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Tomatoes:
Introduction
"'I
like fresh, sweet corn, lima beans, and good ol'black-eyed peas, and
fried green tomatoes...'
Evelyn said, 'Did you know that a tomato is a
fruit?'
Mrs. Threadgoode, surprised, said, 'It is?'
'It sure is.'
Mrs.
Threadgoode sat there, bewildered, 'Oh no. Here all these years,
throughout my whole life, I've been thinking they were a vegetable ...
served them as a vegetable. A tomato is a fruit?'
'Yes.'
'Are you sure?'
'Oh yes. I remember that from home economics.'
'Well, I just cain't think about it, so I'm gonna
pretend I never even got that piece of information.'"
Fried
Green Tomatoes at the
Whistle Stop Cafe (p. 323)
|
|
There is simply no disputing that tomatoes are, hands down, America's
favorite vegetable (OK, fruit) to grow. According to every
national poll, tomatoes rank 30 percentage points ahead of their
nearest vegetable rival. Why? If you have to ask,
you've
never tasted a tomato juicy, warm, and fresh from the garden.
My
paternal grandmother ate them like one would an apple. I've
inherited the habit. Of course, she ate large, sweet onions
that
way too--a habit I've never learned to appreciate. So there
you
have it. If you need polls, the National Gardening
Association
says that 85% of U.S. gardeners grow tomatoes. Other polls
have
reported 90% or greater. If you need
commercial proof, just notice what vegetable (OK, fruit) Burpee most
often chooses as "cover girl" for its glossy winter swimsuit
edition (OK, gardening catalog). There is no way to provide
an
exhaustive list here of all the varieties currently offered by
the
various seed companies--one whole seed catalog, Totally Tomatoes, is
after all devoted to this family of veggies--so an effort will be made
to list the most
common types and the most popular cultivars.
[Photo: Tomatoes in July, Rutgers]
Lycopersicon
esculentum Solanaceae
Tomatoes are in the Solanaceae family (Nightshade family) together with
eggplant, peppers,
and potatoes. They are heavy feeders. (The Purdue
extension
service recommends 1 lb Ammonium Nitrate [33-0-0] side
dressing
per 100 ft. row, three times over the course of the season: 2 weeks
after the first fruit sets, 2 weeks after picking the first tomato, and
1 month later. HO-32)
Whether you go for the additional non-organic fertilizer or
not,
tomatoes should be planted in a rotation that, for obvious reasons,
includes nitrogen-fixing legumes. (Rodale recommends
preceding
with a cereal grain or grass and following with legume.) My
rotation has now evolved into a four-year pattern: winter
wheat
(or rye or oats or other grain/grass, sown in spring with red clover),
tomatoes and other solanaceae, legumes,
and lily/lettuce/cruciferae. I have enjoyed the
luxury for
several years of space to plant more tomatoes.
I accept a
much lower yield per plant rather than side dressing with a
non-organic fertilizer. That is a trade off I have so far
been
willing and able to accept.
Two
Types of Tomatoes (by vine growth habit):
Determinate Tomatoes
Determinate tomatoes are compact, "bush types," and take up less garden
space. This
makes some varieties potential patio, deck or balcony container plants.
Many can
be planted in a pot or tub. Sometimes they bear fruit that
ripens earlier,
but they may also stop bearing before a long season
ends.
Indeterminate Tomatoes
Indeterminate tomatoes are the sprawling "vine types," that take up
large amounts of garden space. They must usually be tied to
stakes or enclosed in wire cages. (For specific caging and
staking instructions, see the Purdue
extension publication on tomatoes, HO-26.) They may
sometimes be slower to ripen, but they bear until first frost.
Two Types of Tomatoes (by genetics)
Hybrid Tomatoes
Hybrid tomatoes are the result of a purposeful, hand-pollinated cross
of inbred lines of tomato plants. This
cross produces
seed that grows into a plant with hybrid vigor. This hybrid
vigor
provides a significant increase in certain
desirable characteristics and qualities in the tomato plant,
such
as better tasting fruit, early maturity (Early Girl), disease
resistance (Celebrity, Big Beef), and resistance to cracking.
