Tomatoes are one of the most versatile vegetables there are and certainly one of the most popular choices of plants among gardeners. I have been growing my own tomatoes for a few years now and find that they taste so much nicer than mass-produced supermarket tomatoes.
♦♦ TOMATO ... Read review
Tomatoes are one of the most versatile vegetables there are and certainly one of the most popular choices of plants among gardeners. I have been growing my own tomatoes for a few years now and find that they taste so much nicer than mass-produced supermarket tomatoes.
♦♦ TOMATO PLANT FACTS ♦♦
Fruit or vegetable..? The tomato is something of a paradox: it tastes like a vegetable but is actually classified as a fruit. Because tomatoes have seeds, this apparently makes them more fruit-like, although I personally refer to them as a vegetable.
In the UK, tomato plants are grown as annuals (plants that last for one season), but because they are really sub-tropical plants, are grown as perennials in warmer climes. Perennials are plants which last for more than one season.
There are two different types of tomato plant: determinates and indeterminates. Determinates have vines that grow to a determined point and stop, making them more compact and bushy. Indeterminates, however, are more viney and continue to grow and need support. Determinates are ideal for smaller gardens and people wishing to grow plants in pots.
♦♦ TOMATOES AND COMMON TYPES ♦♦
As with a lot of vegetables, tomatoes can either be eaten raw or cooked. The main types are:
* Beefsteak - large, pumpkin-shaped tomatoes with a firm texture and sweet flavour. Ideal for slicing or cooking.
* Yellow Cherry - cherry tomatoes with a sweet, almost lemony tang. Nice in salads. Yellow tomatoes are known to be sweeter than red.
* Baby Cherry - small, dainty tomatoes with a sweet taste. Ideal in salads.
* Plum - oval-shaped tomatoes with a fairly acidic flavour.
* Vine Cherry - tomatoes matured on the vine for the sweetest taste.
* Baby Plum - a miniature version of the plum tomato. Great for salads.
♦♦ ORIGINS ♦♦
Tomatoes originate from Central and South America. They were originally thought to be poisonous because people associated their red colour with danger. As a result, they were not consumed as food until around the 1800s.
The tomato plant first came to Europe in the 16th century. It is not clear who brought them in the first place, but it is thought that they were brought back from Central America by the Spanish Conquistadors. At that time, they were known as the wolf's peach and Peruvian apple.
In Italy, tomatoes became known as 'pomi dei mori' - or 'apples of the moors'. When uttered out loud, this sounds remarkably like the French 'pomme d'amour' ( 'apple of love'). Because of this, the humble tomato became known as the 'apple of love'.
♦♦ GROWING REQUIREMENTS ♦♦
Tomato plants grow best in sunny locations. They don't need much space but prefer slightly acidic soils with a PH of around 6 to 7. The soil should also be fairly deep, full of as much organic matter as possible and around 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) in temperature. Unfortunately, because tomatoes are warm season plants, they are not particularly resilient to colder weather and will die unless looked after properly. They also need to be watered fairly often and prefer water-retentive soil.
♦♦ GROWING FROM SEEDS ♦♦
If you are new to growing tomatoes, it is probably easier to grow them straight from seed. To do this, there are several straightforward steps you need to follow.
STEP 1
The first step is to decide which variety to grow. Once you have done this, sow the seeds in a pot for about 8 weeks until the seedlings are large enough to grow outside. The pot should be about 3 inches deep and filled with compost. Scatter the seeds over the surface and water gently. Then cover with a bit more compost and leave them to grow… Oh and don't forget to water them!
STEP 2
After a couple of months, you should have seedlings which are big enough to handle. Carefully remove one of the seedlings, taking as much of the root as you can. This can be tricky but holding the leaf rather than the stem is probably the best way to remove the seedling, as stems can be easily damaged.
STEP 3
Take the seedling and plant it in its own pot filled with compost. Make room for the roots and firm into position so that the roots are covered in soil. Then place in a sunny, frost-free location, such as on a windowsill (around 60 degrees Fahrenheit), to allow the seedling to flourish on its own.
STEP 4
After a few weeks, the roots will start to appear around the bottom of the pot. When this starts to happen, the plant needs to be transferred to a larger 5 inch pot. Again, take care not to damage the plant when doing this. If you have a large plant, it may also need to be shored up with a cane to support the main stem.
STEP 5
When the risk of frost has passed, it is safe to grow the plant outside. Use twine to tie the stem to a stake and ensure not to plant other tomato plants nearby as this can prevent the full ripening of the tomatoes. Then carry on as before, watering the plant and adding a high-potash fertiliser. The whole process from the planting to the harvesting stage should take about 3 months in total.
