I never could pay that much attention to the details). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potassium<\/strong>: This is also important while the plants are young. Put a handful of greensand or wood ashes in the planting hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calcium<\/strong>: Tomatoes need quite a bit of calcium and a lack (when combined\nwith irregular watering) can result in the common affliction known as blossom end rot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commonest source of calcium is ground limestone (such as\ndolomitic lime) and if your soil pH is low this is the best source. If you\ndon\u2019t want to alter your soil pH very much then you could use gypsum, eggshells\nor even calcium antacid tablets. You can put these directly in the planting\nhole, so it is immediately available to the plants roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other nutrients<\/strong>: Tomatoes need trace elements right through their growth cycle. If you have added lots of well-rotted compost, aged manure, or seaweed to the soil before planting, this will supply all of the micro-nutrients they need. If you haven\u2019t then you may want to feed regularly with liquid kelp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Planning<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where<\/strong>: To grow the very best tomatoes you need a warm sheltered site\nand 10 or more hours of sun daily (they can be grown with as little as 6 hours\ndaily, but they won\u2019t be as productive). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is best to avoid wet sites and those with poor air circulation,\nas disease can be more problematic there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the climate is cool, put them against a south facing wall or on\na south facing slope. You could also grow them under cloches, or in the greenhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomatoes are very tender and have little tolerance for frost. They\nare usually started indoors anywhere from 4 – 10 weeks before the last frost\ndate. The seedlings can be planted out a couple of weeks after the last frost date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally determinate varieties need 4 – 8 weeks to be ready for\ntransplanting outside. The rather slower indeterminate varieties may take 6 –\n10 weeks to attain a suitable size. If you have a very long growing season you\ncan direct sow them\noutside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason for the big variation in\nstart date is because the rate of seedling growth is very much determined by\ntemperature. If your greenhouse is a cool 60\u00b0F the seedlings may take 10 weeks before\nthey are ready to go outside. If it is a cosy 85\u00b0F\nthey may be ready to go in as little as 4 weeks. In very warm conditions they will grow like weeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is good to get the starting date\nright, because you don\u2019t want to have plants sitting around inside in pots for\ntoo long (if they start to flower it is definitely too long).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Succession<\/strong>: Though tomatoes will produce fruit for quite a while, they do\nhave a peak bearing season and eventually get less productive (even\nindeterminate types). You might want to start a succession sowing 4 – 6 weeks\nafter the first (or direct sow some plants when planting the first batch out).\nIf your growing season is long you might even plant a third one a month or so\nafter that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also stretch out the season by planting several varieties\nwith different maturation times.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuttings for succession<\/strong>: A quick way to get plants for a second sowing is to use\ncuttings. Pinch out some of the suckers from your favorite plants and root them\nin water. These cuttings will give you new plants faster than you could grow\nthem from seed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crop rotation<\/strong>: Don\u2019t plant tomatoes where any other member of the Solanaceae\n<\/em>(eggplant, pepper, potato) has grown within the last 3 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Planting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buying transplants<\/strong>: This is the easiest way to get tomatoes, though you don\u2019t get as\nmuch choice as to varieties. You may also buy problems in the form of disease,\nweeds or insect pests, so check them carefully before you buy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best transplants are about 8\u02dd tall and stocky (never leggy).