Tomato-Patch Did You Know Introduced to Europe

Tomato-Patch Did You Know? • Introduced to Europe in the sixteenth century, tomatoes were called “love apples. ” • While the Spanish and Italians ate them, Northern Europeans believed they were poisonous. • An 1893 Supreme Court decision declared that, though botanically a fruit, the tomato is a vegetable.

‘ROMA VF’ Lycopersicon esculentum Transplanting and Harvesting Best grown in cages. Determinate. 75 days to harvest from planting-out date. Determinate: growth of a plant stem that is terminated early by the formation of a bud. Naturally self limited growth, resulting in a plant of a definite maximum size.

‘SUN GOLD’ HYBRID Lycopersicon esculentum Var. cerasiforme Transplanting and Harvesting Trellis or sprawling. Indeterminate. 65 days to harvest from planting-out date. Indeterminate: inexact in its limits or nature, no specific end size.

‘EARLY GIRL’ HYBRID Lycopersicon esculentum Transplanting and Harvesting Trellis or sprawling. Indeterminate. 54 days to harvest from planting-out date.

‘SUPERTASTY’ HYBRID Lycopersicon esculentum Transplanting and Harvesting Minimal support necessary. Semideterminate. 70 days to harvest from planting-out date.

‘BRANDYWINE’ Lycopersicon esculentum Transplanting and Harvesting Either stake, cage, or trellis. Indeterminate. 88 days to harvest from planting-out date.

‘YELLOW PEAR’ Lycopersicon esculentum Transplanting and Harvesting Plants do best on a trellis. Indeterminate. 75 days to harvest from planting-out date.

Starting Plants: Step 1 • Place one peat pellet in each pot. • Pour a total of ½ cup of warm water over the pellets and allow them to expand (about five minutes). • Fluff and mix the peat with a fork, then place the pots in the greenhouse.

Starting Plants: Step 2 • Gently press two or three tomato seeds into the top of each pellet. • Plant each pot with a different variety. • Mist lightly, close green-house, and place near a sunny window.

Starting Plants: Step 3 • Check daily to ensure that the soil stays moist and to allow air to circulate. • Once seeds germinate, leave top of greenhouse open.

Starting Plants: Step 4 • When seedlings have two or three sets of leaves, transplant into 3” peat pots, and set in a sunny spot.

Starting Plants: Step 5 • Plants may be transplanted to your garden on week after the last frost. (no frost in Hawaii so this does not apply) • Before transplanting, be sure to harden off seedlings by keeping them outdoors for increasingly longer periods of time. • Start with an hour or two, and gradually move up to a full day. • Avoid direct sunlight at first.

Don’t Forget to add Herbs to your Tomato Meal