Hybrid tomatoes which cross with themselves lose their hybrid
vigor and their desireable traits and predictability, so it is not
recommended to save seed from hybrid tomatoes. (You may get
tomato plants to grow from such seed, but both the plants and any
tomatoes they bear will be a mixed bag with largely
unpredictable
and poor results.) Obviously, those who are concerned with
the
decreasing genetic diversity of our food will want to shy away from
support of the multinational seed corporations and their limited hybrid
varieties--though one may question how limited our tomato varieties
really are as compared to other fruit and vegetables. Given
the
tendency toward disease (verticillium wilt, etc.) in tomatoes, limited
space for new ground in which to plant, etc., the most conservative and
environmentally friendly way to grow tomatoes for me might be to plant
a hybrid and lay off the fungicides and insect pesticides, and maybe
even that side dressing of nitrogen. (After all, how many tomatoes can
one family eat?) Hybrid seed costs more ($3-$5 per packet)
than
open-pollinated (free after the first year), but that may be a
relatively small cost when all of the factors are weighed.
Open-Pollinated and Heirloom Tomatoes
Open-pollinated tomatoes are tomato varieties that result from
non-selective pollination in open fields. The plants and
fruit
are not as consistent in their desirable traits and characteristics as
are hybrids, but if you plant the seeds of an open-pollinated variety
of tomato that you have grown, you will most likely recognize the
resulting plant and its fruit as resembling the same variety as the
plant and fruit from which you took the seed. In other words,
open-pollinated varieties cross "true"; parent and daughter plants are
quite similar. Heirloom tomatoes are open-polinated
varieties that are at least 50 years old--the varieties that grandma
and grandpa knew, grew, and loved to eat.
Five
Types of Tomatoes (by fruit size, shape and use):
Globe Tomatoes
Globe tomatoes are 2-4 inches in diameter. Because of their
small
size, they ripen earlier than bigger varieties. They are
barely
big enough for slicing, so they are often included in lists of "early
bird" hybrids. Used for everything that later and larger
varieties are used for, slicing, sauce, salsa, etc.
Beefsteak Tomatoes
Beefsteak tomatoes are generally 6 inches and larger in diameter.
This usually results in a "flattened ball" shape, sometimes
with
large lobes around the top that make the shape uneven and less rounded
even in the middle. Many hybrid beefsteaks are bred for a
more
globe-like and rounded shape, but heirlooms of this type are often
quite "lumpy." Beefsteak tomatoes are the quintessential
slicing
tomato, though they too may be used for sauce, salsa, etc.
[Photo: Beefsteak Tomato, Heirloom, Mortgage Lifter]
Pear Tomatoes
Pear tomatoes are usually 1 - 1 1/2 inches wide and pear or tear-drop
shaped. They grow in clusters on the plant and are usually
found
on hors d'oeuvres plates because they are bite-size and need only to be
washed to be ready to serve.
Roma Tomatoes
Roma tomatoes are 2 inches wide and cylindrical in shape.
They
are most often used for spaghetti sauces, soups, and tomato pastes,
because of their easy-to-peal skin, insignificant core, meaty walls,
and few seeds.
Cherry Tomatoes
These are the smallest of the tomato varieties, 1 - 1 1/2 inches in
diameter and globe-shaped. They are used frequently in
salads,
either whole or in halves.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the varieties of tomato
shapes, sizes and uses. You'll find larger and smaller
examples
of each of these types and many other shapes (and colors and tastes,
which we haven't really addressed) too many to attempt to catalog here.
Tomato
Varieties:
Tumbledown
has grown the following varieties with moderate success.
- Heirlooms, for
which I save seed: Brandywine (Beefsteak), Mortgage Lifter (Beefsteak),
Rutgers (Globe), Amish Cherry
- Hybrids: Better
Boy, Early Girl, Big Beef
The comments that
follow relate directly to Tumbledown's
experience of growing these varieties in the Midwest (Indiana), but
most of the information will also be applicable to other varieties and
can be adapted to other climates and soil conditions.
Occasionally you will find lists of available varieties
divided
by region (especially Northern short season and Southern long
season).
Perhaps the best source of information and recommendation regarding
Tomato varieties is the All-America
Selections (AAS) trials for growth
and flavor.
Tomato
Planting:
Tomatoes
are warm-loving, "tender" plants, so they should not be planted outside
until the danger of frost is past. In Indianapolis, this
means after May 10 (after Mother's Day). Because of the time
required from planting to ripened fruit, it isn't feasible to
plant tomato seeds outdoors (a.k.a. "direct seeding") in
Indiana. So, either the gardener must buy plants from a
nursery or must plant from seed indoors under some sort of grow light.
