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Family = Solanaceae
Genus (?) = Solanum
Group (?) = Potatoe
Subgroup (?) = Lycopersicon
Species = L. esclentum

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Tomatoes are one of the most popular of garden vegetables, with hundreds if not thousands of varieties available. The original, wild tomato can still be found growing in its Mexican homelands. The wild variety has clumps, or trusses, of tiny berries only 1/4-1/2 inch round.

All tomato plants come in two general classifications, determinate, and indeterminate. Determinate refers to a plant that reaches a mature height and stops there. Indeterminate plants never cease growing, and will continue climbing or sprawling until pruned, or the fall frost ends the season.

Ask any two tomato gardeners, and you're likely to get two different 'perfect' ways to grow them. Many different growing methods exist, this site will only cover the most popular styles here in the Minnesota area... ...staking or caging.

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Care and Requirements.

Planting Time Tomatoes are warm weather crops, meaning that they cannot tolerate frosts. Specific times will very for different zones; make sure that all danger of frost has passed before planting either transplants or seeds.

Seed Depth Tomato seeds are relatively small and therefore should only be planted a quarter inch deep.

Spacing If seeding directly to the garden, sow 3-4 seeds in clumps spaced at least 3ft apart. Thin the sprouted seedlings to one or two of the healthiest in each mound when they are roughly two inches tall. Keeping the clumps at least 3ft apart will make trimming and harvesting much easier. Clumps planted closer than 3ft will tend to be difficult to control.

Staking Drive a stake a minimum of one foot deep, deeper if possible, several inches away from the young plants early in their development to prevent root damage. Guide the plants up the stake by LOOSELY looping twine or rope around the main stems and the stake. Ensure that the loop is 2-3" in diameter to prevent the rope from choking the stem.

An alternative method would be to attach the rope or twine to the top of the stake draping it down to the bottom of the plant. Loop the rope loosely around the base of the plant and loosely weave the new growth between and around the rope and the stake alternately when the new growth is roughly a foot above the last weave.

Caging Caging is very similiar in results to staking, but the support is surrounding the plant instead of at the center of the support. The most common caging wire in this area is the concrete reinforcement mesh that has 4-5" square openings. This allows easy access inside the cage at all points. A cage with smaller openings will be very difficult to access for trimming and harvesting.

Suckers At the joint where each leave attaches to the stem there is a baby stem waiting to develop. These new shoots are called suckers and should be pinched off as soon as they are noticed to keep the plant in a manageable form. In their natural environment tomato plants sprawl recklessly across the ground and up into surrounding plant spaces. The suckers play a vital function in spreading the plant in all directions, and as each part of the stems touch the ground they form roots at that point, increasing the overall vigor of the plant. In the home garden these suckers are a hinderance to fruit production, and short of replacing broken or weak stems they should be removed.

Harvesting Tomatoes can be harvested continually throughout the season from any point when the green fruit has reached full size to being fully ripe. A mature tomato, whether green, orange, or mostly red, will ripen easily if set on a sunny windowsill. An over-ripe tomato, however, can be a bit nasty to the tastebuds, and should be put into the compost or fed to your cat if it is a tomato eating freak like ours!

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The tiny seeds of the tomato are easily planted using
the Tiny Tim Seeder.

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Suppliers:
Bethlehem Seed Company

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Search: This Site Yep.com

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