Let's Talk Tomatoes!

Verse of the Week:

John 8:34-36

Jesus Replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free."

The World Of Tomatoes:

Today I am going to start with the all time vegetable the tomato. There are a couple of areas that will be briefly covered: varieties, seedlings and companion plants for tomatoes.

When planning a garden in the Pacific Northwest short harvest varieties are the choice to choose. A 45-75 day tomato are the easiest to grow and harvest in our short growing season. Some varieties that are new to my garden this year are: 'Rebekah Allen' a 70 days to harvest tomato and the 'Tlacolula Pink'. The Tlacolula Pink variety is a 75 day tomato (so hopefully my garden sees a harvest). These tomatoes are a Mexican heirloom tomato which are pear shaped, have deep ribs and ruffles. They are mild, sweet with pink flesh and skin, and gold splotched shoulders. With tomatoes the varieties are endless. They range from hybrids to non-gmo variety heirlooms. The variety is up to you to choose. Just remember to save your seed catalogs for tomato recipes, research, and varieties. When you start from seed the varieties are endless compared to what your local home improvement store can offer. A warning that seedlings can have some problems too.

One of the biggest problem that I have encountered over the years is "damping off". This disease is one of the most common among seedlings and starters. Damping off has several visible symptoms which include sudden collapse of the seedlings, constriction, and discoloration of the stem at the soil line. Fungus can cause damping off as well, but it doesn't matter which fungus is the cause. Here's some prevention: disinfect your starter containers, use sterile seed starting mix, don't crowd seedlings, thin out seedlings, avoid over watering, when transplanting don't handle the stems, grow seedlings in a well ventilated area, and immediately discard any infected plants. This season I had a similar problem to damping off with some of my larger transplants. These plants were doing great. They were in the hardening off stage when about an inch or two above the soil line they became constricted and wilted. I saved the plants! This is how I did it: I took the starter and wet the stems up to the fullest part of the leaves. Then covered the plant with rooting hormone, and planted the tomato in my garden as normal. (The bad section was planted below the soil line) Within a couple of days the plants had regained their former strength.

Finally, lets talk about what plants grow best with your tomatoes.

Below I have two categories: Lovers (companion plants) and Haters (plants that repel against tomatoes).

Tomato Lovers:

• asparagus
• chives
• onions
• parsley
• marigold
• garlic
• nasturtium
• carrots

Tomato Haters:

• cabbage
• potatoes
• fennel
• apricot trees
• corn
• tobacco

So remember to choose your varieties wisely. Watch your seed starters carefully and plant the next to the proper plants. Next week I am going to talk about strawberries.

Sources:

"Carrots Love Tomatoes" by Louise Riotte

"The Whole Seed Catalog" by Baker Creek

"week by Week Vegetable Gardener Handbook" by Ron and Jennifer Kujowski