Posts Tagged ‘Tomatoes’

Tomatoes – A Vegetable Or Fruit?

December 1st, 2009

Tomatoes, the red juicy variety makes be absolutely nostalgic. It reminds of the days when vacations meant spending time with my grandparents. My maternal grandmom had a beautiful kitchen garden and walking with her (holding her hands and listening to her experiences) in her elaborate kitchen garden was real fun. Kids today talk of generation gap in a big way. However, at the time there really did not seem any generation gap between me and my grandmom. I enjoyed every trip back in time with her. Her garden was indeed beautiful and looking back what a collection it was. From tomatoes, eggplants, green chillies, onions, potatoes to coconuts, bananas, guavas and spices like pepper she had it all.
She loved taking a mid-morning walk in the backyard. Walking alongside the varieties of plants with juicy fruits and vegetables hanging from them was a sight that is still very fresh in my mind. She had a lot of interests from gardening to stitching and was an exceptional cook. With age however, she has been restricted to a great extent in what she is able to do physically. When I see her today I really am forced to think of the effect time can have on us. How over the years things change, circumstances change and from a young energetic woman you are restricted to the confines of your home.
It makes me realize as to how important it is to take care of oneself and remain fit. Guess I have been a little carried away by emotions. It does happen to me at times when I sit to write and get a bit nostalgic then it is one thought connecting to the other and here I am on an emotional trip.
Coming back to my topic of tomatoes. The tomato is still surrounded by the many controversies of whether a fruit or vegetable. However, for all practical aspects now we do consider it a vegetable.The earliest discovered cookery book that contained recipes with the tomato dates back to the year 1692 and was found in Naples. However, the tomato definitely has come a long way since. From the pizza, burgers to ketchup and curries, the tomatoes have come to be an important part of our everyday meal. They are available in a variety of colors, sizes and types. From reds, oranges, greens to whites and tiny cherry tomatoes to the big bulky beefsteak tomatoes, they are all superb. The canned tomatoes are a little different, slightly longish, they are known as plum tomatoes.
With a high vitamin C content and rich in the antioxidant Lycopene, tomatoes sure are a must have on your menu. The antioxidant Lycopene fights against the free radicals in our body and has protective properties that prevent cancer and other diseases. It has a high fiber content too in addition to being rich in vitamin A, B, iron and phosphorus.
There are several dishes and variations possible with tomatoes. However, while cooking them you must ensure that you do not do so in an aluminum utensil. The acid content of the tomato reacts with the metal and is not really good for health.
The very thought of the many permutations and combinations that are possible with tomatoes makes me so hungry. Yummy tomato soups, Indian curries, delicious pizzas, lasagna …. can’t resist it any more. I am off to my kitchen to create a mouthwatering dish with the tomatoes lying in my refrigerator.

Share and Enjoy:

No comments »

Posted in Planting Tomatoes

Tags: Healthy Tomatoes

Tips on Making Your Own Tomato Cages

November 29th, 2009

Tomato cages are a unique and simple method of stabilizing your tomato plants along with other plants. They allow for better air flow around and through the plant, better plant exposure to sunlight, support fruit from having direct contact to the grown and allow for easy access for weeding, mulching or watering of plants. This all provides for a healthier plant, that in return will produce a bigger and better crop.There are many types of cages that are on the market and can be purchased at most local garden centers or you can simply make your own. There are many different ways that cages can be made and with many different type of standard building material like wood, pvc, or wire that can be purchased at your local lumber yard, hardware store, or home center.To build your own cages with wood products you can simply place four stakes around the plant and wrap twine around the stakes or you can fasten wood lath across the stakes like a ladder.Pvc tubing can also be a good product to use to build cages. One way is to use ridged pvc and fittings to create a box type structure with cross pieces like a ladder for the plants to be supported on as they grow or you can use coiled pvc tubing, fasten one end to the ground, stretch the tubing to the desired height and fasten the top to a stake.Concrete wire mesh or fencing wire are two other products that are commonly used to build plant cages. You can purchase rolls of wire mesh at most home centers, lumber yards or hardware stores. Simply cut the mesh to a desired length, then fasten the two ends together with snap ties creating a tube shape. Stand the tube over the plant and fasten to the ground.Cages can be used for more than just your tomato plants. They are a great way to support tall flowers or used to support vine type plants like morning glories or string beans. They are a great benefit for any size and type of garden.

