tomato hints and tips
The Tomato is a Fruit From a botanical perspective. A fruit is the edible part of the plant that contains the seeds, while a vegetable is an herbaceous (non-woody) part that can be eaten without processing (i.e., edible roots, leaves and stalks)
.How to Ripen Picked Tomatoes Depending on variety, ripe tomatoes should be completely red or reddish-orange in colour. They will have an earthy, sweet aroma and give slightly too gentle pressure. To ripen tomatoes, place them in a fruit bowl or paper bag. As the fruit ripens, it emits ethylene gas which speeds up the ripening process. Placing unripe tomatoes in with ripe tomatoes, apples or bananas also speeds ripening because ripe fruit gives off a greater amount of ethylene gas than unripe fruit. Fresh tomatoes are tastiest when served at room temperature. Tomatoes will lose their flavour when refrigerated so if you must refrigerate, do so only for a few days. Never refrigerate tomatoes that are not fully ripe because cold temperatures stop the ripening process.
Types of Tomato Fruit (Beefsteak, Cherry, Paste and Standard) there are four basic types of tomatoes: Beefsteak tomatoes are the enormous tomatoes typically used on sandwiches or for baking. They can weigh between 10 ounces to 2 pounds. Cherry tomatoes grow in bunches like grapes. They can be round or pear-shaped and are perfect for salads. Paste tomatoes are plum-shaped. They are more ‘meaty’ than other tomato varieties which makes them an excellent candidate for sauces. Standard tomatoes are round. They are typically used for soups and salads.
Growth habit:
Tomato plants come in either bush or vine form. The bush varieties are called determinate. They grow to a height of 18 inches to 3 feet, produce fruit at the end of their branches and do not require staking. They typically produce one large crop of fruit.
Determinate tomatoes are primarily paste varieties, the vine varieties are called indeterminate. They grow and produce tomatoes until frost kills the vine. Indeterminate tomatoes produce fruit clusters along their stems. They require stakes or cages to keep the plant from sprawling on the ground. Cherry and large salad varieties generally make up this group. Tomatoes prefer a rich, well-drained soil with a pH range between 5.5 and 7.5. Choose a location with at least 6 hours of full sun and protection from strong winds.
Planting Staking:
Indeterminate (vine) tomatoes are suitable for staking. When staking a tomato, the vine should be pruned to a single or double stalk. Staking provides several benefits; upward-growing plants will product more pounds of fruit than un-staked plants. Tomatoes will ripen earlier. The plant will receive better air circulation reducing the chance for disease. Fruit held high above the ground is protected from dirt and slugs. Stakes should be six to eight feet long and sturdy (at least two inches in width). Set stakes at the same time you plant your tomatoes to avoid root damage later on. Place the stake three inches from the plant on its north side to avoid shading the plant. To provide stability in strong wind, sink the stake one to two feet into the ground. For ties, use coarse twine or another bulky material that will not to cut into the stem. As the plant grows, tie it to the stake every 12 to 18 inches.
Pests:
Whiteflies suck the juices out of foliage leaving behind tiny yellow spots called stippling. Try controlling whiteflies with a daily hard blast from the hose. If that doesn’t work, attach yellow sticky tags to each plant (whiteflies are attracted to yellow).
Watering Tomato plants need 1 to 1-1/2 inches of water each week. To prevent fungal diseases, water in the morning and avoid wetting the foliage Mulch around tomato plants to maintain consistent moisture. Moisture consistency helps prevent cracking and blossom end rot.
Fertilising:
Fertilize your garden before planting tomatoes and again when the fruit first sets. Don’t over fertilize your tomatoes. Too much nitrogen will encourage lush foliage, but produce little fruit. For best results, fertilize once a month with a 5-10-10
fertilizer
Tomatoes have three different growth habits: determinate, indeterminate, and semi-determinate. Determinate types are relatively small, often referred to as bushy or compact. Each short branch ends in a flower cluster and the plant does most of its growing before any fruit are set. The tomatoes tend to ripen at once, usually over a short 2 to 3 week period. After most of the tomatoes are harvested the plant yellows and additional production is limited. If grown upright, the plants are seldom more than 2 - 3 feet tall. Some examples of this type include Urbikany, and Roma. In general, many of the earliest varieties are determinate types.
Contrast that growth habit to indeterminate types.
These are the traditional, large home garden varieties. They produce plants as large as you will allow them to grow. They have many widely spaced branches, numerous suckers, and produce tomatoes all season long. These are the varieties that can be manipulated in all sorts of fashion to make the plants conform to your needs. Examples of this type of growth habit include Big Beef (most of the beefsteak types), In between these two are the semi-determinate types. They will produce suckers like indeterminate types but not as many and the plant will grow between 3 and 5 feet. Examples of semi-determinate types include Marmande
At one time, all tomato plants were indeterminate types. In the early part of the 20th century, a compact, determinate plant was field growing in a field of tomatoes - a natural mutation. From that one plant has come all the determinate plants,
So it has nothing to do with hybrid or open pollinated. There are probably more non-hybrid, open pollinated indeterminate types than determinate types but you can find hybrids in both vine types. As far as where you should plant, they both have the same requirements but the indeterminates will take up more room.
Remember, you can grow perfectly fine fruit without pruning your plants. But if you want to prune, here are a few guidelines. For determinate types, there is no need to prune at all. For indeterminate types, allow one, two, or three suckers to grow from the base of the plant. Each of these will become a main stem with lots of flowers and fruit. Prune off all the others suckers and provide the plants with strong support. Research has shown that the best time to remove suckers is when they are about 3 to 4 inches long. For the semi-determinate types, limit your pruning. When the plant is 8 - 10 inches high, look carefully and observe the first flower cluster on the stem. Remove all the suckers below the flower cluster except for the one immediately below the cluster. You may have to go back and give these a second pruning 7 to 10 days later. Remove no more than that or you run the risk of pruning too much. The amount of pruning among these varieties to produce optimum yields varies. Some varieties would do better if you left 2 suckers below the flower cluster. Experiment and see which works best for the variety you are growing
Tags: Growing Tips, growingtomatoes, tomatoplants
