Tomatoes are warm-season annuals that grow best when the soil temperature is a minimum of 55°F (12°C) and therefore the air temperature ranges between 65° and 90°F (18-32°C).

1. Tomatoes are commonly grown from seedlings started indoors that are later transplanted into the garden.
2. Tomato seeds are commonly planted indoors as early as 8 to six weeks before the typical date of the last spring frost.
3. Tomato seedlings are usually transplanted into the garden 1 to three weeks after the last frost. If an unexpected frost threatens, transplants must be covered and guarded .
4. Early-season tomatoes require 50 to 60 days to succeed in harvest from transplanting; mid-season tomatoes require 60 to 80 days; late-season tomatoes require 80 or more days.
5. In hot summer-mild winter regions like USDA zone 10 or warmer, tomatoes are often grown as a fall and winter crop.

Cherry and dwarf tomatoes are ideal for container growing.

TYPES OF TOMATOES
BUSH AND DWARF TOMATOES:

1. Bush or determinate tomatoes grow from 2 to 4 feet (.6-1.2m) tall. Dwarf tomatoes grow to about 2 feet (.6m) tall.
2. Bush or determinate tomato varieties and dwarf varieties require the smallest amount of space.
3. They can be grown during a small-sized garden requiring just an sq ft or two of space or during a container with just 2 to 3 3 square feet (.9m) of soil.
4. When the determinate tomato flowers the plant stops growing. Flowers and fruits appear at the top of the stems.
5. The fruit grows and ripens usually all directly over a four- to six-week period.

VINING TOMATOES:

1. Vining or indeterminate tomatoes can grow 6 feet tall (1.8m) or more.
2. Indeterminate tomatoes require 3 to 4 square feet of space.
3. Vining tomatoes produce a succession of flowers along with the branching spurs; fruit forms from those blossoms.
4. Indeterminate tomatoes will grow almost indefinitely if not pruned or stopped by frost.
5. Most indeterminate tomato varieties require staking or caging.
6. Vining tomatoes are often left to sprawl on the bottom but fruit may become vulnerable to diseases and be harder to seek out and pick at harvest.

OTHER TOMATO CLASSIFICATIONS:

1. Fruit size and shape: Besides being bush or vine-like, tomatoes are further classified by the dimensions and shape of their fruit: currant (the smallest), cherry, plum, pear, heart-shaped, oblong, oblate, round, and enormous or beefsteak.
2. Color: Tomatoes also are classified by their color: red, pink, orange, yellow, cream, white, green, purple, brown, black, zebra-striped, and swirled multi-colors.
3. Tomato seedlings

Start tomato seeds indoors 6 to eight weeks before transplanting.

PLANTING TOMATOES
STARTING TOMATO SEEDS INDOORS:

1. Start tomato seeds indoors about 6 to eight weeks before the last frost in spring. (Transplant tomato seedlings to the garden just after the last frost in spring.)
2. Sow tomatoes in individual pots with a light-weight potting mix. Pots should have drain holes within the bottom.
3. Sow two to 3 seeds ½ inch deep and 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart during a small pot or flat.
4. Germination soil temperature can range between 65-86°F (18-30°C); the optimum soil temperature for germinating seed is 86°F (30°C).
5. Seeds are often started during a bright window or under fluorescent lights set about 2 inches (5 cm) above the plants.
6. Keep seed starting mix just moist until seeds germinate.
7. Germination takes 5 to 7 days at 75°F (24°C) or warmer.
8. Clip away the weaker seedlings once the strongest seedling is about 2 inches (5 cm) tall.
9. Grow young seedlings on at 60° to 70°F (15-21°C); allow a mild breeze from a lover to rustle over young seedlings every day in order that they grow strong stems.
10. About fortnight after germination seedlings are often transferred to larger 4-inch (10cm) pots; take care to not disturb the roots. this is often called potting up.