Share and Enjoy:

No comments »

Posted in Planting Tomatoes

Tags: Heirloom Organic Staking Tomato Cages Tomatoes

Raising Tomato Plants from Seed

November 29th, 2009

Tomatoes, although technically short-lived perennials, are treated as annuals and raised from seed each year. They are sub-tropical plants that require a consistent temperature of at least 55ºF in order to germinate successfully, but a temperature of 70ºF will produce much quicker emergence and is generally preferred. Given warmth, good light and a damp friable growing medium tomatoes are very easy to raise from seed.

For most gardeners, even those that live in warmer districts where tomatoes are cultivated outdoors from their very early stages of growth, it is usual to start the seeds off in pans or flats of compost under controlled conditions. Tomatoes can be sown directly into the open ground, where the climate and soil conditions are suitable, but much better establishment of better quality plants always results from controlled seed raising and growing the seedlings during their initial stages of growth in independent modules or pots. Transplanting is easier and establishment is rapid.

As tomato seeds are large enough to handle individually, it is best to space them out on the surface of the prepared compost so that when they germinate they do not crowd each other. Also when they are pricked out there is no undue disturbance of the fragile root systems through them having become entangled with each other. A properly formulated seed compost is essential. A sterile medium of a texture and quality that will offer the best start for the germinating seeds.

There are a number of different composts available, but for the hobby gardener a good soil-based seed compost is to be preferred to a soil-less one. Soil-based composts, although generally slower to warm-up, and often slightly impairing the speed of seed germination, usually yield the finest and strongest plants, especially for planting directly into the garden outdoors.

Plants that have been raised in a soil-less compost, which almost always comprises a high proportion of friable peat, often take time to adapt their roots to the more hostile and less forgiving medium of natural garden soil when planted in their permanent positions. Sometimes a check in growth occurs while the roots adapt, resulting in an impairment in the plant’s development.

Soil-based composts also overcome the problem, commonly encountered with tomato seedlings raised in a soil-less medium, of the seed coat sticking the two seed leaves together, often making them inseparable without causing damage. The seed coat is generally detached by the coarser soil-based medium as the seedlings emerge.

Once the seedlings have their two seed leaves fully expanded they should be pricked out, ideally into individual modules or small pots, although they can spend two or three weeks pricked out into flats in order to save space when this is necessary. Like all seedlings, tomatoes that are raised in this manner are vulnerable to damping off disease. This causes the seedlings to rot at the base of the stem and collapse. The routine use of a fungicidal treatment is to be recommended.

Share and Enjoy:

No comments »

Posted in Planting Tomatoes

Tags: Compost Gardening Raising Seeds Temperature Tomatoes Watering

Growing Tomato Plants From Seeds

November 28th, 2009

Tomato plant can be grown anywhere in the world and is thus well known as the plant in every home garden. It has been estimated that almost 90 percent of the vegetable gardeners have this crop in their garden. This is because the tomato plant requires very little attention from the gardener during the time of growth. The important elements needed for perfect growth is enough sunlight, a little patience and adequate water.

Tomato is considered to be a summer crop. Select the tomato variety from the wide variety which is easily available. Always check with your neighbors, nursery professionals and other online sources to find the most dependable and disease resistant variety of tomatoes.

The soil is to be prepared well before starting off with the tomato growing process. It should be mixed well with compost and well rotten manure if you are using sandy soil. Super phosphates are recognized to be the best nourishment for appropriate growth. Another balanced fertilizer would be 6:3:2 which should be mixed well with the soil before the process. It is considered as the perfect alternative in case of any short supply of manure.

It is highly advisable to sow the seeds as early as possible because tomatoes take more than four months to start with the bearing process. In places where winters are cold, make sure to sow the seed in seed boxes which are sheltered during the later winter season. In frost-free place, start out with the sowing process during the late autumn or summer season. Within six weeks, the seedlings attain the height of 15centimeters and can be easily transplanted before the passing of frost. Always be very particular in the transplantation process to choose only the strongest seedlings. They should be planted during the coolest climate in the afternoon. Sprinkler can be used and spraying should be done early in the morning much the sun rises up. It is highly recommended to dust the crops with fungicides so as to prevent the formation of any kind of diseases. Appropriate fertilizers should be used to stimulate the growth of the plants. Day long sun is what the tomato plant requires for healthy growth and perfect yield. For vertical growth, always ensure to plant the crops in cages or stakes.