\nDon\u2019t buy plants with flowers, or tiny fruit, in the belief this will save you\ntime. Premature flowering is actually\na sign of stress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The larger the plant, the greater the setback from transplanting,\nwhich is why smaller plants usually do better in the long term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transplants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting indoors<\/strong>: The seeds should be planted \u00bc – \u00bd\u02dd deep in flats, soil blocks or\ncell packs and put in a warm place to germinate. They germinate best at a\ntemperature of around 75 – 85\u00b0F during the daytime and 10\u00b0F lower at night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A common mistake is to plant far more\nseeds than you need; don\u2019t grow 50 plants if you only have room for 10. If you\nsow 3 seeds for every plant you require, that should be plenty. When you only\nplant a small number of seeds, you can also give them plenty of room – an inch\napart is good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the first true leaves appear, the seedlings should be\ntransplanted to 4\u02dd pots. Plant them deeper than they were growing, as they will\nproduce roots all along the buried stem. Temperature can also be slightly lower\n(65 – 75\u00b0F in the day and 55 – 65\u00b0F at night). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must now give the seedling everything it\u2019s little green heart\ndesires: water, humidity, warmth, all the nutrients it needs and plenty of\nlight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not good to have your tomato\nplants sitting around in the greenhouse for too long. Once the roots have filled the soil in the pot, you must either\nplant them out or move them to bigger pots. Don\u2019t let them linger inside, as\nthe roots will start to circle around and it will get root-bound. They may even\nstart to flower, which (as I just explained) is not good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardening off<\/strong>: If you are planting tomatoes out in cool spring conditions, they\nshould be hardened off carefully. Do this slowly over a week, by reducing the\namount of water they get and by leaving them outside for longer periods each\nday. On the first day put them outside for two hours during the warmest part of\nthe day. Next day give them four hours, then six and so on. This helps them to\nslowly get accustomed to the somewhat less than ideal conditions to be found outside. You can also put them in a cold\nframe, which you open during the day and close at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In warm summer weather there is no need to harden them off.\nHowever you may want to keep them outside in the shade for a day or two, so\nthey can get used to the different growing conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Planting out<\/strong>: It is important that the soil be sufficiently warm (60\u00b0F\nminimum) for planting tomatoes outside. If it is too cold they will simply sit\nthere without growing and may even be permanently retarded. For very early\nplantings you might warm up the soil with plastic (clear or black) and use cloches to protect the young plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best time to transplant tomatoes (or anything else) is on a\ncool cloudy day, if rain threatens even better. If you don\u2019t get cool cloudy\ndays, then transplant them in the early evening, not in the heat of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can give tomatoes a lot of attention while planting, because\nyou don\u2019t usually plant very many. Dig a fairly large planting hole and amend\nit with a couple of handfuls of compost. It should be deep enough so you can\nbury most of the seedling (pinch off the lower leaves), leaving just the top\nfew leaves sticking out of the ground. When you do this additional roots will grow all along the buried stem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the soil is still fairly cool when you\nplant, you can lay the plants almost sideways in shallow trenches, rather than\ndeep holes. The plants will benefit from the warmer soil at this depth and will\nstill produce roots all along the buried stem. This is also a good way to plant\nvery large or leggy plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water well after planting and keep the plants moist until they are\nwell established. It is a good idea to put the supporting stakes, or cages, in\nthe ground at this time, to avoid disturbing the plants later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a cutworm problem, wrap collars of aluminum foil or\npaper around the stem near ground level. A ring of wood ashes might also help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct sowing<\/strong>: Sowing seed directly outdoors is only a practical proposition in\nareas with a very long\ngrowing season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seed should be planted \u00bc – \u00bd\u02dd deep, after the soil has warmed\nup. If you are in a hurry you can pre-germinate the seed inside to speed things up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course the problem with direct sowing is that the plants take\nup bed space from the moment they are planted, but don\u2019t give any return for\nmonths. It would be more efficient to raise transplants in an outdoor nursery bed (a protected outdoor\nbed used specifically for raising transplants).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Determinate or indeterminate<\/strong>  
Determinate plants only grow to a certain height and then flower and produce fruit. They produce one flower cluster on each side branch and then stop growing and are finished. These varieties are hardier, shorter (good for under cloches), earlier and produce a lot of fruit in a short time (usually 4 – 6 weeks).
