If you missed our first FREE SATURDAY CLASS on April 24, here are some helpful tips on growing your best tomato harvest!
DETERMINATE VS. INDETERMINATE?
- DETERMINATE: This is a tomato likely to have a “determined” size, shape and harvest. It is a type of growth habit that has a completion of size. All the fruit tends to come at once–which can still be over a couple month period. These varieties tend to also be called “canning” or “paste” tomatoes. They are handy for processing since the plants remain relatively tidy and the fruit ripens over a shorter period.
- INDETERMINATE: These are the majority of tomatoes that have an “indetermined” length of growth. They continue to grow and vine all season long. The fruit comes on the plant until cold weather stops the process. These plants will always require staking or trellising to keep them up off the ground.
HYBRID VS. HEIRLOOM?
- HYBRID: These tomatoes have been altered to create a new variety, usually for disease resistance, flavor, size or color. They are sometimes “branded”, like “Big Boy” or “Burpee’s Big Boy”. Hybrid tomatoes have a combination of traits from different plants. If you try to save seeds from a hybrid tomato, the seeds may not produce the desired plant. They may produce one of the “parent” plants which could only have one of the desired characteristics.
- HEIRLOOM: These tomatoes have been passed down through seed for years. They always can be counted on to produce the desired tomato characteristics from their seeds. They are sometimes also referred to as Open-Pollinated. You can save the seeds from any tomato from an heirloom plant and expect that same quality next season. These tomato seeds are often saved and shared.
SAVING TOMATO SEEDS
- HOW: If you really love a particular heirloom variety and want to save your own seeds, there are a couple easy ways.
- SIMPLE: You can just save a perfectly ripe, unblemished fruit by harvesting it and allowing it to fully ripen on your windowsill. When it is just right, squeeze the contents of the tomato into a fine mesh sieve or colander, rinse the seeds in the sieve and push through all the pulp and gel, leaving just the seeds. Then allow the seeds to dry on a paper towel or plate for a few days until they are completely dry. Package them in a paper bag, label and keep in a cool, dark place.
- FERMENTED: Some folks swear by allowing the tomato seeds to ferment before drying. In lacto-fermentation, the seed’s natural protection against early germination is removed. Same as above, squeeze the contents of the tomato and try to simply get the seeds/gel, place into a clean small jar, cover with about an inch of water and lightly seal (you still want some gasses to escape). After a couple days, you will see some white bubbling at the top. After a couple more days, a white film will cover the entire surface. Once that happens, pour off the film/water/any floating seeds, rinse the seeds at the bottom of their gel and dry with paper towels like above. Label and keep in a cool dark place when they are fully dried.
TRANSPLANTING YOUR TOMATO SEEDLINGS
- HANDLING: Tomatoes don’t care to have their roots disturbed. So you will want to gently remove the tomato plant from the 4-pack or pot and leave the roots intact. Do this by gently grasping the firmest part of the stem and tipping the plant upside down to let gravity loosen it from the pot rather than pulling it out.
- PLANTING: Tomatoes naturally vine, so when their stems touch soil, they would naturally form roots and cling to the soil. That would be the plant’s growth habit, if it were not staked or trellised. So to give it a good firm start in the soil, your tomato plant should be transplanted as deeply as possible….right up to the first set of leaves!
- CARE: Water your tomato plant regularly, and at the soil only, if possible. Tomatoes will thrive in either case, but they are less likely to suffer from some diseases if they are watered at the soil rather than sprinkled daily.
- PINCHING SUCKERS: Tomato plants often produce “suckers” in the elbows of stems, where one new stem meets the original stem. These little shoots should be pinched off. The main plant will be stronger and healthier if you can keep up with that task.
HARVESTING!
- WHEN: You can harvest your tomatoes either when they have fully ripened (to the color you expect) or at “first blush”, which is when your green tomato is starting to show some color. In this case, you place it stem-end down on a windowsill for it to finish ripening. Both ways work! But if you have squirrels waiting by your garden, you may want to harvest at first-blush to keep them from taking bites out of your prized tomato!
- STORAGE: Store ripe or ripening tomatoes at room temperature. They can loose their juicy texture in the refrigerator. Rotate them and always check for any rotting or soft spots.
FALL WEATHER–THE END OF THE SEASON
- FROST: If there is a frost expected, cover your whole tomato plant with a sheet overnight and remove in the morning. Your plant will continue to produce if protected from frost.
- FREEZE: Sadly, this usually marks the end of tomato season. If a deep freeze is forecast, it is time to pull up your plant out of the soil, remove any tomatoes that are still green but fully-formed (to ripen inside) and discard the entire plant in the trash. Tomatoes are part of the nightshade family and can harbor insects and diseases if left to rot over the winter.
- CHECK: This is a good time to check the seeds you saved and dream of next season’s tomatoes! Remember, to try and change the placement of tomatoes in your garden next year.