TRANSPLANTING TOMATO SEEDLING TO THE GARDEN:

1. Garden soil is typically warm enough for tomato transplants about 2 to three weeks after the last frost in spring.
2. Tomato seedlings are often transplanted into the garden when the outdoor soil temperature is a minimum of 55°F (13°C) and therefore the nighttime air temperatures are consistently 50°F (10°C) or warmer.
3. Set young plants out shielded from direct sun during the day for 2 weeks to harden off and acclimatize before transplanting. this is often called hardening off.
4. Plants won’t thrive in temperatures cooler than 50°F (10°C). If an unexpected frost threatens, transplants must be covered and guarded.
5. Set a tomato transplant into the garden deeper than it had been growing in its pot. Remove the lower leaves on the stem up to the highest two sets of leaves. Bury the stem up to the highest two sets of leaves. New roots will grow on the buried stem. Burying stems at transplanting will bring sturdier plants.
6. Water newly transplanted seedlings. Give transplants a B-1 solution to protect against transplant shock.

SPACING PLANTS within the GARDEN:

Plant bush tomato varieties 24 inches (61cm) apart. Plant vining varieties 36 to 48 inches (91-122cm) apart.

Tomatoes require warm, well-drained but moisture-retentive soil rich in organic matter. Tomatoes will produce earlier in light, sandy soil, but the yield are going to be greater during a heavy, loamy soil.

PLANTING SITE:

1. Grow tomatoes fully sun, a minimum of 8 hours of sun every day.
2. Prepare planting beds by adding 2 to 4 inches (5-10cm) of aged compost or commercial organic planting mix before transplanting. Turn the soil to a minimum of 12 inches (30cm) deep before planting.
3. Tomatoes require warm, well-drained but moisture-retentive soil rich in organic matter. Tomatoes will produce earlier in light, sandy soil, but the yield is going to be greater in a loamy soil.
4. Tomatoes prefer a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.8.
5. Planted in containers tomatoes require the foremost soil you’ll provide–a large container–and good drainage.

COMPANION PLANTS FOR TOMATOES:

Grow tomatoes on the brink of basil, chives, asparagus, carrots, marigolds, nasturtiums, onions, parsley. These plants will repel insects that attack tomatoes.

CONTAINER GROWING TOMATOES

1. Small determinate varieties are easily grown in 5-gallon (19 liters) containers. Grow indeterminate tomatoes in 10 to 15-gallon (38-57 liter) containers.
2. Place the container where tomatoes get 8 hours of sunlight every day.
3. Provide a stake, cage, or trellis for support at planting to avoid the danger of damaging the growing root afterward.
4. Keep the soil evenly moist. The soil in containers can dry quickly in the weather.
5. Move tomatoes in containers indoors if frost threatens. Tomatoes are often grown in containers through the winter indoors.

More recommendations on growing tomatoes in containers: Growing Tomatoes in Containers.Watering tomatoes

Side dress tomatoes with dilute fish emulsion or kelp meal every 3 to 4 weeks. Add aged compost around plants at mid-season.

WATERING AND FEEDING TOMATOES

1. Tomatoes require regular even watering. Keep the soil moist but not wet.
2. Water deeply. Water thoroughly before the soil dries out.
3. Water at the bottom of the stem; avoid wetting leaves.
4. Leaves may curl on hot days; this is often how for plants to conserve moisture and isn’t necessarily a symbol of distress. If leaves wilt within the morning, tomatoes need an instantaneous slow, deep watering.
5. Mulch with straw or aged compost around plants to stop soil moisture evaporation.
6. Side dress tomatoes with dilute fish emulsion or kelp meal every 3 to 4 weeks. Add aged compost around plants at midseason.
7. Blossom-end rot are often the result of uneven watering or a scarcity of calcium within the soil. Crushed eggshells added to identify watering every fortnight can provide the calcium needed.
8. Compost tea applied every fortnight will provide nitrogen and other nutrients needed.

SUPPORTING TOMATOES

1. Cages, stakes, and trellises are often wont to support tomato plants. Supports will keep leaves and fruits off the bottom. Tomatoes that sprawl across the bottom is going to be vulnerable to disease and bug pests.
2. Stakes are often wont to train tomatoes upwards. Staked tomatoes are commonly pruned to at least one or two main stems (called leaders) which are trained up by tying the stem to the stake with elastic horticultural tape.
3. Trellises are often wont to support tomatoes. Fashion a trellis out of 6 by 6 inch (15cm) galvanized mesh. Stretch the mesh between two stakes set about 8 feet (2.4m) apart. Tie off the vines as they get older, almost like staked plants.

Set stakes at the time of transplanting. Tie stems to stakes with elastic horticulture tape or garden twine.