 
Indeterminate plants never stop growing (at least theoretically). The side branches keep growing and can eventually turn into another stem, producing many clusters of flowers. They take longer to start bearing, but keep producing for much longer. They produce more poundage of fruit per square foot than the determinates.   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 Spacing<\/strong>: The ideal spacing for tomatoes varies a\nlot, because of the difference in the size of the varieties and in the\nfertility of the soil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beds<\/strong>: Intensive bed spacing puts plants at 18\u02dd – 24\u02dd – 30\u02dd apart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rows<\/strong>: They may be spaced anywhere from 18 – 36\u02dd apart, in rows that\nare 36 – 60\u02dd apart.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could also experiment with closer spacings. This reduces the\nyield per plant, but may actually increase the yield per area, as you grow more\nplants. Sunlight isn\u2019t needed for ripening the fruit, so the foliage can be quite dense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 Care<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For highest productivity tomatoes need lots of sun, enough room\nand a steady supply of available water and nutrients. If you give them all they\nneed, they will respond by flowering earlier and fruiting more profusely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watering<\/strong>: Tomatoes are quite drought tolerant and don\u2019t really need a lot\nof water. More water means more and larger (but less tasty) fruit, while less\nwater means fewer (but better flavored) fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need to water these deep rooted plants very often, but\nyou should water regularly (unless you intend to try dry gardening). This is\nespecially important when the fruits are sizing up. At this time you might\nwater deeply twice a week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t wait until they show signs of water stress as this can lead\nto problems with blossom\nend rot. Uneven watering may also cause fruit to\nsplit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t get tomato foliage wet, as it can invite the spread of\nfungus disease. Drip irrigation is the best way to water, as it keeps the soil\nevenly moist but the plants stay dry. If you must use overhead watering then do\nit early enough in the evening, so that the foliage can dry out quickly and\ndoesn\u2019t stay wet all night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fertilization<\/strong>: High nitrogen fertilizer is a help when the plants are growing\nrapidly, but once the flowers appear they need phosphorus more than nitrogen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your soil is poor you may give your plants a foliar feed of\ncompost tea or liquid kelp every week until they start to flower. Then feed\nevery 2 – 3 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of using liquid feed you could top dress with a fertilizer\nmix, or use compost as mulch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mulch<\/strong>: Mulch is useful to keep down weeds, conserve moisture and keep\nthe fruit clean. It can also reduce disease problems by keeping soil off of the\nfoliage. In very hot areas mulch is also useful to keep the soil cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t put down an organic mulch until the soil is warm (when\nplants start to flower), as it insulates the soil and can prevent it from\nwarming up quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In cooler areas tomatoes are sometimes planted through black\nplastic mulch, which suppresses weeds, holds in moisture and keeps the soil\nsignificantly warmer. Some experiments using red plastic have shown\nsignificantly earlier and higher yields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also possible to grow tomatoes with a living mulch such as\nclover (See Unusual growing ideas<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No\nsupport<\/strong>: It isn\u2019t\nabsolutely essential to support your plants, they can just sprawl on the\nground. Determinate varieties work best when grown in this way, as they tend to\nbe smaller. Indeterminate varieties can get quite large and do better if given\nsome kind of support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allowing plants to sprawl along the ground can work okay in hot\ndry climates. In more humid ones it is just inviting problems with disease\nbecause of the much reduced air circulation and proximity to moist soil. Pests\nare also a bigger problem as there isn\u2019t much distance between the fruit and\nthe soil with its multitude of hiding places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to say I haven\u2019t had much luck with letting plants sprawl\non the ground and don\u2019t recommend it. There are situations where this will\nwork, but my garden isn\u2019t one of them (I lost a large proportion of the fruit\nto pests and disease).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support<\/strong>: Raising the plants off of the ground has distinct advantages. It\nkeeps the plant away from the soil with its pests and diseases. There is also\nbetter air circulation so leaves dry out more rapidly and are less vulnerable\nto disease. When plants grow vertically, rather than horizontally, they take up\nless space, so you can grow more of them in a given area. All of these things\nresult in a significantly larger harvest that offsets the additional work involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tend to go for the easiest kind of support, because I always try\nto get the most results for the least effort. In my opinion this is the wire\ncage. Commercial tomato cages are widely available, but often tend to be too\nsmall. I find it\u2019s cheaper and better to make my own, using 6\u02dd square concrete\nreinforcing wire mesh. You can make cylinders 18\u02dd in diameter and any height\nyou want (3, 4, 5 or 6 feet tall). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In windy areas it is a good idea to fasten the taller cages to\nshort stakes (or to each other), so they don\u2019t get blown over. In cool spring weather you can\nwrap the bottom of the cage with clear plastic to keep the plant warmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also open up these cylinders and spread them across the\nbed to form a wire tunnel (like a cloche frame). The plants will grow up\nthrough the mesh and sprawl on the top. In spring you can cover it with plastic\nto turn it into a cloche for early growing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The simplest and cheapest supports are bamboo or wooden stakes.\nTheir length is determined by the eventual height of the plants, plus the 12\u02dd\nor so that goes down into the ground. They may need to be 4 feet tall for some\nvarieties, 6 feet tall for others. It\u2019s a good idea to put these in the ground\nwhile planting, to minimize future root disturbance. The plant can be tied to\nthe stake with strips\nof cloth or wire ties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your plants start to outgrow their\nsupports you can always add a couple of taller stakes (carefully so as not to\ndamage too many roots).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pruning<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people prune their indeterminate tomatoes (they are mostly\ncontrol freaks without enough to do). It basically consists of pinching out all\nthe suckers (these appear in the axils of leaves) you don\u2019t want to grow into\nstems. Determinate plants should never be pruned, as it will reduce their already limited yields. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pruning is most often done in cool climates\nto reduce the number of fruit produced and give them a better chance of\nripening. It can also improve fruit quality by increasing the amount of light\nentering the plant and increasing aeration (though light isn\u2019t needed for\nripening). It may hasten maturation by as much as two weeks and allows for\ncloser spacing of plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drawback to pruning is that it reduces the area for\nphotosynthesis, so means less fruit per plant (yields may be half that of\nunpruned plants). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t bother with pruning, it just seems like extra work I don\u2019t\nneed to do. The most efficient way to grow tomatoes is to use indeterminate\nvarieties, unpruned, in\ncages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Double stem<\/strong>: More fruit can be obtained if you allow one sucker to develop\ninto a second stem (this is really training rather than pruning). You pinch out\nall of the suckers, except the one below the first flower cluster. This will\nquickly grow into a second stem. It can be supported by planting two flexible\nstakes together and spreading them apart at the top with a small stick. One stem is trained up each stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A third stem could produce even more fruit, but this gets even\nmore complicated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Problems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frost protection<\/strong>: Tomatoes can\u2019t stand any frost, which\ncan be a problem because you may encounter it at either end of the growing\nseason<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spring frost protection<\/strong>: This is rarely needed because you don\u2019t plant tomatoes until the\nsoil is warm. If a rare late frost threatens, it is not difficult to cover the\nlow plants with row covers, mulch, plant pots or whatever is at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fall frost protection<\/strong>: This is important, as an early frost will usually kill\nunprotected tomato plants. If you can help your plants make it through this\nfirst frost there may not be another one for several weeks, during which time\nyou can get a lot more ripe fruit. You can cover the plants with almost\nanything to help them to survive a mild frost: old bed sheets, straw mulch,\nplastic sheet, cardboard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollination<\/strong>: Most tomato varieties are self-pollinated, so pollination isn\u2019t\nusually a problem. Often the first flowers fall off without bearing fruit,\nespecially if temperatures go below 60\u00b0F, or above 90\u00b0F. In very hot weather\nyou should water frequently to keep the plants cool. In cool weather you should put them under cloches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pests<\/strong>: When I said tomatoes are one of the easiest crops to grow, I\ncould have added if you don\u2019t encounter a serious pest or disease problem. They\nhave so many potential enemies, that it seems like it must be impossible to grow them at all. Potential pests include aphids, cutworms, Colorado potato beetles,\nflea beetles, leafhoppers, mites, nematodes, stink bugs, tomato fruitworms and of course slugs and snails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomato hornworm<\/strong>: These huge caterpillars can do a lot of damage to tomato plants.\nI used to hand pick and kill them (usually with a stick as touching them didn\u2019t\nappeal to me). After a time I resorted to deportation from the garden because I\nfound out that they turn into a spectacular moth (I know the deported\ncaterpillars may well have died with no tomatoes to eat, but I can\u2019t think of\neverything!