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High in vitamins, low in calories and homegrown tomatoes taste great! Nothing like those tasteless store bought ones. Tomatoes are used in a wide number of recipes, too. You can use your tomatoes to eat fresh, or make salsas, sauces, ketchup, juice, casseroles and soups. Since tomatoes are a high acid vegetable they are easy for first time preservers and canners too, requiring only water bath canning instead of a pressure canner. Tomatoes are also easily stored frozen. Simply rinse them off, lightly dry and place in a freezer bag. Frozen tomatoes are easy to peel by simply running warm water over them and then rubbing off the peels. Frozen tomatoes are great for use in cooking; however they become too watery for slicing after being frozen.

The long standing argument about whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable is an easy one to solve. If it comes from a flower... it is a fruit. Yes, even a green bean is biologically a fruit. Of course everyone ALWAYS classifies IT as a vegetable, so.... I guess we CAN continue to debate about the tomato as well.

Tomatoes are very productive plants capable of producing 8 pounds of fruit or even more on each plant. This makes them even more attractive to people with limited time on their hands. Tomatoes are easy to grow as long as you live some where the temperature stays above 60 for at least 65 days per year. Their flowers will drop when nights fall below 55 and no flowers means no fruit. They are very adaptable, being productive whether grown in a country garden setting or in a large pot on a balcony in the city. Tomatoes come in two basic kinds determinate and indeterminate.

Determinate tomatoes grow to a fixed height and tend to be bushier. Tomatoes of this kind set most of their fruit at once. This makes them good for home canners and also growers with limited space. Some determinate varieties, like "Patio", are specifically developed for container growing.

Indeterminate tomatoes, on the other hand, continue to grow and set tomatoes until they are stopped by cold weather. The heritage tomatoes, like "Brandywine", are all indeterminate. The wildly vining habits of this type of tomato require lots of space to grow. Because they set fruit all of the time during the growing season, they are a good choice if you like to eat your tomatoes fresh or only need a few tomatoes each day.

Tomatoes prefer a rich loamy soil to grow. They are moderate to heavy feeders and like a nice manure tea, or Miracle Grow "soda", as they grow. They like plenty of water, but only on the roots please! Getting their slightly hairy, poisonous leaves wet can cause fungus problems. Mentioning their leaves brings up the point that many people suffer from dermatitis and itching if they touch a tomatoes leaves. If you are sensitive to them protect your self by wearing long sleeves and gloves while handling them.

Tomatoes may be planted by starting with either seeds or small plants. Starting you tomatoes from started plants is the easiest and most common way. The first thing to do when planting tomatoes is make sure that the soil is ready for success. Mixing compost or well composted manure into the soil will help provide for your tomato. Be sure not to use fresh manure or manure from a carnivore, like a dog, as this manure is too "hot" and will kill your plants. Rabbit manure, or barnyard manure like cow, horse or chicken composted with bedding like straw or shavings is the best. Next make sure the soil is warm and all danger of frost is past in your area. Tomatoes can be rushed by using black plastic, row covers, water jug forts, etc... But it is not recommended for the beginner. Usually plants started in the normal fashion catch up with the rushed ones soon and often surpass them in productivity. So unless you HAVE to have the first tomato on your block, just wait.

The first step in choosing a tomato is choosing a variety. Do you like big beefsteak tomato slices for a BLT? Do you want sugary delicious cherry salad tomatoes, or do you want to make salsa with a paste type tomato? Or maybe a few of each? Choose a tomato plant that looks healthy and green, one with good height and look for roots that are growing out of the bottom of the pot. If you need to keep the plants a while before planting them into your permanent location, be sure to give them as much sun as possible and water them by standing their container in a shallow pan and watering from the bottom. You have your plants, the soil is warm and ready, and the days are warmer... you are ready!

Try to plant your tomatoes in the afternoon. This prevents the newly planted transplants from being scorched by the sun while they are first recovering from the shock of being up rooted. Prepare the spot for your tomato by digging a hole wider than the plant's root ball and deep enough to bury the plant up to the second set of leaves. By planting the tomato deep in this way it will sprout roots along the entire buried stem bringing the plant more nutrients. Gently remove the plant and all of its soil from the original container. Give a gentle squeeze to slightly loosen the root ball. Many people mix one teaspoon of Epsom Salt's into the bottom of the hole before adding the plant. Epsom Salt contains magnesium that the plants love. Stir it into the soil, if you choose to use it, and then add the plant with the roots stretching down. Fill the hole around the plant. Press the soil in gently, but firmly. Be sure to leave plenty of greenery above soil level. After planting give the plants a lukewarm drink of water and water thoroughly.

When I set out my plants I take care of the whole season's work in one shot. After the plants are set, I carefully place a soaker hose down the rows. I wind it between the plants and close to the base of each. Next I mulch. I prefer compostable mulch in my garden. I like to use recycled newspapers for the first layer. I place the newspaper right up to each plant and over the top of the soaker hoses. I then place newspaper between each row where I walk. The newspaper protects the roots, maintains soil heat and moisture, and prevents any weed growth by shading them out. Finally I place a compostable material over the newspaper to hold it in place. I usually use old rotting hay, but many materials can be used. Manure compost, compost, straw, rice hulls, wood shavings, or even wood chips however they take a long time to break down in the soil. Then I am done. The rest of the summer I have no weeds. If I want to water my tomatoes I simply hook my garden hose to the soaker hose and turn it on. I have found that a water timer works best for this as I sometimes forget to turn the hose off, since the water is quietly oozing away under the mulch and I can't see any puddles! The mulch protects the tomato leaves and the fruit from dirt and fungus as well.

Stake or no stake.... that is a question. I prefer to grow my tomatoes on a fence that is placed down the middle of my garden row. Metal T posts and concrete reinforcement mesh make up the fence, which could be moved if I choose. Most tomato cages are too small for indeterminate tomatoes. Simple stakes take too much tying. A roll of wire works great too, however I simple weave my vines back and forth through the fence and they do great. Not staking tomatoes is okay, with the use of the mulch, but tomatoes are harder to find and more likely to become bunny and bug food.

Starting your own transplants from seed can be fun and rewarding as well. Start the seeds in a small peat pot 6 weeks before your planting time.
If more than one seed sprouts in your pot simple snip off the weakest one. As the plants grow and get spindly place the peat pot inside of a larger pot and slowly add more potting soil. Give your transplants plenty of light and keep them moist, but not wet. Placing them in a breezy area or pointing a fan at them will make them more sturdy as well. When they are big enough, simply set them out as instructed above.

Caring for tomatoes is not hard. Eating homegrown tomatoes is easy! I hope that I have helped you become one step closer to self-sufficiency.

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