STAKING TOMATOES:

1. A staked tomato requires the smallest amount amount of growing space.
2. Stake tomatoes with 6-foot (1.8m) stakes. Set stakes at the time of transplanting.
3. Tie stems to stakes with elastic horticulture tape or garden twine.
4. Staked tomatoes are best pruned in order that they grow on a straight stem against the stake.
5. Prune staked tomatoes a minimum of one|to 1″> to at least one or two stems by pinching out the growing tip of every side branch after it’s sprouted at least two leaves.
6. To prune to quite one main stem, choose the stems you would like to stay and pinch out the remainder .
7. Do not pinch back side shoots until two leaf sets develop; this may provide foliage cover from sunburn for fruits and stems later.
8. Note that pruning will reduce the entire crop and is probably going to extend the incidence of blossom-end rot.

CAGING TOMATOES:

1. Use tomato cages to support upward growth.
2. Use an 18-inch/46 cm-diameter cage for little, bush tomatoes.
3. Use a 24-inch/61 cm-diameter cage to support large, vining tomatoes.
4. Round or square cages are often bought ready-made; square cages are easily folded and stored.
5. To make your own cage use 6 by 6 inch (15×15 cm) mesh reinforcing wire. A five-foot (1.5m) width cut five feet long and bent into a cylinder and tied off will support a six-foot-tall (1.8m) tomato. Remove rock bottom horizontal wire and push the cage into the bottom six inches deep surrounding the tomato . Add a supporting stake in windy areas.
6. Cages are commonly set in situ when a plant is young in order that they will get older and into the cage. Caging, like staking, allows tomatoes to be grown in tight spaces, the fruit is maintained off of the bottom and hospitable air circulation.
7. Caged tomatoes may or might not require pruning.
8. Protect tomatoes from cold

Early within the season protect young tomatoes from cold and frost under plastic tunnels.

MAINTAINING TOMATOES

1. Mulch around the base of tomatoes with aged compost to slow soil moisture evaporation.
   For stronger plants and larger fruit, pinch out all suckers that start to grow within the crotch of the most stem and side branches. Root the suckers during a starting mix to start out a second crop for succession planting.
2. As plants grow tall, remove leaves and branches from rock bottom 12 inches (30cm) of the plant; this may help prevent the spread of soil-borne diseases.
3. Night temperatures colder than 55°F (13°C) or day temperatures above 95°F (35°C) will keep flowers from setting fruit. Protect plants under a plastic tunnel or floating row cover.

TOMATO PESTS AND DISEASES

A potato worm can defoliate a plant during a day.

TOMATO PESTS:

Here are common insect pests which attack tomatoes (go to the Index to seek out additional articles about these pests):

1. Cutworms sleep in the soil and attack seedling; place paper collars around seedlings.
2. Aphids: suck plant juices leaving plants weak; knock them off plants with a robust spray of water.
3. Whiteflies spray with insecticidal soap.
4. Tomato hornworms are large green caterpillars which will defoliate a plant; handpick and destroy or spray with spinosad.
5. Tomato fruitworms bore into fruits; spray with insecticidal soap or Bacillus thuringiensis.
   

Tomato blight may be a fungal disease that begins with the yellowing and dieback of lower leaves.

TOMATO DISEASES:

Tomatoes are vulnerable to fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases. Disease control is often difficult. Disease prevention is that the best course of action. To debar disease plant disease-resistant varieties and keep the garden clean and free from debris.

1. Verticillium and wilt are fungal diseases that cause tomato plants to suddenly wilt, turn brown, and sometimes die. These diseases brought on by wet weather or overhead watering.
2. Early blight and blight are fungal diseases. These diseases usually strike during warm, humid, or wet weather, Yellowing of lower leaves and therefore the discoloration of stems may be a sign of blight. cf. the way to Identify Early Blight, Blight, and Leaf Spot.
3. Bacterial diseases are marked by black spots or specks on leaves or the black discoloration of stems.
4. Mosaic virus or herbicide injury can cause tomato leaves to grow distorted, twisted, and stunted. Tomatoes are a relative of tobacco and may be attacked by tobacco plant diseases like a mosaic virus; wash your hands thoroughly before working with tomato plants if you smoke.
5. Remove diseased plants from the garden immediately before the disease can spread.
6. Grow disease-resistant varieties. Disease resistant varieties are identified by a letter code which can be found on seed packets or transplant identification stakes: “V” (verticillium wilt), “F” (fusarium wilt), “N” (nematodes–microorganisms that cause root cankers); and “T” (tobacco mosaic virus).
7. Blossom-end rot or rotting at the blossom or bottom end of the fruit is caused by fluctuations in soil moisture and therefore the insufficient uptake of calcium from the soil. to regulate blossom end rot, water regularly, and add crushed eggshells to the soil or an organic that includes calcium.
8. Cracking fruit is caused by the uneven uptake of water—when the soil goes dry, then wet, then dry. Keep the soil evenly moist to avoid fruit cracking.
9. Trouble-shoot tomato pest and disease problems by getting to this article: Tomato Growing Problems and the way to stop Tomato Blossom Drop.

