Tomato Growing Tips
Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable to grow in gardens, and there is nothing nicer than picking your own ripe fruit straight from the vine.
You simply must make a spot in your garden to grow your own tomatoes. As a salad, for use alone, cooked or raw, for making preserves, pickles and sauces, the Tomato is one of the most commonly and widely used of Vegetables. The Tomato is a tender annual, and cannot be planted out in the open ground until all fear of frost is over. Tomatoes may be easily grown without heat, and it is possible in most seasons, to have fairly early Tomatoes in the open ground, providing the plants are raised under cover and hardened off for planting out as soon as weather conditions permit.
is a tomato a fruit or vegetable?
The question of whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable has been debated for centuries. In the strictest botanical sense, a fruit is the ripened ovary of a flowering plant, containing seeds that will grow into new plants. However, the term is often used more broadly to refer to any edible plant product, including nuts, grains, and vegetables. This ambiguity can be traced back to the early days of taxonomy, when scientists struggled to classify the world’s many thousands of plant species. As a result, the definition of fruit has changed over time, and what we now consider to be fruits were once classified as vegetables. Today, the Tomato is widely considered to be both a fruit and a vegetable, depending on how it is used. In the kitchen, it is most commonly treated as a vegetable, but in botanical terms, it is classified as a fruit. Ultimately, whether you consider the Tomato to be a fruit or a vegetable is up to you.
Here are a few tips on how to get the best out of your tomato plants.
Choose The Right Variety
Of the hundreds of different varieties of tomato plant available, some will be better suited to your garden than others. If you have limited space, look for varieties that are described as “compact” or “determinate”, such as ‘Tumbling Tom Red’. These varieties stop growing at a certain point, so they’re perfect for growing in pots or hanging baskets. If you have more space, “indeterminate” varieties such as ‘Ailsa Craig’ will continue to grow and produce fruit throughout the summer. You can also find tomato plants that have been bred to resist certain diseases, such as ‘Tomaway’, which has resistance to both fusarium wilt and verticillium wilt.
Soil and Preparation
Choose new land each season for Tomatoes, as they deteriorate and contract disease very easily if grown in the same ground several years in succession. In fact, it is a good plan not to replant Tomatoes in ground previously used for this crop for at least four years.
The ideal soil for Tomatoes is a deep rich friable loam, but good results will be obtained from most soils providing they are well drained, thoroughly and deeply trenched and well enriched with good, well-decayed cow or stable manure. In the absence of cow or stable manure, Bone Dust, together with some fertiliser rich in Potash, may be used. As Tomatoes require a rich, friable soil, when the ground is stiff, some light soil should be filled in and mixed through with it while trenching. With rich, properly prepared ground, no further fertilizer will be necessary, unless the plants receive a check, in which case a liquid application of fertilizer will start them going again.
How to grow tomatoes by seed
Tomato seed sowing and planting out: Tomatoes can be raised in boxes, in a hot bed, or in peat pots, either placed in a hot bed or kept in a warm position in the house, and under these circumstances, seed can be sown in late winter and early Spring. Being tender and non-frost resistant, seed cannot be sown in a seed bed in the open ground before the end of Spring; sowing may be continued up to early Summer. As plants cannot be put out in the open before the end of Spring, growing indoors is a good idea, or to obtain good, strong, stocky seedlings, seed can be sown in pots and the seedlings transplanted into peat or paper pots; at the right time the bottom of the pot is removed, and the frame work, with the plants intact, sunk in the ground, thus saving a fresh transplanting.
Be careful to harden the plants off thoroughly before putting out in the open. For raising Tomato plants in the open a seed bed of light, sandy loam is the most suitable, and this should be in a sheltered corner of the garden. Sow the seed thinly and evenly on the surface of the ground, covering only very lightly with soil. Stretch a piece of hessian or canvas across the bed, about 2 feet above the surface. This will permit the air to circulate amongst the seedlings, and at the same time prevent them from making thin, spindly growth. If the plants come up too thickly, thin out liberally, and when about two inches high, harden them to the sun in gradual stages, and eventually dispense with the shade. When from 3 to 4 inches high, the plants should be sufficiently vigorous to be moved to their permanent position. Whilst growing in the seed bed, they must be regularly and efficiently watered, and kept free from weeds.
Plant out in rows 4 feet apart, and allow 3 feet between the plants. After the plants are set out a 5 foot stake should be driven about 1 foot into the ground near each plant, or these may be placed in readiness before transplanting.
How to train tomato plants
Each plant should be trained to one stem, and as the growth advances, tied to the stake. When about 4 feet high, take out the leader and then the lateral branches which bear flowers, and fruit will develop.
how to prune a tomato plant
Cut off all superfluous growths and pinch out the leader of the fruit bearing shoots. Should the variety be a free setter, train up two or three shoots at the most, and when the flowers show at the top of each growth, allow two shoots to grow, making six growths in all. Let these continue growing, but keep all other shoots removed as they are only superfluous growths. With a shy-bearing variety, such as Ponderosa; more growths may be left on, but occasionally stop each of them at the joint beyond the one carrying the flowers, to induce them to set. By this means maximum quantity of fruit may be procured with a minimum of space, and an additional advantage is that each row partially shades the next one, while plenty of light is admitted and air can circulate freely amongst the plants.