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years I haven\u2019t had to do anything, as trichogramma\nwasps do the dirty work for me. Their white cocoons can be seen on the\nmotionless and unfortunate caterpillars – I almost feel sorry for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disease<\/strong>: Tomatoes\nare also vulnerable to the host of diseases that affect members of the Solanum\nfamily. These include anthracnose, bacterial canker,\nbacterial spot, early blight, southern bacterial wilt, fusarium wilt,\nverticillium wilt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can help to keep some of these problems under control by\nrotation. Be careful when watering as many diseases can be spread on wet leaves\n(use drip irrigation). Many modern tomato varieties are resistant to\nverticillium wilt (V), fusarium wilt (F) and nematodes (N).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tobacco Mosaic<\/strong>: This serious disease can be spread by smokers who handle the\nplant after smoking cigarettes. It may also be brought into the garden on\nseedling tomatoes. Prevent it by growing your own seedlings and not smoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late Blight<\/strong>: This is the same killer that gets potatoes and is worse in cool\nhumid weather. Spots appear on the leaves and then the whole plant turns black\nand dies (often overnight). You may be able to control it if you remove\ninfected plants immediately, but it\u2019s an indication that the plants don\u2019t like\nthe growing conditions. Up in western Washington I had whole beds of tomatoes\nand potatoes die almost overnight. They just didn\u2019t like the cool moist\nconditions (whereas the late blight did).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Other Tomato problems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blossom end rot<\/strong>: Patches on the fruit turn black and rot. It most commonly\naffects the first few trusses of fruit. Remove any affected fruit immediately\n(they won\u2019t be any use anyway), to reduce stress on the plant. Pruning may make\nthis problem worse. For some reason indeterminate varieties are less commonly\naffected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blossom end rot isn\u2019t a disease and is\nusually caused by lack of water during early fruit\ndevelopment, combined with a lack of calcium. The water shortage affects the\ntransport of calcium in the plant, so the rot is caused by a local calcium\ndeficiency.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunscald<\/strong>: This can occur when there isn\u2019t enough leaf cover to shade the\nfruits from direct sunlight and is most common on pruned plants. The simple way to avoid this is\nto stop pruning. Another simple answer is to put the plants closer together, so\nthey shade each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catfacing<\/strong>: This is caused by poor pollination and most often occurs in cool weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Splitting<\/strong>: This is caused by a sudden abundance of water, which causes the\ninside of the fruit to grow faster than the skin. In my garden this happens\nevery year after the first fall rains. Cracked fruit are still perfectly\nedible, though they should be eaten quickly, as they won\u2019t keep for very long (they often go\nmoldy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slugs and snails<\/strong>: If your tomatoes are unsupported and close to the soil, they may\nbe damaged by slugs and snails. The best way to deal with these is to hand pick\nafter dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 Harvesting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When<\/strong>: The fruit will usually be ready to harvest 45 – 75 days after\nflowering (depending on variety). The fruit takes 30 – 45 days to reach full\ngreen size (where it will ripen off the plant) and a further 15 – 30 days to\nreach full ripeness. They are fully ripe about a week after they turn red. The\nfruit won\u2019t usually ripen\nbelow 55\u00b0F, or above 85\u00b0F. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunlight isn\u2019t necessary for ripening the fruits, only warmth,\nconsequently they will ripen even in the dense shade in the middle of a plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was going to write that you can recognize a ripe tomato because\nit is soft and red, but nowadays that is not necessarily true. They might also\nbe yellow, green, purple, orange,\nwhite, pink or even black!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How<\/strong>: Gather the fruit when it comes away from the vine easily. Their flavor is at its peak when\nthey are fully ripe. They can be gathered earlier however, as they will ripen off the vine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If frost threatens, gather any fruits that are nearly full size,\neven if they are still green and ripen them indoors in a warm place. They won\u2019t\nbe as good as fruit ripened on the vine (they will also have less vitamin C),\nbut they\u2019ll probably be as\ngood as anything you could buy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storage<\/strong>: Don\u2019t store tomatoes in the fridge, or below 55\u00b0F as it spoils\ntheir flavor. They should keep\nfor a week or two at 55 – 65\u00b0F.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomatoes can be peeled and frozen for storage (peel by dipping in\nboiling water), or you can puree and freeze them. I put the whole fruit in a blender and puree them, skins and\nall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green tomatoes can be ripened in a warm dark place. Just make sure\nthe fruit don\u2019t touch each other and remove any that start to rot (check them\nregularly). There are varieties (i.e. Burpees Long Keeper) that are intended\nfor slow ripening indoors. If you have a lot of green fruit, keep them in a\ncool place and bring them into a warm room to ripen as needed (it takes about 2 weeks.