Tomato Plants from Seedshow to grow tomato plants from seeds

I love tomatoes and just for this, I dedicate this article to them.

CHARACTERS AND CULTIVATION

The tomato (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM) is a solanacea native to South America that, for a long time after its introduction in Europe (XVI century), was cultivated for ornamental use only, because considered not edible.

Only in the XIX century its cultivation started and become massive, especially in the Mediterranean area, where it become a protagonist in local gastronomy, like in Italy, that is the 3rd tomatoes producer in the world.

The tomato plant has a great production of leaves, starting from its lower part, close to the ground.

In some varieties, the stem develops continuously, while in others, with DETERMINED DEVELOPMENT, the growth stops after producing a certain number of leaves and flowers.

The fruit is a BERRY that can have many shapes, depending on many varieties existing in commerce.

The plant is typical of hot-temperate climates and needs a minimum of 12-13C to germinate and 22-25C to grow and produce fruits.

It can fit to every kind of soil, but with abundant dung fertilization and a lot of water, with supplementary and continuous irrigation during the hottest months.

Tomato can have two main destinations:

- The colture for fresh consumption; tomatoes are usually collected not fully mature and are usually more tasty than those cultivated in greenhouses.

- The industrial colture, for which tomatoes are collected fully mature, to produce PEELED CANNED TOMATOES, JUICES and SAUCES, from JULY to SEPTEMBER and its collection is, largely, manual.

In my Country, disgracefully, tomatoes harvest for industry and markets is made, above all, EXPLOITING the immigrants from all the world, with very low wages, without any sort of contract and, they’re lodged in terrible conditions in abandoned houses or hangars; nearly all, in illegal conditions.

We shouldn’t ignore this unknown face of tomato.

The residuals of industrial production (skins and seeds)are used to make fodder for animals, after the extraction of oil from seeds.

NUTRITIONAL VALUES

- Tomato is rich of C-VITAMIN, mainly in the gel surrounding the seeds and BETA-CAROTENE;

- It gives only 17 Kcal/100 gr. and, for this, it’s particularly indicated for slimming diets.

- It contains LYCOPENE, a pigment considered a good anti-cancer preventive agent.

Here is a little table about FRESH TOMATO nutrients in weigh % :

- PROTEINS: 1.20

- LIPIDS: 0.20

- TOTAL CARBOHYDRATES: 2.80 of which:

- STARCH: 0.0

- SOLUBLE CARBOHYD.: 2.80

- EDIBLE FIBER: 1.30

MINERALS and VITAMINS: (mg/100 gr)

- CALCIUM: 11.0

- IRON: 0.40

- SODIUM: 17.0

- POTASSIUM: 268.0

- B1-VITAMIN: 0.03

- B2 ” : 0.03

- PP ” : 0.90

- A ” : 42.0

- C ” : 21.0

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One of the most popular plants that gardeners try to grow in their gardens or greenhouses is the tomato plant. Again it is usually grown by those gardeners who recognize they can get more from their garden than just flowers.

The tomato is an extremely useful food product with uses from salads, sauces and soups as well as other more exotic dishes. The average price of tomatoes from your local greengrocer or supermarket means that it is an excellent product to grow at home.

Tomato container gardening is perfectly possible and you don’t necessarily need a large patch of garden or greenhouse to successfully grow them. True, tomatoes do need a sunny climate however to thrive.

For tomato container gardening, you will need a large container or pot – typically about 4-5 gallon capacity – this container should have good drainage. Plant an individual tomato plant per container. You may instead plant from the seedling if a partially grown plant is not available from your garden store. Fertilizer is also an essential component for successful growth of your tomato plant.

Once growing commences, you will need some wooden stakes and string to support the plant as it grows taller.

Your choice of tomato plant can help your success with growing. There is more than one breed of tomato plant and for container gardening the bush variety of plant is usually more successful at developing. Typical choices for this method of horticulture are Early Girl and Celebrity Tomato types, there is also the Christmas Grape variety and one known as Sweet Hundreds.

Cherry tomatoes are another popular choice because of their smaller size, but some of the full size breeds can be just as easy to grow. You may want to choose your variety of plant based on what your plans are for the tomatoes. If you are going to use in salads then the small cherry or grape tomato is probably best.

Whilst almost all plants need a healthy diet of sunlight, tomatoes thrive well when it is in abundance. Make sure you have an area for your container that receives about 5-6 hours of sunlight per day. You also need to regularly water the tomato plants to promote growth.

Now that you are growing your own tomatoes you can also be sure of the history of your food. You know exactly what you are getting as you grew it yourself. Growing your own vegetables is also a great way of saving money whilst participating in a hobby. There is also some convenience in being able to get your food from your own garden.

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Growing Tomatoes

Most of the tomatoes grown in Britain are grown in greenhouses yet there are several excellent varieties that are specifically for growing outside. The tomato plant requires a growing temperature of 60 F. In some of our cold, wet, summers especially the ones we frequently have in the North, the crops grown outside are often disappointing and can be attacked by potato blight disease. Without sunshine the fruits will not ripen but even without a greenhouse you can still grow beautiful, flavoursome tomatoes using one of the portable mini poly-houses.

This type is of simple construction, a tubular metal frame that can be easily fitted together and therefore can be just as easily dismantled when not in use. The plastic cover fits snugly over the frame and is ideal for giving a little warmth and protection when the weather is poor.

If you are handy you can construct a similar type of frame from timber and this with a plastic sheeting cover will work almost as well.

Tomato plants can be purchased during May or you can raise your own from seed under glass. This will give you the opportunity to experiment and try some of the newer or very-coloured tomatoes that the seed companies have on offer. Those, which you intend to grow outside, must be one of the outside growing varieties to be successful. Though seeds can be sown out-of-doors it is generally not a very satisfactory process unless they have shelter and warmth. If you purchase plants make sure that they are well-hardened, sturdy, dark green specimens.

Soil Preparation

Tomatoes do not mind if the soil is light or heavy but it must contain plenty of organic manure. If you are growing the tomatoes outside they must be in a warm, sheltered position in a sunny aspect. In April add plenty of well-rotted compost or manure to the soil.

Sowing in the Greenhouse

The seed can be sown anytime between February and May they should be 2 in. apart in trays of seed compost covered with a sheet of glass until germination. Give as much light as possible, after about 28 days, pot up into 3 in. pots in John Innes potting compost No.1.

Planting Out in the Greenhouse

In the greenhouse the plants may be grown in the border soil, or in pots of good compost. A popular method of growing these plants is to place pots that have had their bottoms removed onto 6 in. deep bed of ashes or coarse sand and shingle. The ashes or single will hold a large quantity of water so the plants do not suffer