Wednesday, February 17, 2010


Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. Who does not love tomatoes? Beefsteak, cherry, roma are among some of the famous tomatoes consumed in the United States.


It is hard to find a tomatoe that have that good grown at home taste. Its the taste tells it all. Most tomatoes from stores have that watered down flavor when you bring them home. You know what I mean. You bite into one and barely taste tomato flavor. Even though some may have a rich red outer skin, the end result is the same. The tomatoe has no flavor.


Even with the taste sort of compromised, tomatoes is pack with lots of minerals and vitamins, including potassium which are all vital for a healthy body and immune system.

A tomatoe come in more than 4,000 varieties, some with a very unique taste and color and texture.
Some varieties are best for just juicing, while others are best for cooking and canning. Still others are just delicious straight from the vine with a little salt, or sliced into a nice bowl of toss salad. But many love it in the form of pizza sauce on a hot pizza, others as ketchup on a nice thick juicy burger, or as thick rich pasta sauce on spaghetti. Tomatoes lands a place on the kitchen more often than most vegetables.

Short Partial History of The Tomato

A long time ago in the early 1500's, tomatoes once were thought to be
poisonous. It took a few centuries and a couple of decades,before tomatoes were found not to be dangerous for human consumption. Around the 1820's a rich man by the name of Robert G. Johnson, set out to prove that the tomatoe is harmless. He did this by gathering a large group of people, and allowed them to watch while he devoured a huge portion of tomatoes. He did not get sick or had no side effects from eating the so called "poisionous vegetable". It is a good thing that tomatoes turn out to be just another great vegetable/fruit that we can put on our list edible vegetables.

Vegetable or Fruit?

Even though it is said that tomatoes are a fruit, and others say it is a berry, tomatoes are mostly used as a vegetable. Because of it many uses, tomatoes have become an essential part of a garden. It is unthinkable to plant a garden without this antioxidant packed vegetable/fruit. Wouldn't it be nice to know how to grow delicious tomatoe in your garden? Wouldn't it be nice to have tomatoes packed with rich tomato taste? Growing your own tomatoes, will give you back that nice tomatoe taste. Leaving your tomatoes on the vines longer is what contribute to this result. Most companies pluck the tomatoes while green and allow the tomatoes to turn red on it way to the store.
So why not grow a couple of tomatoes plants in your backyard?

If you feel you do not have a green thumb you could purchase tomatoes at a neighbor farmer's market. Many people who grow their own veggies in their garden usually have a surplus and most sell to prevent waste.

But you can grow your own tomatoes in your garden even with little experience.

Types of Tomatoes Plants
Tomatoes come in two types, indeterminates and determinates(some are dwarfs and minatures also). Indeterminates usually needs support, stakes and cages. They also produce tomatoes thoughout the summer months until cold weather terminates the plant. While determinates are bushy and can support itself, they produce lots of tomatoes in a short period of time and usually all at once.

Dwarfs and miniature are small and compact enough to grow on your back porch. Which pleases a lot of patio farmers because it does not take up a lot of space.