LATIN NAME: Lycopersicon esculent (L. lycopersicum)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Endless good options - that’s what makes tomato-growing interesting and fun. First, there are myriad sizes, shapes, and colors. Do you want cherry, plum, pear, or beefsteak, yellow, red, white, or pink tomatoes? Should you stake, cage, or allow plants to sprawl on the ground? Should you prune out suckers (those little branches at the leaf axils) or not? Do you want short, determinate cultivars with fruit that ripens about the same time (good for canning)? Or, tall indeterminate ones that flower and set fruit throughout the season (good for a steady fresh supply)? Should you plant early, midseason, or late types, or all three? All these tomato decisions may leave you dizzy, but it’s hard to go wrong with any decision you make or any tomato you select.
GERM. DATE: (bought on July 8, 2009)
GERM. TIME:
TRANSPLANT DATE:
TYPE OF PLANT: Perennial, Vegetable
BLOOM CYCLE:
pH LEVEL: 5.5 to 6.5
SEED DEPTH: ¼ inch
HEIGHT OF PLANT:
WIDTH OF PLANT:
PLANT SPACING: 24-36 inches
ROW SPACING: 24-36 inches
DAYS TO HARVEST: 65 days
ZONE REQUIREMENTS: Grows in all climates during warm season (soil needs to be 65°F or more and nighttime temperatures get up into the 50s). In the far North, choose early-maturing cultivars. In the South, choose early and heat-tolerant cultivars.
FERTILIZER REQUIREMENTS: Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers, which reduce fruiting.
LIGHT REQUIREMENTS: Full sun
WATER REQUIREMENTS: Moist
SOIL REQUIREMENTS: Well-drained soil, high in organic matter
DISEASE PROBLEMS: Blossom-end rot (this cultivar is resistant to Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, and nematodes)
PEST/INSECT PROBLEMS: Tomato hornworms
SOLUTIONS: Pick off tomato hornworms. To prevent most diseases, plant resistant varieties. To prevent blossom-end rot, mulch to keep soil moisture even.
HOW TO GROW: If starting indoors, sow seeds 6 to 8 weeks before you plant to transplant outdoors. Set out 2 to 3 weeks after average date of last frost. Space supported plants 2 to 3 feet apart and unsupported ones 3 to 4 feet apart. Bury stem up to lowest leaves; set plant on its side if stem is long. At transplanting, stake, trellis, or cage indeterminate varieties, which grow tall. Support is optional for determinate varieties, which are shorter. Prune staked plants (removing side shoots where branches meet stem) for larger, earlier fruit. Mulch to prevent weeds, hold moisture in soil, and keep unstaked plants clean. Keep watered early and during flowering; reduce watering as fruit sets. If air is calm during flowering, gently shake plants to distribute pollen.
HARVEST NOTES: If possible, pick fully colored, firm fruit. Otherwise, pick full-size green or slightly colored fruit and ripen at room temperature out of direct sunlight.
SPECIAL CARE/NOTES: Because tomatoes are sensitive to nutrient levels in the soil, they often let you know what they need. For example, a white edge around the leaves may mean they need more potassium. Thin stems and yellowing leaves may indicate a nitrogen deficiency. Too much nitrogen will cause your plants to be all stem and foliage and few fruits. And purple leaf stalks indicate a deficiency of phosphorus.
STORE BY: Store at room temperature unless they’re very ripe, in which case refrigerate for up to 1 week.
PRESERVE BY:
USES FOR PLANT: Can be eaten fresh or used in cooking.
No comments:
Post a Comment