Tomatoes Well Worth The Effort
Have you planted your tomatoes yet? If you have, and if they’re anything like mine, they’re a bit on the bedraggled side. It’s no wonder.
Consider the original home of tomatoes: the humid, moist, warm environs of the Andean Mountains of South America. The sunless, chilly days we’ve been experiencing are not exactly hospitable to this southern fruit. These conditions though, are not uncommon this time of year. So, why would we attempt to grow such a heat-loving plant in a climate that is so unpredictable? Because of the aroma and taste of a fresh-sliced tomato, not to mention bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches and salads of marinated tomatoes, onions and cucumbers. Need I go on?
The tomato has an interesting history. Centuries ago, early botanists placed the tomato in the nightshade family - a group of very poisonous plants.
Therefore, the fruit was naturally thought to be poisonous. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1830s that tomatoes were eaten in this country. Even the renowned horticulturist Thomas Jefferson raised tomatoes only for ornamental uses. So who was the first brave soul to taste this fruit known as the “wolf peach”?
According to the National Gardening Bureau, Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson is credited for changing opinions about tomatoes. In 1820, Johnson staged an event to eat a basketful of tomatoes at the local courthouse. An audience gathered to watch the colonel die. It was thought that he would foam at the mouth, double over with appendicitis and burn up with fever. Needless to say, Colonel Johnson survived and thankfully, we get to reap the rewards of his discovery.
Tomatoes are classified in three ways - the shape/size of the fruit, when they mature and their color. There are five major fruit sizes - cherry, plum, pear, standard and beefsteak. Most of us are familiar with cherry tomatoes. They are produced in clusters, much like grapes. Plum and pear tomatoes have more meaty insides and thick walls, great for sauces. Standards and beefsteaks speak for themselves.
Maturity days refer to the number of days from planting outdoors to expected ripe fruit. They can be early (55-65 days), mid-season (66-80 days) and late, (more than 80 days).
Red is normally the color associated with tomatoes, but they don’t stop there. They can be found creamy white, lime-green, pink, orange, gold and yellow. Though we may think of gold and yellow as modern introductions, back in 1880, the Livingston Seed Co. of Columbus, Ohio, bred a large beauty named Golden Queen. It was touted as an early, large, smooth-fruited tomato.
Tomato growers will all agree, tomatoes need as much sun as possible for good yield. They need both warm days (70 degrees and above) and warm soil.
There is not the same level of agreement regarding planting methods. Most growers fall into one of two camps: those who plant in a deep hole and those who plant in a trench.
The deep hole method simply means digging a hole and dropping in the plant. If the plant is tall and leggy, simply dig the hole deeper and bury the stem up to the top few leaves. The plant will form roots all along the stem.
The problem with this method in northern regions is that the soil deep in the ground may be cold. Since tomatoes love warm roots, this method may slow down early growth. However, during the hot summer, as the sun bakes the soil, roots that are deep in the ground stay warm while picking up stored moisture.
Trench planting simply means laying the tomato plant horizontally in a shallow trench. Pinch all leaves off the stem except the top two or three sets. Bend (without breaking) the top two to four inches of stem straight up so it is out of the hole. Cover the stem with soil, pushing a pillow of soil under the top stem.
Trench planting provides a warm and cozy home for heat-loving roots during the spring. However, as the soil heats up during the hot summer, these same cozy roots may suffer from heat exhaustion. When roots get hot and dry, they can’t pick up water or nutrients, resulting in a cultural condition known as blossom end rot - black rot at the base of the tomato.
Either method works. You pick. The main requirement is to keep the plants moist. Mulch the tomatoes for the summer months with at least three inches of mulching material. As for which tomato tastes the best. The jury is still out. Personally, I can’t tell the difference between most. However, I certainly can tell you if it’s a fresh tomato or store-bought. There simply is no comparison.
This year has been declared the year of the tomato by the National Garden Bureau. Hip, hip hooray. Those gardeners with a passion for growing tomatoes can subscribe to a newsletter published by the Tomato Club. It comes out six times a year and the annual subscription is $15.95. For information, write the Tomato Club at PO Box 418, Bogota, NJ, 07603-0418; or call (201) 488-2231.