Tomatoes! A Popular Addition
to Your Garden
by Rich Sherman

There is nothing like that juicy, just off the vine, red tomato straight from your own garden! Tomatoes are one of the few plants that can grow in every zone. The are in the plant group Solanaceae, are sun loving thrive with regular watering, and are easy to grow. An Andean native, classified as Lycopersicon esculentum, they are actually a perennial, but we grow them as annuals. There are several varieties of tomatoes, so be sure to choose those that suit your climate, your taste, and that are the kind of plant you wish to grow.

Some varieties are bushy, needing little to no staking or trellising and others are vinelike, needing training, but bear over a longer time. Busy varieties tend to bear the fruit all at one time, so are good if you intend to can or make sauces. A good plan is to plant a few of your chosen varieties early, midseason and late so you have a continuous supply of the fruit. Usually six plants will feed a family of four with plenty left over for canning, giving to friends or making sauces.

Set your plants out after all danger of frost is gone and your soil is warm. Cover the planting area with black or red plastic a couple of weeks before you intend to plant to warm the soil, especially if you want early tomatoes.
If you are growing from seed, sow the seeds in pots of light soil mix 5-7 weeks before you plan to set them out. (Cover seeds with with 1/2 inch of fine soil, firmed down, and place pots in a cold frame or sunny window--keep damp. When seedlings are 2 inches tall, transfer each to a 3-4 inch pot and keep in a sunny area until you plant them outside.) If you purchase plants, look for compact ones with sturdy stems that do not have flowers or fruit.

Tomato plants like well drained, neutral to slightly acid soil and sunny locations. Dig your holes deep enough to set the seedling in so the lowest leaves are just above the soil level so additional roots will form on the buried stem and give the plant a stronger root system, or you can plant them sideways in shallower holes and the plants will straighten up on their own as they grow towards the sun. You can set them 3-4 feet apart if they are vinelike and 2-3 feet apart if they are of the bushier varieties. Train your plants to keep the fruit off the ground as much as possible so you don't experience rot, pest damage and for a better color all round. You can use soft ties and sturdy stakes--6 feet long--to train the plants. Wire cylinders work well, but be sure to stake the cylinder down with two stakes at opposite sides of the cylinder. As the plant grows out of the cylinder, poke the branches back inside the cylinder.

Pinch and remove suckers that develop in the joint of two branches. They won’t bear fruit and will take energy away from the rest of the plant. You can thin leaves to allow the sun to reach the ripening fruit, but it’s the leaves that are photosynthesizing and creating the sugars that give flavor to your tomatoes so don't go crazy. Once the plant grows to 3 feet or so, pull off the lower leaves to prevent fungus--tomatoes hate to be splashed.

Tomato plants love deep watering and do not need a lot of fertilizer in rich soils. Keep to a regular watering schedule until fruit begins to ripen. At that point lessening the water will coax the plant into concentrating its sugars. Don’t withhold water so much that the plants wilt and become stressed or they will drop their blossoms and possibly their fruit.

If you have ordinary soil, lightly feed every two weeks once blossoms have formed, until the end of the harvest--or use a time release fertilizer at planting time.

Common pest includes whiteflies, hornworms, and melon worms. Look on the underside of leaves and handpick for best control. Do not sprinkle the plants as this encourages rot and blight. Deep, regular watering will prevent the fruit from cracking. Mulch in very hot or dry climates to conserve and maintain uniform soil moisture. If you live in an area that gets chilly at night, select cold-tolerant varieties as sudden drops in temperature can prevent fruit from setting. If you are in a very hot climate, plant earlier as sudden increases in temperatures over 100 degrees can also prevent the fruit from setting.

Pick your fruit when the tomatoes are red and juicy--the more you pick the longer the plant will bear fruit. If frost threatens you can harvest all the fruit whether green or red and store away from direct sunlight and the fruit will still ripen.

Heirloom tomatoes are old varieties that have been saved by enthusiasts from all over the country. One of the most popular are the Brandywine, but there are many varieties that come ins different sizes, appearances and plant habits.