HARVESTING TOMATOES
TOMATO HARVEST TIME:

Tomatoes can also be classified by once they come to harvest:

1. Early season: require 40 to 60 days to succeed in harvest from transplanting.
2. Midseason: require 60 to 80 days to succeed in harvest from transplanting.
3. Late season: require 80 or more days to succeed in harvest from transplanting.
4. For an extended harvest plant early, mid-season, and late-season tomatoes at an equivalent time in spring or early summer.
5. Some tomatoes are picked green and ripened indoors. ‘Mature green’ tomatoes have reached full size and are just starting to turn color. they will be ripened on the kitchen counter indoors.

A tomato is ripe and prepared for harvest when the skin turns glossy.

TOMATO HARVEST TIPS:

1. Note on a calendar once you plant then count before the amount of days to maturity to understand about when harvest will begin.
2. Allow tomatoes to ripen on the vine when possible.
3. A tomato are going to be ripe when its skin turns from dull to glossy.
4. Tomatoes that have begun to show color will ripen off the vine. Place them during a cool place out of the direct sun with the stem find yourself .
5. Harvest tomatoes before the primary frost; you’ll lift whole plants and hang them the wrong way up during a shed or garage to ripen.

TOMATO YIELD TIPS:

Plant 1 to 4 tomato plants for every household member. Consider the variability and the way the tomato is going to be used: eating fresh, cooking, canning, or preserving. If possible, plant both early and late cultivars and determinate and indeterminate tomatoes to permit for a staggered and continuous harvest. Double the number of plants if you propose to crush the fruit for juice.

STORING AND PRESERVING TOMATOES

1. Ripe tomatoes are best stored on the kitchen counter, not within the refrigerator.
2. Tomatoes can also be frozen, canned, or dried whole or sliced.
3. Tomatoes are often made into juice, paste, relish, or pickles.
4. Green tomatoes harvested before the last frost are often set during a cool, moist, place for up to at least one month as they ripen.
5. More tips the way to Freeze Tomatoes and the way to Can Tomatoes.
6. More recommendations on tomato harvest: the way to Harvest and Store Tomatoes and Tomato Ripening Tips for Season End.

HOW TO CHOOSE the proper TOMATO

1. There are thousands of sorts of tomatoes; several hundred named varieties are readily available as seeds or starts.
2. Choose tomatoes for fresh eating, cooking, canning, preserving, or drying.
3. Choose beefsteak and slicing tomatoes or cherry or miniature tomatoes for fresh eating.
4. Choose standard or globe-shaped tomatoes for canning.
5. Choose paste tomatoes for cooking.
6. Choose a tomato to suit the length of your growing season: early (50 to 60 days), main crop (70 to 85 days), or late harvest (85 days or more).
7. Choose a bush or determinate tomato for alittle garden or container or a brief harvest.
8. Choose a vining or indeterminate tomato for caging and long harvest.
9. Here are more great tomatoes varieties for your garden: Tomatoes to Grow for Flavor.
10. Black tomatoes

ABOUT TOMATOES

1. The tomato may be a tender subtropical perennial grown as annual.
2. Tomatoes are native to southern Mexico.
3. Tomatoes are weak-stemmed with vining or sprawling habits depending upon the variability . Tomatoes have alternate lobed and toothed leaves.
4. Yellow flowers grow in clusters either along stems or at the top of stems.
5. Depending on the variability, fruits vary in size from marble-sized to apple-sized and in color from red to yellow to orange to white. Some tomatoes could also be green or purple-black.
6. Botanical name: tomato