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Many people throughout the world love to grow vegetable gardens. In some places these gardens feed the family throughout the year, but in other places they are grown more for pleasure than for food. Sure, the people that grow in these areas will enjoy the produce as well, but for the most part it is something that is done for pleasure. One thing that all people with vegetable gardens are interested in, however, is growing great vegetables.
If you want to grow some of the best vegetable plants that you can grow you are going to need to plan carefully and give them plenty of care throughout the growing season. Some of the most typical variety of garden vegetables will have various results, simply according to the amount of time that is spent on them throughout the year. For example, most people with vegetable gardens grow tomatoes. They are a hardy plant that will grow without much attention from the gardener. In fact, most people simply grow them in a cage and pick their fruit when they become ripe. You could do the same thing, but why not grow a better tomato plant?
Tomato plants will put off shoots that come up in between the stalk and branches. They are typically called suckers because they do not give your tomato plant anything, they simply take away from it's strength. If you pinch these suckers off when they first appear you will give your tomato plants a chance to grow strong and produce well throughout the season. If you are consistent with this process you can expect to have some strong plants that produce extra large fruit and most people love having large tomatoes.
You will also need to keep your tomato plants upright. Some people use cages to keep their plants off of the ground but if you have been pulling your suckers like we discussed earlier then you will need something more. I always use tall wooden stakes to keep my tomatoes upright. These stakes are sometimes 6 feet in length and get driven into the ground a couple of feet. I put one by each plant and then keep the tomato tied to it by use of old nylons.
The first year that I used this method I ended up having to get taller stakes, simply because they were growing so tall. They also produced some of the largest, best tasting tomatoes that I ever grew. So if you want to grow great tomatoes, try giving them the care they deserve. If you take care of them, believe me, they will take care of you.
Tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C and potassium. They also pack plenty of the phytochemicals that provide disease prevention benefits. Tomatoes are high in lycopene (a powerful antioxidant) and phenolic compounds. In our diet, 95% of lycopene intake comes from tomatoes and tomato products. It is also found in watermelon, pink grapefruit, papaya and rosehip.
Lycopene is the carotenoid that makes tomatoes red. It appears that lycopene can reduce the risk of certain cancers, the eye disorder age-related macular degeneration, atherosclerosis and sun damage to the skin.
Men who eat two or more servings of tomato products average a 35 percent reduction in prostate cancer risk.
Lycopene helps women guard against cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia, (CIN), tumorous tissue growth in the cervix according to research from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Lycopene is a powerful inhibitor of the growth of breast, endometrium (inner lining of the uterus) and lung cancer cells.
Lycopene is better absorbed by the body when it is cooked with some oil. The cooking helps to break down the cell walls of the tomato releasing the lycopene and the oil helps increase its absorption. Japanese scientists found that mixing tomato juice into the drinking water of mice completely prevented them suffering emphysema triggered by tobacco smoke.
Tomatoes also contain Lutein. Lutein is found in the retina of our eyes so it needed for healthy vision. Lutein also appears to lower the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. Lutein may also help to prevent or slow down the thickening of arteries that is called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a major risk for cardiovascular disease.
Tomato products are beneficial in aggressive cancers that have also spread to other parts of the body.
Annette Welsford and Lucia Grimmer are the authors of the world best seller - How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes With a Masters Degree in Plant Pathology, Lucia provides expert technical nutrition and disease advice to professional tomato growers around the globe. Annette's writing and design skills ensure readers enjoy and informative and well presented book.
Whether you start your own tomato seeds or buy tomato seedlings, growing them organically will produce healthier plants and better tasting tomatoes.
Tomatoes are one of the most popular summer crops grown in the U.S. High in vitamins and minerals, tomatoes are a healthy and delicious addition to any back yard garden.
Tomatoes are native to the tropical areas of Central and South America, where they grow as perennials. However, in most of the United States tomatoes are grown as annuals. In the southern states they can be grown directly from seeds planted in the ground, but in the north they must be started indoors seven to ten weeks before the last frost in your area, and then transplanted to the garden as seedlings. If you don’t have the time or space to start your own tomatoes indoors, tomato seedlings are available almost everywhere at planting time. Tomato seedlings should not be transplanted outside until nighttime temperatures are above 50F, unless you have a means of protecting them if the temperature drops.