The fruits shall be hand picked when the color changes to red. It can be then ripened by placing on any sunny windowsill so as to prevent them from being eaten by any bird or rotting on the vine. The taste of these fruits are enhanced if they are ripened in the vine, therefore a perfect balance is to be maintained between the taste as well as the ripening process.

Share and Enjoy:

No comments »

Posted in Planting Tomatoes

Tags: Home Gardening Tomato Growing Tomatoes

Beat High Prices by Growing Your Own Tomatoes

November 27th, 2009

It’s easy,very inexpensive and they taste better too so lets get started!
STEP 1: Which tomatoes should I grow? If you have a long growing season then you would want to go with an indeterminate variety which grows all summer long. If your growing season is short then you would go with a determinate variety which produces its fruit quickly (in as little as 85 days or less) and ripens all at once. Go to www.PennysTomatoes.com for more info on varieties.
Step 2: Now that I have bought my seeds what do I do with them? Six to eight weeks for the end of winter I line up little paper cups filled with peat moss and put one seed in each cup. I then place them in a sunny window sill and water almost daily as peat tends to dry out quickly. Make sure not to over water or let the seed/roots sit in excessive water as this will kill them.
As your seedlings grow transplant them into larger and larger containers, each time burying them up to the first set of leaves. The plant will send out roots from the buried stem and will develop a stronger root system by the time they are ready to be planted outdoors. Once your seedlings have taken off and the threat of frosts are over move your plants outdoors for a few hours each afternoon to get them acclimated, or hardened off, before actually planting them in the garden.
Will any soil work? Tomatoes need a rich, well-drained soil ideally full of organic matter, so get started on that compost pile early.
How much sun do they need? Tomatoes require full sun which translates into no less than 6 to 8 hours a day. Plants will be weak and unhealthy with anything less.
STEP 3: Okay it’s time to transplant. Transplanting is an important step and if you do it carefully, you can look forward to an abundant crop of healthy mouth watering tomatoes.
Once your tomato plants have been hardened, or acclimated to outdoor conditions, and night-time temperatures continually exceed 50 degrees, it’s time to set your plants out into your garden or patio containers.
After planting your tomato plants its a good idea to place mulch around them. Mulch helps keep the soil most and helps keep fruit off the ground, preventing rotting. The advantages to Mulching is that the soil retains moisture requiring less waterings. Also, the Mulch acts as a slow release fertilizer and help keep the weeds down.
STEP 4: It’s a good idea to prune your plants by pinching off the small leaves which appear in the crotch above a larger stem. Don’t pinch off too many large leaves or the sun will burn developing fruit. Pinching back the top of the plant after it reaches the top of your stake or cage encourages more flowering and fruit.
How often should I water them? Your plants should be deep watered 2 to 3 times a week or more depending of your soil type. If the plant is seen wilting in the middle of the day, ignore it. They will perk right back up by late afternoon. If the plants look droopy in the morning, they need water.
All that hard work is getting ready to pay off and depending on what type of tomato plants you chose more than likely you will have an over abundance of ripe tomatoes.
When the fruits have ripened, pick them by bending back the fruit at the notch on the stem. They can be eaten straight from the plant, or can be stored for up to a week in the fridge.
Tomatoes store well in a cool, dry location. Do not put them in the refrigerator. While they last longer in the refrigerator, they will lose their flavor and texture. To slow down ripening keep them out of direct sunlight.
Wow! What do I do with all these tomatoes? We have some great recipes at www.PennysTomatoes.com and we would love for you to share yours.
Good luck and happy gardening!
Penny

Share and Enjoy:

No comments »

Posted in Planting Tomatoes

Tags: Gardening Organic Gardening Recipes Salsa Salsa Recipes Tomato Catalog Tomato Seeds Tomatoes

« Older Entries