♦♦ LOOKING AFTER YOUR TOMATO PLANT ♦♦
My own experience has shown me that weeds can be one of the biggest problems once the plant is established outside in the garden. They are normally easy to remove though, either by hand or shallow cultivation. Ensuring an even supply of moisture is important as it is an effective way of getting rid of weeds in the first place.
Pruning is also important, as it eradicates any unwanted branches growing from the main stem. Doing this ensures you get larger fruit than you would if the plant was allowed to branch normally.
♦♦ VARIETIES ♦♦
There are literally hundreds of varieties of tomatoes and certainly too many to mention! But if, like me, you are a relative novice at growing tomatoes, I would particularly recommend the following varieties as they are easy to look after and grow:
* 'Outdoor Girl' *
An early-maturing tomato with a good flavour. Produces a generous yield.
* 'Alicante' *
An ideal choice for beginners. Produces a high yield of delicious-tasting tomatoes.
* 'Sungold' *
An ideal choice if you like sweet cherry tomatoes. Nice for use in salads in the Summer.
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♦♦ ARE THEY GOOD FOR YOU? ♦♦
In a nutshell, tomatoes are extremely good for you! They are not only an excellent source of Vitamins C and E; they are also low in calories and a good source of beta carotene. Beta carotene is the pigment that gives tomatoes their bright, red colour and is beneficial to health because it can be converted into Vitamin A by the body. This is vital for the healthy growth and development of the human body.
The carotenoid pigment that gives tomatoes their red colour is also thought to help prevent against certain cancers, like prostate, because it can lessen the damage caused by free radicals - destructive molecules in the body.
♦♦ POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS ♦♦
As with any food, tomatoes can trigger allergies in some people, although these are thankfully quite rare. Eczema is one such reaction, as is migraine. The latter is caused by a chemical called solanine, which is found in green tomatoes.
♦♦ TO SUM UP… ♦♦
Well…where do I start? Tomatoes are such a versatile fruit/vegetable that it is impossible to sum them up in a few sentences. For me, though, tomatoes are the absolute epitome of Summertime. This is when I always enjoy eating them most, but they can be enjoyed at any time of the year really. I love them for their luscious red colour and juicy, refreshing taste. There are so many varieties to chose from and each one has its own individual characteristics. For example, the chunkiness of beefsteak tomatoes makes them ideal for chopping up and putting in sandwiches, whereas cherry tomatoes are a must in salads as they give them a much needed sweetness.
Their versatility is definitely what makes them so special for me. They are not just red; they can be yellow and green too! They are not always sweet; they can be acidic and bitter as well if you prefer! They can be as small as a cherry or as large as a baked potato!
Advantages: Good for you, versatile. Disadvantages: Go off quickly.
...rather boring.
You can eat tomatoes as a pizza topping (my favourite), on top of tomato puree.
You can use a tin of chopped tomatos as a really cheap (15p a tin!) pasta sauce, which of course you can spice up with herbs, mushrooms, meat and uh...whatever you like, really!
A recipe I like to use (my own):
Make up enough bread dough for about 2 pizzas, split it into 4 sections and roll it out into big flat circles.
Then, start cooking tinned tomatoes, ... ...because the best thing about tomatoes is that they're so cheap that if you mess up it won't have been a waste of tomatos.
♥Other things to do with tomatos.
Well, you can wait for them to rot and throw them at people you don't like, as they did in the olden days...(and sometimes now!) Or you can eat them as their most famous incarnation, TOMATO KETCHUP. I'm not saying this is as good for you as eating a raw tomato, but it's still better than ...
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Advantages: Don't need much space to grow some. Disadvantages: Need lots of watering.
First, some facts. Tomatoes are good food. They contain vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium and iron.
They are packed with phytochemicals. What are phytochemicals? A very simple explanation is that our bodies can make use of them to help fight disease, including heart disease, cancers and viruses.
Did you know that tomatoes are perennial plants? It's only in cooler climates, like ours, that we stop them growing. This ensures that what little fruit ... ...Tomatoes originated in South America and come from the same family as potatoes.
You can graft a tomato plant onto a potato plant and harvest a crop from both. I was shown how to do this at school. It was confusing, as I'd also learnt that a tomato is a fruit and yet a potato is a vegetable. Or perhaps not. Potato seed comes from a fruit that looks very much like a tomato. Luckily it doesn't matter. You work it out if you like, but I'm getting bored ...
