Description
Sweet, tropical-tasting gold berries wrapped in paper husks add magic to your garden.
Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) are warm season tender annuals in the Solanaceae family which includes eggplants, peppers, tomatillos, potatoes and ground cherries.
Bushy plants grow 2.5-3' tall. When ripe, the husk around the fruit becomes papery dry and the fruit falls off the plant to be picked up from the ground. Some people place a tarp underneath the plants to make harvesting easier, but either way the husks keep the fruit clean.
- Trellis or let sprawl
- Bushy, spreading habit
Soil Nutrients and Requirements
Tomatoes yield best in clay or loam soils that are well drained and high in organic matter. They can tolerate acid soil as low as 5.5, but they prefer to grow in 6.0-6.8 range. Using calcitic lime or gypsum can help to maintain a base saturation for calcium or 65-80 percent. Use a high phosphorus fertilizer for transplants. Take care not to over-fertilize with Nitrogen as this can result in more foliage but lower yields.
Seeding Depth
Planting depth: 1/8-1/4".
Plant Spacing
Plant spacing: for determinate varieties 12-18", for indeterminate 24-36".
Row Spacing
4-6’ centers. Greenhouse Tomatoes- maintain 4 square ft/plant.
When to Sow
Days to maturity are from transplants. Start seeds 6-8 weeks before planting date. Optimal soil temperature for germination is 75-85°F; seeds in colder situations will germinate very slowly. Do not start too early; transplants will suffer if allowed to become root bound and leggy. Harden off transplants by reducing water and nitrogen fertilizer. Transplant outdoors after danger of frost has passed.
