Growing Tomatoes
Growing your own Tomatoes
The tomato was first grown in England in the sixteenth century. Prior to this tomatoes were eaten in Italy and Spain, but it was considered poisonous, so it was only ever used as a herbal remedy. It wasn’t until the mid eighteenth centuries that it started to get popular in England. It was being used in soups and broths but it wasn’t until the Victorian times that the vegetable was in popular demand and reached the industry scale.
Ever wanted to grow your own tomatoes? This article is going to tell you everything you need to know about growing your own tomatoes, how to get started and how to keep your tomatoes growing beautifully. Like every other hobby in the world you do need a little basic knowledge on tomatoes and their needs before you get started. It’s always best to do a little research so you know about tomatoes, how to get started, how much responsibility it is and how much it is going to cost before you start anything. You may find before you’ve even started that you simply haven’t got the space or the time to grow your own tomatoes. Have a read through this article and see what you think, I hope the information included is helpful to you and your decision on growing your own food.
You should first decide on the type of tomato you want to grow, or how many different types. There are eight different types of tomato of which you can choose:
- Beef tomatoes – These are the largest of the tomato varieties; they are sweet and have a deep red flesh. They are ideal for cooking with or stuffing.
- Vine ripened tomatoes – These tomatoes mature further and keep better on the vine, which increases the flavour in the tomatoes. They are lovely in salads and have a distinctive tomato aroma.
- Cherry tomatoes – The cherry tomatoes are the smallest of the tomato varieties, they are ideal in salads or as a lunchtime snack.
- Cherry tomatoes on the vine – The cherry tomato with more flavour and aroma, try barbequing them.
- Sungold tomatoes – These have much more delicate flavour than the cherry tomatoes. They are very juicy and look great as a garnish or in a salad.
- Baby plum tomatoes – They have an intensely sweet flavour, and are very juicy, they are great in a salad or as a snack.
- Midi plum tomatoes – Medium sized tomatoes that have a sweet-sour flavour. They have a high flesh-seed ratio so are therefore great in cooking dishes such as casseroles.
- Plum tomatoes – These tomatoes have a very meaty flesh and a concentrated flavour, this makes them very good for cooking. You can also buy plum tomatoes in cans.
If you are a beginner at growing your own tomatoes it is probably best if you leave the greenhouse until you’re a little more experience. Growing tomatoes outdoors is pretty straightforward and will get you into the swing of things. Although after saying that most gardeners say that tomatoes grown outside taste better than those grown inside anyway.
Outdoor tomatoes fall into two different categories, Cordon and Bush. Cordons grow to about two meters high and have to be supported. Bush tomatoes plants are much shorter at around sixty centimetres and needs no support. Getting to the tomatoes can be difficult though, unless you place a straw under the plant, the tomatoes just end up in the dirt.
Cordons plants will produce tomatoes all summer, whereas bush plants tend to crop over a much shorter period. Cordon plants are a lot more ideal as with bush plants, it leaves you with too many ripe tomatoes than you can eat, so it can be a waste. You should start by sewing two seeds in 7.5 centimetre pots filled with moist compost. Cover with dry potting compost and leave them on the windowsill. A few weeks later you will need to transfer the small plants into growing bags.
Tomato seedlings tend to start emerging between one or two weeks after they have been sewn. You need to keep your plant in the light; a windowsill is perfect but don’t leave it in the direct sunlight as this will damage the plant. Don’t forget to water the seedlings; a good way to tell if you have left it too long is if the surface of the compost is dry.
Tomatoes will be ready for picking around 16-20 weeks after sewing, depending on the environmental conditions. Meanwhile water the plants every so often and feed them with liquid tomato fertiliser every week. You should now also be thinking of training your tomato plant. That’s right! You need to train your tomato plant depending on how many tomatoes you want. If you are using a cordon plant then a good way of doing this would be to limit the number of trusses the plant is aloud to grow.
Growing your own tomatoes is a great experience with many advantages. Depending on how much tomato your family eats a day it can improve their health by growing your own. Maybe you should try growing other things too, such as potatoes or carrots. Growing your own food also widens your range of home cooking, and saves a lot of money on groceries. If you grow your tomatoes without any pesticides you are also reducing your environmental impact.
Overall growing your own tomatoes is a great thing to do. It not only helps pass those hours of boredom throughout the day, it gets you out into daily fresh air and gets you exercise you never thought you needed. It is also a great feeling when you’re in full swing of things, when you finally get to taste the tomatoes you’ve been growing for weeks. I hope all goes well and I wish you luck with your home tomato growing!