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seed saving<\/strong>: Tomatoes are usually self-pollinated so saving seed is easy. A\nfew varieties have a high degree of cross-pollination (these usually have long\nstyles that stick out of the corolla) and should be isolated for purity, either\nby distance (25 ft and\na barrier planting between them) or row covers. It doesn\u2019t hurt to separate the\nshort style types by 10 ft and put another crop in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get the seed, simply squeeze it from the ripe fruit (eat the\nrest), along with its juice (add a little water if it is dry) and let it\nferment in a warm place for a few days. This will kill any disease organisms on\nthe outside of the seed. Then scrape the scum from the top and rinse the seeds\nseveral times to remove bits of flesh. Strain the cleaned seed and dry it in a\nwarm, dry place until you are sure it\u2019s dry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unusual growing ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dry gardening<\/strong>: Tomatoes were once commonly dry farmed in California, where they\nreceived no irrigation water (or rainfall) at all. Such plants are markedly\nsweeter than conventionally grown plants. This is worth trying if you have a\nlot of space, but a limited amount of water for irrigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a dry garden the plants must be spaced further apart than in a\nconventional irrigated garden. This eliminates competition with neighboring\nplants and gives their roots more space to forage for water. A mulch may also\nbe helpful, as it conserves moisture and keeps down thirsty weeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteers<\/strong>: Tomatoes are commonly found as volunteers in the garden. If\nthese are not hybrids and you have the room, you might allow some of them to\nmature for a late crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cool\nclimate growing<\/strong>: To\ngrow tomatoes outside in cooler climates, you have to use one of the fastest\nmaturing and cold hardy varieties, such as the Sub-Arctics or Siberians (which\nmay mean sacrificing some flavor). Start them inside early, warm the soil with\nplastic and cover the transplants with cloches. If you plan on using wire\ntunnels as supports, you can convert them into cloches by simply covering them\nwith clear plastic. Some cool climate growers use black plastic mulch for the\nwhole of the growing season, as it keeps the soil warmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early crops<\/strong>: Getting an early crop of tomatoes means growing them in a cool\nclimate for the first few months of their lives. See Cool\nclimate growing<\/strong> above, for ways to do this.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people have part of their ego tied up in getting earlier\ntomatoes than their neighbors. If you are one of these people and do succeed in\nyour quest to beat everyone else in your neighborhood, I prefer a subtle\napproach to letting everyone know about it. I just slip into the conversation\nthat I am already getting sick of tomatoes. Of course the potential\ndisadvantage of this approach is that you might be asked to give some away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Containers<\/strong>: Some tomato varieties do well in containers, especially the smaller\ndeterminate cherry types (some of these even do okay in hanging baskets!) You\ncan also grow the larger types too, though you will need a bigger container.\nYou can also grow tomatoes in grow bags, which are simply large plastic sacks\nfilled with a suitably fertile potting mix (see Potatoes<\/strong> for more on these).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuttings<\/strong>: You can get extra tomato plants by rooting suckers in water.\nThis is a good way to multiply a single special plant you might have. It is\nalso an easy way to grow\nyour succession tomatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grafting<\/strong>: You can use this to grow a tasty\nheirloom tomato, while getting the advantage of a disease resistant variety by\nusing it as a rootstock. I have never thought that this would be worth the\neffort, but it may be if you face big problems with disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greenhouse<\/strong>: Tomatoes are a great greenhouse crop and in cooler climates this\nmay be the only way you can grow them. They can be grown inside from early\nspring until late fall. In Europe there are varieties bred specifically for\ngreen-house growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living\nmulch<\/strong>: I haven\u2019t tried\nit yet, but it is possible to grow tomatoes using living mulch. This means\nplanting the transplants into an established bed of growing plants, which are\nusually some kind of annual nitrogen fixer, such as crimson clover or hairy\nvetch. This will require additional water, as you don\u2019t want the plants to\ncompete. Yields may be somewhat later, but are often higher. Perhaps the\nbiggest advantage is that it improves the soil while you are growing a crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Varieties<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a long time modern seed producers focused on the needs of commercial growers (understandably because they buy their seed by the pound rather than the gram). Their breeding work often concentrated on producing fruit that could withstand mechanical cultivation and harvesting. One of their achievements was the square tomato. This wasn\u2019t really square, but slightly angular so that it wouldn\u2019t roll off of conveyor belts so easily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home gardeners were largely ignored by these seed companies, so many gardeners started to ignore them. They turned instead to the vast number of varieties that already existed; plants that have now come to be known as heirlooms. These are gifts to us from the gardeners of the past and are the common heritage of gardeners all around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Probably no other crop has benefited as much from the recent\ninterest in heirloom vegetables, as the tomato. We now have a mind boggling\nrange of varieties, from 2-pound monsters down to the size of a pea.