Determinate Tomatoes Vs. Indeterminate Tomatoes
Determinate tomatoes are the bush type. They need less staking and are the better choice for growing in containers. I have had great success growing bush type tomatoes in containers of straight organic compost with just some PH adjustment. All tomatoes prefer a slightly acidic to neutral soil (6.0 – 7.0). Determinate tomatoes set all their fruit and then ripen all at once. For this reason determinate tomatoes are also a good choice for canning, especially if you have a small crop.
Indeterminate Tomatoes are the vine type. This type of tomato continues to make new fruit right up until the first frost, and is a good choice if you want fresh tomatoes for the entire season (I suggest growing some of both types).
Indeterminate tomatoes can be left to sprawl on the ground, but this makes them harder to harvest and more susceptible to rotting from contact with the ground. For this reason most gardeners use some method of support to keep their tomatoes growing in a more orderly fashion. Wire cages are the simplest method of supporting tomato plants. They come pre-made in varying sizes or can be made from fencing and can contain a plant without the need for “training” (pinching back the suckers that occur between each leaf and stem junction. These turn into additional stems.) Hint: If you make you own cages, use a mesh large enough to get your hand through.
Indeterminate tomatoes may also be staked and trained to have only one stem, or they can be grown along a trellis and trained to have two or three stems. These two methods also require that you tie the tomato stems to the supports as they continue to grow. While training tomatoes is more work, by limiting the number of stems and therefore the number of tomatoes, the resulting fruit will be bigger and juicer (for that one slice tomato sandwich). Caging however will save you time and produce ample amounts of tomatoes that are superior to what you’ll find in the supermarket.
Hybrid Tomatoes Vs. Heirloom Tomatoes
Heirloom tomatoes have not been altered and will produce fertile seeds that can be saved and grown to produce the same fruit in following years. Hybrid tomatoes will have sterile seeds or seeds that will produce one of the original varieties that made up the hybrid in the first place. I personally believe it is important to preserve heirloom varieties. Also, by saving seeds and replanting them, the resulting plants will become more adapted to your specific climate and soil type.
Hybrid tomatoes are acceptable to the organic gardener, provided they have not been genetically altered. Many hybrid types of tomato are resistant to disease and or insects. The VFN indication on plant labels refers to resistance to Verticillium Wilt, Fusarium Wilt and Nematodes respectively.
Whether you choose to grow heirloom varieties or hybrids, good organic gardening practices, will lessen the chances your plants will succumb to insects or disease. The use of plenty of rich organic compost, companion planting with herbs and flowers, generous mulching and regular watering, will all enhances your plant’s overall health and productivity.
Tips on Growing Organic Tomatoes
As with all plants, tomatoes benefit from the generous use of organic compost added to the soil.
Use plenty of mulch, not only to conserve water and hold down weeds, but also to minimize contact with soil born disease. (I prefer natural mulch to plastic. I use seaweed but leaves and glass clippings work well also)
When planting seedlings, don’t loosen roots as you would with some transplants. Remove lower leaves and plant so only the top leaves are above the ground. If plants are very “leggy”, they can be planted on their side with the top turned gently upright to protrude from the soil.
Water plants regularly in early morning preferably. Watering should be done at ground level rather than spraying the leaves.
Apply fish emulsion periodically to organically supply trace minerals that contribute to healthy plants.
Top dress with more compost midway through the season
Companion plant with basil, dill or borage to attract beneficial wasps whose parasitic larvae feed on hornworms.
Good luck with your organic tomatoes. If you haven’t grown them before your in for a treat!
Chip Phelan, a contributing editor for Organic Gardening Review, is an organic gardener living in Rhode Island. Organic Gardening Review is a resource center for organic gardening enthusiast. Find us on the web: http://www.organic-gardening-review.com
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