(Recommendation: one "warm" and one "cool" flourescent bulb
in a two-bulb shop light fixture.) I use a
Floralight, but there cheeper alternatives, including building one's
own grow shelf. I plant indoors from seed because of the
larger selection available from the seed catalogs than from the local
nurseries and because of the lower cost of seed vs. plants. I
plant four seeds in each pot (a 2 quart orange juice or milk carton cut
in half and slit at the four lower corners to allow drainage).
As the plants grow, I thin to one plant per pot.
Seeds should be planted indoors 7 weeks before planting
outdoors. Germination takes 6-10 days. (See Purdue
extension seed-starting publication,
HO-14-W; see also Tumbledown's Garden Calendar).
[Photo:
Tomato sprouts 10+ days after planting seed.]
When time comes to plant outdoors, be
sure to "harden off" the plants by taking them outside for
ever-increasing periods of time in the shade at first and then as they
become stronger, for short periods of time in full sun, bringing them
indoors when wind, rain, and very hot/dry weather threaten.
[Photos:
Tomatoes under Floralight and tomatoes outside hardening off on the
deck.]
Tomatoes will grow almost anywhere
the first year. (Planting tomatoes more than once in the same
location, without an extended rotation of at least three years
[preferably more], is a recipe for tomato plant disaster.)
Almost any soil type will do, though as with most plants, tomatoes "prefer" a
well-drained, deep loam. My soil is a heavy clay, so one of
the first orders of business is to modify the soil structure by adding
organic matter. My pH is also high, so I add Sphagnum peat
moss to both lower the pH and improve the soil structure.
Tomatoes "prefer" a pH of 6.2-6.8. One "brick" or
slightly more of Sphagnum peat per 25 foot row, tilled or spaded in
just prior to planting, works just fine for me.
[Photo:
Adding Sphagnum peat and preparing to plant tomatoes.]
For instructions about improving your
soil condition, see
Logsdon's Gardener's
Guide to Better Soil
or
Tumbledown's soil
fertility page. A soil test is recommended and will
come with recommendations for improving the N-P-K and pH of your own
soil. Remember, there are organic alternatives, including
compost, for improving your soil.
Actually planting. In the
garden, tomatoes are transplanted (at least where I live), so it is
important to dig a hole in soil that has already been prepared by
spading and tilling. Because I live and garden on a
pronounced slope, I grow my tomatoes in rows like flower beds,
with rows of grass between the rows of tomatoes, a poor man's
way of terracing. This isn't ideal, but it produces tomatoes.
The important thing to remember is to bury most of the stem
in a fairly shallow, elongated hole. The hole should be
shallow to allow for quick and uniform heating of the soil
around the plant. The hole should be elongated in order to
lay most of the stem in the trench, so that the soil
covers most of the stem. Where the stem touches
dirt, the tomato will send out new roots. Only the leafy top
of the tomato plant need stick out of the ground and that only for a
few inches at first planting. Watering the plant in with a
dilute starter fertilizer (such as that sold by Miracle Grow, or such
as can be made by soaking compost in water) will help overcome the
shock of transplanting.
[Photo:
Planting a tomato in a shallow trench. NOTE: the
plant should be removed from the cardboard pot before planting.]
Tomatoes are heat-loving, so any
mulch early in the season should be along the lines of black paper or
plastic to heat up the ground. Later in the season, mulching
with straw to keep down weeds and promote moisture retention is
acceptable. They like full sun and do not like to stand in
water.
[Photos:
Tomatoes staked and later, after the plants are well established,
mulched with straw.]
Tomatoes
are staked at the same time they are planted in order to avoid
disturbing the roots later. Once the plant is established, it
is tied loosely to the stake and mulched with straw to preserve
moisture and suppress weeds.
[Photo:
Tomatoes beginning to ripen after a very hot, dry spring.
Cracks and sunscald were almost universal during the drought
of 2007.]
After
the last of the tomatoes are harvested in the fall, just before the
first frost, I pull the plants and put them on the compost pile.
I broadcast rye seed into the straw mulch to be plowed under
in the spring for the next crop.
Tomatoes in a Crop Rotation
As
stated above, tomatoes do not tolerate repeated planting in the same
ground (without industrial fumigation with bromide, but that's a
different story). So, a rotation is crucial, even in the
garden. Take a look at the full garden plan.