\nDeterminate, indeterminate, climbing, early, mid-season, late, paste, black,\ngreen, purple, orange, yellow, striped and more. Ironically some of these are\nnow finding their way on to supermarket shelves, alongside the descendants of\nthose square tomatoes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is now so much choice of tomatoes it can be a problem\nknowing where to begin. You could grow 20 or 30 different varieties every year\nand not even begin to get through them all. In fact old varieties are probably\nreappearing faster than\nyou could grow them all.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of days to maturity mentioned on seed packets and in\ncatalogs means from transplanting (so add 6 – 10 weeks to this).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also plenty of good hybrid varieties out there. I mostly\navoid them though, simply because saving the seed of open pollinated varieties is so easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best tasting tomatoes<\/strong>  
If you are going to grow tomatoes you may as well grow something that tastes good. Here are some varieties that commonly appear on lists of best tasting tomatoes.  

Ananas Noir<\/strong>
Aunt Ruby\u2019s German Green <\/strong>
Better Boy F1 <\/strong>
Black Krim<\/strong>
Black Plum<\/strong>
Brandywine<\/strong>
Carmello F1<\/strong>
Caspian Pink <\/strong>
Cherokee Purple<\/strong>
Momotaro<\/strong>
Mortgage Lifter<\/strong>
Sungold <\/strong>
Super 100\u2019s<\/strong>
Sweet million<\/strong>   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Taste<\/strong>: My first criteria in choosing a tomato is taste. The flavor of\ndifferent varieties varies enormously, some are almost tasteless and others are\ndelicious. I never could understand why anyone would want to grow a fruit that\ndoesn\u2019t taste of anything. If I\u2019m going to the trouble of raising a plant from\nseed, I want to have something special\nto show for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate also affects flavor, so a variety may taste good in one\narea, but not so good in another. For example in cool climates the large\nfruited types don\u2019t develop their best flavor. It really pays to experiment to\nfind the best varieties for\nyour area. This is fun too and every year I try some new varieties along with\nthe old trusted friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of tomato varieties has exploded in recent years. Here\nis a tiny sampling of some\nof the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glacier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beaverlodge\nSlicer <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siberian<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stupice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oregon\nSpring<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early\nGirl<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Main<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beefsteak\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brandywine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ponderosa<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marmande\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mortgage\nLifter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paste<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amish\nPaste <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Principe\nBorghese <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roma\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

San\nPablo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cherry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Camp\nJoy <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chadwick\nCherry <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gardeners\nDelight <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sungold<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>Unusual<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caro\nRed:<\/strong> Contains 10 times vitamin A of most tomatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kitchen use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomatoes are a tremendously versatile food. They are good raw or\ncooked and of course are a basic ingredient of Italian cooking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salsa<\/strong>  
This is quick and easy to make and very satisfying. All the more so if you can gather all of the ingredients from your garden (except the salt).  
8 tomatoes <\/strong>
1 medium onion<\/strong>
6 cloves garlic <\/strong>
\u00bd cup cilantro <\/strong>
1 or 2 finely chopped jalapeno peppers<\/strong>
1 tbsp lime juice<\/strong>
\u00bd tsp salt<\/strong>  
Chop all the ingredients and mix together. Some people use a food processor, others prefer to hand chop. This is so good it is commonly eaten immediately, but it will be much better if left in the fridge overnight. This is only a basic recipe and can be altered in any way you like. You will probably want to vary the quantity of pepper you use, depending upon personal taste and how hot your peppers are.   <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lycopersicon esculentum Introduction: Tomato is native to South and Central America and was introduced into Europe in the sixteenth century. It took a long time for it to be accepted … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[242],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fruit-veg","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/cherry-tomato.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3127,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803\/revisions\/3127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenmanpublishing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}