COUNTRY GARDENER w w w. c o u n t r y g a rd e n e r. c o . u k
J U I C Y, TA S T Y, ORGANIC AND HOME GROWN
& FOR GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR CROPS
D FEE , O T, WN W T HO UR LA ELIGH , YO TH D HARD CIN G C NS H YA O W I N A R D E GR RIL G ISIT AP TO V
$9.99
ISSUE NO.156 APRIL 2018
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GROW TOMATOES, NOT FOLIAGE Every tomato lover dreams of growing the ultimate tomato but too many of us forget to concentrate on the fruit and not all the greenery round it.
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 rowing tomatoes is a tricky business. Unfortunately there are few vegetables that are prone to more problems than tomatoes. The trick to growing great tasting tomatoes is to choose the best varieties, start the plants off right, control problems before they happen- and concentrate on the fruit. The most common problem gardeners face is they grow great foliage on their plants at the detriment of the tomatoes temselves. Pruning, taking out lower leaves, pinching out suckers and restricting tomatoes on a plant will help get a much better balance. Always grow three or four varieties at least- some will suit your locality bettwer than others, they may be differentyly susceptible to disease, and you may well prefer the taste of some varieties.
Give Seedlings Plenty of Room
If you are starting tomatoes from seed, be sure to give the seedlings plenty of room to branch out. Crowded conditions inhibit their growth and lead to disease later on, so transplant them into their own individual four-inch pot.
Show Them the Sun
Tomato seedlings need strong, direct light. Days are short during winter, so even placing them near a very sunny window may not provide them with sufficient natural light. To ensure the plants grow stocky, not spindly, keep the young plants only a couple of inches from flourescent grow lights. When you’re ready to plant them outside, choose the sunniest part of your garden.
Put a Fan on Your seedlings
It seems tomato plants need to move and sway in the breeze, to develop strong stems. That hapens naturally outdoors, but if you are growing your seedlings inside, you will need to provide air circulation. Create a breeze by turning a fan on them for five minutes twice a day. Another option is to ruffle them by gently rubbing your hand across their tops for a few minutes, several times a day.
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n the vegetable garden, tomatoes offer numerous advantages. They can be grown in a small area and in many types of soil, and gardeners can choose from hundreds of cultivars varying in size, shape, color, and days to maturity. In the kitchen, tomatoes have endless culinary uses and are easy to preserve for winter enjoyment. Best of all, any gardener with the right growing conditions can harvest a bumper crop of beautiful tomatoes. “Everyone who has the desire to grow and taste a tomato that is delicious or colorful or interesting can do so,” says LeHoullier. “Each season, you’ll come away with many successes and a few inevitable misfortunes on which to build and learn.” To help you avoid some of those trials and tribulations, LeHoullier shares ten of his tried-andtrue tips for growing perfect tomatoes. In climates with long growing seasons, staggering your tomato plantings can be used to extend your harvest. It’s best to plan for flowering and fruit set when temperatures
are below 90 degrees and the humidity is not extreme to help avoid blossom drop. In areas with short growing seasons, get the plants in as early as possible (after the last frost in spring), and choose varieties with earlier maturities to allow enough growing time for ripening. If a planting hole, when filled with water, takes hours to drain, it will not make for a happy resting place for tomatoes. A tomato plant with its roots sitting in standing water for hours after a heavy rain could actually die from drowning. Raised beds, well-draining containers filled with a high-quality planting mix, and using straw bales as a planting medium help to improve drainage. While gardeners can take measures to avoid overwatering, periods of heavy rain can also take their toll, especially when tomato plants are bearing fruit. Cracking can happen when partially ripe tomatoes take in more water than they can handle. Picking fruit when it’s half ripe (with a strong blush) prior to cracking is a good solution.
Pre Heat the Soil
Tomatoes love heat. Cover the planting area with black or red plastic a couple of weeks before you intend to plant. Those extra degrees of soil warmth will translate into earlier tomatoes. You can lift the plastic before you plant, but some research contends that plastic mulch has the added benefit of increasing your tomato yield.
Bury the Plants Deep
Plant your tomato plants deeper than they come in the pot, all the way up to the top few leaves. When planted this way, tomatoes are able to develop roots all along their stems. And more roots will make for a stronger plant. You can either dig a deep hole or simply dig a shallow trench and lay the plant sideways. It will quickly straighten itself up and grow towards the sun.
Watch the Tempurature
The days to maturity for the various varieties of tomatoes you find in seed catalogs and garden centers is imprecise and should be used only as a general guideline to when the fruits are ready for picking. Consistently cool weather will delay ripening while long, hot summers advance things considerably, regardless of your growing zone.