Here is Tumbledown's 4-year tomato crop rotation, as borrowed and
modified
from Gene Logsdon (Small-Scale
Grain Raising
):
|
Spring |
Fall |
| Year 1 |
Winter Wheat grows until harvested in mid-summer.
(See fall of Year 4.) Red Clover is broadcast
seeded into the wheat in February and March, just prior to the last
hard freeze. Clover can be cut once and dried or fed to
rabbits or, if growth has been too slow, left to be plowed under the
following spring. |
Let clover recover from cutting and stand over winter.
|
| Year 2 |
Amend soil by plowing under the
clover from previous season and adding peat, manure, compost,
greensand, and bone meal. Plant tomatoes. |
Pull tomato plants at frost and broadcast-sow
rye into the mulch. |
| Year 3 |
Plow or till under the mulch and rye from previous fall
and plant beans and other legumes. In favorable season, may
get two legume crops in succession. |
Plow under legume residues and plant rye in half the
rows; amend soil (see Spring of Year 2
above) and plant cold hardy Cruciferae (kale, turnips, etc.) and
pre-plant overwintering lily family (onions, garlic) in the other half
of rows. |
| Year 4 |
Plow or till under rye and amend soil (see Spring of Year 2
above); plant spring peas, lettuce, brocolli, and the rest of
lily and cruciferae families as desired. |
Plow residues and plant winter wheat. |
Note:
Red Clover, in addition to fixing nitrogen and generally
improving the soil condition, is used to feed the domestic
rabbits at Tumbledown farm. Their droppings are an important
part of our compost.
Tomato
Pests and Diseases:
Blossom
End Rot
Blossom End Rot is caused by a calcium deficiency, usually brought on
by extreme swings in moisture availability. (But
also by problems with pH, etc.) Drought years (like 2007) are
almost certain to bring their share of BER.
Sunscald
Sunscald is a yellow or white patch on the part of the tomato facing
the sun. It is what it sounds like.
Cutworms
Cutworms often cut off the newly planted tomato at the ground.
(No, a rabbit didn't do it.)
Hornworms
Hornworms are large worms (4 inches) with a horn at one end.
They eat both leaves and fruit. Pick them off the
plant and dispose of them.
Anthracnose, Early Blight, Septoria Leaf Spot
Look for spots on leaves and fruit. Combat with
a ombination of good sanitation, rotation, tolerant cultivars,
mulch (to control splashing from dirt in rain), staking and spacing to
allow air flow. If you go for chemical treatment, fungicide
sprays are sometimes recommended.
Fusarium Wilt and Verticillium Wilt
Yellowing of lower leaves progresses upward throughout the plant.
It is important to choose resistant cultivars, practice good
sanitation and crop rotation to combat these common diseases.
There are many other pests and diseases that afflict tomatoes.
Check out the Purdue
extension tomato publication and contact the extension office
for advice if you are having problems.
Water
Requirements for Tomatoes:
Consistent, thorough, deep watering
is crucial for tomatoes. They are always thirsty.
1-1 1/2 inches per week are required for the health of the
plants and for the production of fruit. Water is especially
important for the first few weeks
after planting (and longer if the plants are not yet established).
Tomatoes will crack if long periods without water are
followed by too much water at one time. Mulch is crucial to
maintaining soil moisture steadily over time.
Nutrients
and pH:
The optimum pH
for tomatoes is 6.2-6.8. The soil in my garden tests
at pH 7.9, so I must still work to amend the soil
over time.
(For the plan to replace nutrients removed by the
tomatoes
and to amend the soil, follow the previous link or scroll
up to the rotation chart above.) Nonetheless, despite the
high pH and nutrient deficiencies, the tomatoes are easy to grow;
thriving and producing well when the rains are
plentiful.
Tomato
Production:
So far, the
answer is more than I need and more than I can give away from twelve or
so plants per year. Next year I plan to weigh and count and
report here on the results.
Picking Instructions from Pickyourown.org
Tomato
Bibliography:
Purdue Extension Tomato Publication,
HO-26.
Rodale's
All-New Encyclopedia
of Organic Gardening. "Tomato," pp. 569-573.
Vegetable
Gardening for Dummies
, "And
the Winner Is
... Tomatoes," pp. 41-56.
Copyright © 2008 by Tumbledown Farm
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