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Advantages: Easy to grow, tasty and heavy cropping Disadvantages: Prone to diseases, Requires heavy watering
Tomatoes are one of the easiest of the vegetables to grow at home fom seed and they are most certainly one of my favourites. In our country, they are grown as annuals, and if grown in the tropics, then they are grown as short lived perennials. Indeterminate types of tomatoes (mid-size, non bushy) has a very long trailing main stem, which may grow to as long as 8 feet and has vigorous side shoots. The shorter (semi-determinate) and bush (determinate) ... ...the many different types of tomatoes that are available, you can select for different colours. Tomatoes come in yellow, red, pink, orange or white. They are also available in a range of shapes from flat to round, and plum shaped to pear shaped. Currant tomatoes grow up to 1cm in diameter, cherry tomatoes can grow up to 2.5 cm in diameter ranging all the way up to the ribbed Marmande and giant beefsteak types, which can grow as large as 10 cm in diameter.
...
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Advantages: love the smell and taste Disadvantages: have to wait so long for them
...- lycopersicon esculentum
Tomatoes are normally red and round shape fruits but as the market for them still grow there different varieties, callous and shapes.
The first tomato came from Eastern Mexico and they first been grown by Aztecs. The tomatoes spared all over the world after Spain made their great discoveries of America. And from about 18th century tomatoes has been eaten nearly all over the world. In Brittan first tomato has been grown ... ...world and produce 32000 tomatoes.
Tomatoes are very good for you, they are high in nutrients and containing high level of vitamin and as we all know they are low in calories. One tomato can contain: 5mg of calcium, 0.5mg of iron, 11mg of magnesium, 19.1mg of vitamin, and the list can go on and on.
I enjoy to grow them and specially to eat them. When I was a little girl my mum had a greenhouse and she always grow own tomatoes. When I started my ...
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Advantages: Flavour of home grown tomatoes is out of this world Disadvantages: Need daily attention & someone to look after holiday times
...Dad always grew his own tomatoes in his greenhouse, tending them with loving care. He showed me how to nip out the side shoots so that the plants did not grow straggly. I loved the smell in the greenhouse, and picking the ripe red fruit. He used to favour a variety which is still available today, and that was 'Moneymaker'.
I try to grow Tomatoes every year now that I have my own little greenhouse, even though looking after them is quite time consuming ... ...these are lovely even-sized cherry tomatoes and so tasty, they are easily available , at seedshops and gardencentres and even car boot sales. There are some bushy little tomato plant varieties that don't need the side shoots nipping out, though sometimes I have found I need to nip the end off as they keep growing so the tomatoes are not ripening - presumably because the plant is putting all its strength into growing and not into making the tomatoes.
...
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Advantages: Wonderful smell, taste and goes perfectly with tomatoes for a divine salad sensation! Disadvantages: It's an annual that likes a but of sun. And I live in The Dark North!!!
...I am probably the world's biggest fan of the humble tomato. Cherry tomato, beef tomato, vine or all round standard straight out of tesco tomato. If there's a tomato in the house, I'm a happy girl. You're probably wondering what exactly tomatoes have to do with basil, but the answer is very clear. Tomatoes are even greater with basil than without. Take this evening for example. My pregnant taste buds wanted cheese. Very badly. So I bought three different types, and eventually settled on a fat, squat, buffalo mozzarella. Some organic cherry tomatoes from our veg box scheme bag of goodies, bit of fresh ground black pepper and some balsamic dressing. Hey presto, a lovely bit of salad for a friday evening. But I'm telling you it was made all the rounder, all the fuller, all the more flavoursome, with the addition of 5 fat juicy basil leaves...
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Advantages: Easy removal of common household stains Disadvantages: none!
...I'd go so far to say this is the best stain remover I've ever used!
I first started using this on recommendation from my mum after having children. My first child has reflux and spent the first year of his life throwing up practiacally anything that I gave him to eat/drink. I was struggling getting the stains out of his clothes, especially tomato. However, once I started using Vanish Oxi action power I have not met a stain that has beaten me.
Vanish Oxi Action is a white power which comes in an easy to see bright pink container. Its not cheep (aboud £5 for a small tub) but its often on special offer or 50% extra free. I use one scoop in every light coloured wash and for more stubborn stains I soak the offending item in a little water and pour the power on top. I leave for about an hour and then just chuck in the machine...
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...the herb to add to your Italian pasta dishes .A spaghetti Bolognese would not be a spagetti Bolognese without oregano/ marjoram A simple tomato sauce with marjoram / oregano added stirred into pasta a wonderful supper dish
Here are some menus where I use marjoram.
There are lots of variations of this basic pasta and tomato dish.
14 oz 400g pasta shapes
8 Tomatoes
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon oregano
1Garlic clove
Grated cheese to sprinkle on top Parmesan or cheddar is good.
Skin tomatoes (plunge in boiling water for a couple of minutes skin will split easy to peel)
Boil some water. Cut tomatoes in quarters heat oil in pan. when hot fry crushed garlic, tomatoes and oregano for 5 minutes .
Put pasta shapes in boiling salted water and cook till al dente Simmer tomato mix for about 10 minutes when pasta is cooked...
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26.05.2007
25.02.2008
