Tomato Season Has Arrived

Do you enjoy growing your own vegetables?

There certainly is something satisfying about selecting what to grow, planting seeds, watering, watching the seedlings pop through the soil ... the growth period ... and the payoff, enjoying those fresh vine ripened tomatoes that you grew on your own.

If you grow your own vegetables, then chances are that you are busy planning your garden and deciding which vegetables to plant this year.

One popular plant that gardeners choose are tomatoes. We say "plant", as tomatoes are actually considered to be a fruit, as they have many seeds inside and grow from the flower of a plant. "The confusion arose after the 1890s when the US supreme court named them a vegetable for taxation purposes. A fruit is the edible part of the plant containing seeds, a vegetable is stem, leaf or root." (Source: Quickcrop)

Little Know Facts about Tomatoes

Here are some interesting, little known facts about tomatoes:

• Tomatoes are the richest source of lycopene. Lycopene is an antioxidant that is good for the heart and effective against certain cancers. It is important for the health of the prostate gland in men.
• Tomatoes are also packed with vitamins A and C, calcium and potassium. 
• Tomatoes typically take “76-86 days to grow from seed to harvest.” (Source: Nature Fresh Farms)
• There are over 10,000 varieties of tomatoes including white, pink, purple, black, yellow and of course red.
• Tomato seedlings have been grown in space.
• "Heinz Tomato Ketchup has a speed limit! If the sauce pours at more than 0.028 miles per hour it is considered too runny and rejected!" (Source: Sedona Farmers Market)

While they are a great plant to grow, they can be tricky to maintain.

Below are some tips and tricks to help this season.

Tips & Tricks to Grow Tomatoes

• When is the best time to plant seedlings outdoors? The ideal time to plant seedlings outdoors is once there is no more frost or overnight temperatures are not below zero degrees. According to The Old Farmers Almanac, plant seedlings between May 22^nd to June 12^th
• “Avoid overhead watering and afternoon watering. Water at the base/soil level of a plant to avoid splashing water on the leaves (which invites disease).” (Source:  The Old Farmers Almanac)
• “Aphids will cause yellow curling leaves and white sticky residue.” (Source:  The Old Farmers Almanac)
• If you are growing tomatoes, be on the lookout for blossom end rot. This is a common problem seen when growing tomatoes. This can occur due to an overabundance of water or a lack of calcium in the soil. A notable sign that your tomato plant has this is a dark circle underneath the bottom of the tomato.

Tomato Fertilizer

If you tried growing tomatoes last year and weren't impressed with your harvest, then you may want to try our Earth Smart Tomato Fertilizer (ESTF).

ESTF natural tomato fertilizer is a yield increasing liquid fertilizer formulated with high grade macro and micro nutrients, cytokines, gibberellins, amino acids, humic acid, fulvic acid, enzymes, proteins, vitamins and minerals. 

ESTF helps create a healthy environment to grow plants in and lessens the likelihood of  problems such as blossom end rot. It also:

• Helps stimulate root growth
• Improves soil-water holding capacity
• Significantly increases yield

Plus tomatoes require less time to mature and the storage life of harvested crops is extended.

Click here for more information and to purchase our fertilizer. 

Good luck with your tomatoes this season!

Sources:

The Old Farmer's Almanac, Growing Tomatoes

NatureFresh™ Farms, Tomato FAQs & Facts

QuickCrop, Top 10 Facts About Tomatoes 

Sedona Community Farmers Market, 10 Fun Facts on Tomatoes