Support the Plants
Tomato plants should be tied to supporting stakes, cages, or a sturdy trellis because they do not have tendrils to support themselves. Vertical support of the plant is also important to prevent soil from splashing onto the foliage, says LeHoullier. When staking tomatoes, put the stake in the ground soon after planting to minimize root damage. Mulch right away to keep the soil off of the lower leaves, a good way to prevent fungal diseases, such as early blight. As the plant grows taller, tie the main stems loosely with rags or twine to avoid damage.
Read the Signs
Be sure to “read” your tomato plants to see what they need. Wilting on hot days indicate thirsty plants. Foliage losing its deep green hue means it’s time to provide some fertilizer. In hot areas, where insufficient water is often a concern, carefully monitor your plants to make sure they don’t wilt during the hottest part of the day, particularly if there are green fruit on the vine. This type of stress can lead to blossom-end rot (black spots on the bottom or blossom end of the tomato). Drip irrigation, good mulching, and regular watering will all minimize this common problem.
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VARIETY NAMES green emerald apple
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yellow
lemon boy
orange
flamme orange
red
heirloom
purple
cherokee
ADD SOME COLOR AND FUN TO YOUR PLATE WITH THESE COLORFUL TOMATO VARIETIES. Create beautiful and unique dishes by substituting different colos into your tomato dishes. Using these interesting tomatos can add variety and fun to any meal! These tomatos are a great way to get kids to eat their veggies, and can help to elevate any tomato dish.
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Remove the Bottom Leaves
Once your tomato plants reach about three feet remove the leaves from the bottom one foot of stem. These are the oldest leaves and they are usually the first leaves to develop fungus problems. As the plants fill out, the bottom leaves get the least amount of sun and air flow. Spraying weekly with compost tea also seems to be effective at warding off fungus diseases.
Pinch and Prune for More Fruit
Pinch and remove suckers that develope in the crotch joint of the two branches. They won’t bear fruit and will take energy away from the rest of the plant. However, go easy on prunin the rest of the plant. You can thin out a few leaves to allow the sun to reach the ripening fruit, but it’s the leaves that are photosynthesizing and creating the sugars that give flavor to your tomatoes. Fewer leaves will mean less sweet tomatoes.
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Water Regularly and Properly
Water deeply and regularly while the fruits are developing. Irregular watering- missing a week and trying to make up for it- leads to blossom end rot and cracking. The rule of thumb is to ensure your plants get at least one inch of water per week, but during hot, dry spells, they may need more. If your plants start to look wilted for most of the day, give them a drink. Once the fruit begins to ripen, you can ease up on watering. Lessening the water will coax the plant into concentrating its sugars, for better flavor.
Hanging baskets- a perfect tomato option
Tomatoes can do well in hanging baskets, grow bags and containers in warm summers but you need to find a sheltered position in good sun. Bush varieties, which give small cherry fruits are perfect for growing in grow bags. They are sometimes less baffling for beginners as the plants do not need te side shoots pinching out. But care must be taken to keep the fruit off the ground as tomatoes are prone to slug damage and some varieties take up a lot of ground space.
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7. Shirley
4. ALICANTE 3. SUNGOLD 10. Tumbling Tom 6. GOLDEN SUNRISE 8. Sweet million 2. PREMIO 10
9. Red Alert
1. KORALIK 5. MONEYMAKER
BLIGHT-RESISTANT VARIETIES 1. KORALIK Koralik is a heritage Russian bush variety that crops early enough to avoid the main August wave of blight. But it has also shown good tolerance to blight in three years of trials throughout the whole season. The foliage has remained healthy, the yield has been consistently high and all the small, bright-red tomatoes on each truss ripen together.
CORDON VARIETIES
2. PREMIO Premio is another disease-resistant tomato which has been extensively trialled and this also should be suitable for outdoor use. The flavor is excellent and the hansome red fruit has shiny red skin so it looks good on the vine. It shows high resistance to many tomato plant diseases.
3. SUNGOLD
4. ALICANTE
Sungold tomatoes have small orange fruits, and are exceptionally sweet. Crops well. For greenhouse or outdoor growing.
Alicante variety has excellent flavor, and is a medium-sized round, red tomato with thin skin. Free-fruiting.
5. MONEYMAKER
6. GOLDEN SUNRISE
Moneymaker is a popular and reliable plant that remains a favorite.
A golden-yellow, medium-sized fruit of excellent and distinctive flavor. Ideal for greenhouse or outdoor growing.
7. SHIRLEY An early-maturing, heavy-cropping F1 variety for cold or slightly heated greenhouses with excellent quality fruit. Recommended for growbag culture with an open growing habit. Fleshy fruit popular with vegetable exhibitors.
8. SWEET MILLION A heavy yielding plant that produces sweet, round cherry tomatoes.
BUSH VARIETIES 9. RED ALERT
10. TUMBLING TOM
Very early with exceptional flavorful, one-inch wide red fruits.
Sweet yellow or red, cherry-sized fruits that trail over baskets. Both are very flavorful.
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