Give Them Support
All tomato plants need support as they grow – otherwise known as “staking”. This is because the weight of the plant and its fruits can make it topple over. Place canes or bamboo stakes into the ground around your tomato plants when they are still small, and tie them in with soft garden twine as they grow taller. You may need to give them a little extra support with more ties later on in the season. One way to avoid all this staking is to grow “cordon” varieties such as ‘Sungold’, which have been bred to have a naturally compact growing habit. These can simply be grown in large pots or hanging baskets.
Tomatoes may be grown and trained to a trellis, and by stopping and regulating the shoots as suggested above, first-class crops are possible. After transplanting, a few branches should be put round each plant as a protection against a possible late frost or strong winds, until thoroughly established. When the plants are grown on the ground, a dozen shoots may be left and the small shoots occasionally taken off, the others being stopped at the joint beyond the flower.
Feed Them Regularly
Whilst the plants are growing, keep the ground between the rows well loosened with the hoe and destroy all weeds. Just about the time the fruit is well formed, mulch the plants with partially decayed cow or stable manure. Tomatoes require plenty of moisture, and the plants will be benefited by regular watering. When carrying a heavy crop, the plants may require an application of liquid cow manure, and if necessary apply this just as the fruit is setting.
Be careful not to over manure or over-water tomatoes, as this causes the plants to run to vine, with the result that the flowers drop off and no fruit sets. In this case it is necessary to pinch back the laterals, and cut off all superfluous growth.
Tomato plants are hungry plants, so they will need feeding every couple of weeks once they start to flower. Use a balanced liquid fertilizer or All Purpose Plant Food, which will give them everything they need for strong growth and bountiful crops. Just follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how much to use. If you’re using garden compost or manure, make sure it is well rotted down first – otherwise it could do more harm than good by damaging delicate roots.
why tomatoes split
Fat juicy ripe tomatoes can split, which can be frustrating for gardeners. There are several reasons why this happens. First, tomatoes split when they are exposed to too much water. If the plant is getting too much water, the fruit will absorb the excess water and begin to swell. Eventually, the skin will rupture, causing the tomato to split. Second, tomatoes can also split if they are not getting enough water. If the plant is not getting enough water, the fruit will begin to dehydrate and shrink. This can cause the skin to wrinkle and the tomato to split. Finally, tomatoes can also split if they are exposed to too much sunlight. If the plant is getting too much sunlight, the fruit will begin to sunburn. This can cause the skin to blister and the tomato to split. Gardeners can help prevent tomatoes from splitting by ensuring that they are properly watered and protected from excessive sunlight.
Tomato Pests
Tomato pests can be a real problem for gardeners, causing damage to plants and crops. There are a number of common tomato pests, including aphids, whiteflies, and tomato hornworms. These pests can be controlled with a variety of methods, including using traps, spraying plants with insecticide, or planting resistant varieties. Tomato hornworms are particularly difficult to control, as they can quickly destroy a plant. However, by keeping an eye out for these pests and taking action quickly, you can minimize the damage they cause.
Ash dusted over the plants, will help keep them free from caterpillars. Do not apply ash on maturing fruit trusses, to prevent making the fruit dirty.
Harvesting your tomatoes
Thin the plants heavily so as to give the late fruit already set every opportunity of maturing. Pick the Tomatoes as soon as they ripen. In the late season any unripe fruit may be picked and put in a closed cupboard or boxes to ripen.
Popular Tomato Varieties
There are many varieties of Tomatoes in commerce, but the Gardener is advised to make a selection from the following tested and reliable sorts : Earliana (The ”Earliest” of all Tomatoes), Chalk’s Early Jewel, Burwood Prize, Wilding’s Prolific and Indomitable. ”fonderosa” bears a fine, handsome, large fruit, but the plant is a rather shy yielder.
”Abundance” and ”Invincible” are two other good second early sorts, and it is always worth while putting in a few plants of one of the fancy dessert varieties, such as Green Gage, Pear-shaped, the Peach or Red Currant.
Tomato Disease
The fungal disease Blight is the worst to affect your tomato plants. First of all the plants look as if they are suffering from want of water; and afterwards they go black, as if frost bitten. As soon as the disease is detected, pull the plants up and burn them right away, otherwise the trouble will spread in your soil for years to come.
With a little care and attention, you can enjoy harvesting lashings of ripe tomatoes from your very own plants. Just remember to choose the right variety for your garden, give them plenty of support, and feed them regularly for the best results. Bon appétit!
