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The Tomato is the fruit of the (surprise!) tomato plant, a vine-like plant
which belongs to the nightshade family. The tomato plant likes a sunny,
hot, and humid environment. It originated in South America and was
domesticated by the Incas. They bred the tomato so it had many ruffles
and ridges. Spanish monks cultivated the tomato, although it was not
widely accepted by Europeans as an edible fruit.Thomas Jefferson was
known to be a connoisseur of the tomato and tried to convince people it
was a great fruit(no wonder he is considered a great American). During
the nineteenth century, the tomato was affectionately call the love apple,
or in french, le pomme d'amour. At the turn of the century, a gardener
decided that he didn't like the ridges and ruffles of the Incan tomato. He
spent twenty years breeding them out and produced the Paragon, the
first formal variety of the tomato. It is now the most widely grown
"vegetable"(it's a fruit, you know) in the United States.
Common Misconceptions about the tomato:
Over the years many myths have stemmed from the tomato vine.
Among them are:
MYTH: The tomato is poisonous.
FACT: The tomato is, in fact, perfectly harmless, and mighty tasty as
well. This myth originated when people noticed that the tomato is related
to the nightshade, a wild plant with toxic berries.
MYTH: Tomatoes are vegetables.
FACT:Tomatoes are not vegetables- they are fruit. A fruit is defined as
the mature ovary of an angiosperm, meaning that is develops from the
reproductive structures of an angiosperm (flowering plant). The fruits
themselves are fleshy bodies containing seeds. Tomatoes meet all these
criteria. There is no scientific definition for vegetable; however,
vegetables range from taproots (such as the carrot) to tubers (the potato)
to stems (asparagus).
MYTH:All tomatoes are red when ripe.
FACT:There are myriad varieties of tomato, and not all of them are red
when ripe. Tomatoes run from yellow to deep purple in color. For
example, the Lemon Boy variety is yellow, and the Cherokee Purple is,
well, purple.
Growing tomatoes is fun and yields many great tasting fruit. However,
a person cannot just plop a couple of seeds into the ground and hope for
them to grow. In this section, I hope to outline how to grow tomatoes.
Before planting, one must determine what tomato varieties are right for
him or her. The first consideration is space. The space must be a well
drained and sunny area of ground. If a person has a small space for
growing tomatoes, s/he should grow determinate plants, ones that stop
growing after a certain time. If a person has a larger space, then s/he can
grow indeterminate tomatoes, or ones that keep growing through the
year. Next, varieties can be chosen by use. There are three main types
of tomatoes, Slicing Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, and Paste Tomatoes.
The first two types are generally eaten unaltered, although slicing
tomatoes make wonderful sauce. Paste tomatoes are used for canning,
sauce and ketchsup. Within each category of tomato, there are many
varieties. These have to be chosen by personal prefrence. Several
popular varieties are Celebrity, Brandywine, Better Boy, the beefsteak
family, Lemon Boy, Roma, and the Supersweet 100.
Once a person has their seeds s/he should not plant them right away.
Tomatoes are usually planted eight weeks before the last frost. They
should be planted in a soilless mix (potting soil) in small containers called
"six packs", which can be obtained at any local garden center. The
newly planted seeds germinate in 70 to 75 degrees (F) of warmth and
need to be constantly watered. Immediately after the first seed
germinates, the "six packs" need to be placed in full light for 12 to 14
hours a day. Many gardeners use grow lights (usually flourescent lights),
although some areas are sunny and warm enough that the tomatoes can
be placed outdoors. After the first true leaves (the second set of leaves)
are fully developed, the stronger tomatoes should be transplanted into six
inch pots. All others should be discarded. The number of plants a person
saves depends on the space available for tomatoes. Each tomato plant
needs three square feet in a garden, so plan accordingly. The transplants
need to be left outside in the day to get used to the outdoor
temperatures. The tomatoes will need as much sun as possible.
Tomatoes are usually planted in the ground when there is no danger of
frost and the plant is ten to twelve inches tall. To keep the plants from
falling over as they grow, the plant is either tied to a stake continually as
it grows, or a tomato cage is placed around it. Tomato cages are
generally four feet tall and are a tube of "dog wire" ( a sturdier and taller
version of chicken wire) eighteen inches across with stakes on the side.
These two methods are much preferable to allowing the tomatoes to
sprawl on the ground. However, although staking provides earlier fruit,
the cage method provides a better yeild. After this final transplanting, the
tomato should be watered frequently. A commercial 5-10-5 or 6-12-12
fertilizer can be used according to the directions. The suckers should be
pruned off so there is only one main stem. Around mid-July a person
should be harvesting his or her first tomatoes. The crop will continue
until first frost (late September in most areas). After the first frost, the
tomato plant should be dug up and discarded.
MM
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