Decades ago the tomato was frowned upon as unwholesome and adventurous boys had to “sneak” one when their watchful mom’s weren’t looking. Today this vegetable is the jewel of the garden and even the smallest plot is seldom without tomato plants with gleaming clusters of green and ripening fruit shining through attractive foliage.
The tomato is luscious, ornamental and serves many culinary and nutritional needs. Moreover, it’s an exciting vegetable, one that well may, pique the interest of the collector because it is so various in size. color, flavor and plant form.
There are those that spread wide on the ground or can be trained up a stake or trellis and short branching varieties that do not run far; early and late ones; some as small as cherries or as large as grapefruit: reds, pinks and yellows; and mildly or strongly acid varieties.
Although the assortment of tomatoes planted from seed is endless and varied as to season of maturity, vine habit and fruit characteristics, plants already started by nurseries are usually of the more commonplace varieties. These will not be discussed here except to say that only stocky, full-leaved ones of a good dark color should be selected.
Of the standard types there are many, each with its advantages and disadvantages. Varieties vary from area to area but should be spaced 3 by 6 feet or 4 by 5 feet if that is more convenient. Look for varieties resistant to fusarium, and beware of soil fungus common in warmer regions.
Then there are rich golden yellow tomatoes for those who want something different for a salad or for those who prefer a less acid tang than is common to most of the reds.
For areas with a short season, try the early, small-vined plant with small to medium-sized fruit. It should be planted 2 feet apart in 3-foot rows. Some of the short branched sorts, sometimes called determinate because their stems grow just so far and then stop, seem to be a little more demanding of fertility and moisture than others.
Of course their are varieties that produce giant-size fruit. Often times pinkish in color, mild flavored and very meaty and have a tendency to irregularity. They are good for slicing, especially for sandwiches. Tomatoes of the these varietal type can sometimes weigh as much as 3 pounds each.
Pear, Plum, Peach and Cherry tomatoes are all quite small. They’re fun to grow and good to eat as is or in salads. If these are not small enough, there are even smaller types like a miniature that grows only 12 to 15 inches high and produces 3/4 inch fruit. This one makes a colorful house or porch plant.
If garden space is limited or something novel is desired, there are the highly decorative trellis types of tomatoes. These grow, up to 10, 12 feet high or more and may produce up to 2 bushels of fruit per plant although setting may be sparse.
Soil and Fertilizer
Tomatoes grow well in a wide range of soils from heavy to light and are tolerant of soil acidity but demand good drainage. A standard commercial fertilizer such as 6-12-6 or 5-10-10 serves well and may be applied at the rate of 4 to 5 pounds per 100 square feet.
If young plants seem to lag behind in growth and don’t have full green color, a side dressing of sodium nitrate or ammonium sulfate may be used. About an ounce per plant of the first or half or two-thirds as much of the second will do. It can be sprinkled on and watered or rained in. A handful of either, dissolved in a bucket of water and applied as a liquid, will produce results even more quickly. If particles of the dressing fall on plants, no harm will be done if both dressing and plants are dry.
Planting and Transplanting
Seed may be sown in a little container that may be placed on the kitchen windowsill. When seedlings are about 3 inches high, they should be transplanted to 4 inch pots and, if they’re soft and spindling, kept in a cooler place and somewhat on the dry side. Tomatoes do not stand much hardening. Temperature from 60 to 70 degrees is about right.
Time, from sowing seed to setting seedlings, is about eight weeks. One transplanting is usually enough but the last four weeks may well be spent in a little coldframe or in an electric hotbed where the heat is reduced as the season advances. They should reach a height of from 8 to 10 inches and have a good spread of leaves before they’re set in the garden.
Tomatoes will not do very well in cold weather. Where the last killing frost of the spring is about May 5, tomato setting week should be about May 25. One may take a chance on a few plants and set them out a week or two earlier and cover them when frost threatens. If the last half of May is warm, there’ll be early fruit.
Plants may be given a little boost with a starter solution when transplanted. A half pint per plant of a of a 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 fertilizer to a gallon of water may be used. If a special concentrated starter solution is used, be sure to follow directions. The solution should be poured into the hole in which the plant is set before the soil is put back into it. This solution not only furnishes immediately available nutrients but also establishes good contact between roots and soil.
Training and Pruning
Plants may be trained and pruned or not. Training takes more time and work but keeps fruit off the ground and up where it’s cleaner and less vulnerable to insect and snail damage and decay in wet seasons. Furthermore, trained plants are much easier to cultivate and pick. But, when they’re trained and pruned, they seem to suffer more from sunscald and blossom end rot.
To train, set 4 or 5-foot stakes by the plants, a foot and a half or two feet apart in the rows and three or four feet between rows. Keep all side branches pruned. Snap them off with the fingers instead of using a knife for the latter may spread the virus of the mosaic disease. Tie every foot or so with a soft cord. Make the knot tight around the stake but loose around the plant to avoid constriction as the plant grows. To trellis tomatoes, set a heavy post or pipe at each end of the row and string a wire on top, steadying it with light stakes every ten feet or so. With a binder twine or other strong cord, tie a bowline around the base of each plant (ask a Boy Scout how to make a bowline if you can’t). Tie this to the wire on top. If the loop of the bowline is large enough it will not strangle the plant or loosen or slip. As the plant grows, twist the stem loosely around the twine and continue to twist until the top of the wire is reached.
Mulches
There’s very little work connected with growing tomatoes. You can even go off for a month. When you return, your tomatoes will still be in business down under the weeds.
If a good mulch of hay, leaves or even paper is used, there’ll be no weeds. The mulch should be put down just before plants begin to spread. Besides eliminating weeds pretty much, a mulch will keep fruit cleaner and conserve moisture and so reduce the need for watering. `
A 4-inch layer of leaves or grass is all that’s necessary. This will mat down to about 2 inches and curb all but the most aggressive weeds. If plant refuse is used, a little nitrogen in the form of sodium nitrate (1/2 pound per 100 square feet) or ammonium sulfate (half or 2/3 as much) should be added to it. This is done because the bacteria which turn the mulch of plant refuse into humus compete with the plants for nitrogen and an extra amount must be supplied.
Diseases
Sometimes tomatoes are not much troubled by disease, sometimes they are. The most important hazards are from leaf blights. Try to buy seed that has been heat treated for this. You can, of course, heat-treat seed yourself if you are very careful about time and temperature.
To do so, heat water, put seed in a little cloth bag and immerse it, making sure that all air is squeezed out of the bag. Maintain the water at 122 degrees for 25 minutes and then take the bag out. Dry the seed or plant it at once.
If the soil moisture is adequate, blossom end rot is not a problem. If a permanent mulch is used, there’s very little danger from this affliction.
