Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Tomatoes

1
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Tomatoes
(and Some You Didnt)

• By Thomas R. LeRoy
• Montgomery County Extension Agent - Horticulture

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Little Known or Cared About Tomato History
(Trivia)

• Where do tomatoes come from?
• Western coast of South America, present-day Peru.
  Eight species of tomatoes still grow wild in the
  Andes Mountains.
• Cultivated tomatoes have been classified into
  five botanical varieties.
• The tomato was an important crop among New World
  Indians by the 15th century.
• Aztecs called it Xitomatl. Early Aztec writings
  mentioned dishes comprised of peppers, salt and
  tomatoes. Could be the original salsa recipe!

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More Tomato Trivia

• Central American tribes called it Tomati
• The tomato made its way across the Atlantic
  shortly after Cortez conquered the Aztecs in
  1521.
• The earliest mention of tomato in European
  literature was found in Italy in 1544. Tomatoes,
  described as pomi doro (Golden Apple) were eaten
  with oil, salt and pepper. This means, yellow
  varieties may have been the first to reach the
  Old World.
• Red varieties were introduced to Italy by two
  Catholic priests many years later (exact date not
  known).

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Even More Tomato Trivia

• Tomatoes became widely cultivated over the next
  several decades in Spain, Italy and France where
  it was called pomme damour (Love Apple). It
  might have been used as an early aphrodisiac.
• German folklore witches used members of the
  nightshade family to summons werewolves (a
  practice known at lycanthropy). The common German
  name for tomatoes translates to Wolf Peach.
• The scientific name for tomato is Lycopersicon
  esculentum which means edible wolf peach.
• English writings as early as 1578 referred to the
  tomato as an ornamental.

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Can you believe it! More Tomato Trivia

• Plants were brought BACK to the Americas by
  colonists early on, as ornamentals from Britain.
• Northern European cultures associated the tomato
  with poisonous members of the nightshade family,
  specifically henbane, mandrake and deadly
  nightshade which resemble their edible cousin.
• In 1596, one English author refers to love
  apples as being eaten abroad, but having a rank
  and stinking savour.
• The first cook book to mention tomatoes was
  published in Naples, Italy in 1692.
• In 1752, English cooks used tomatoes sparingly to
  flavor soups.

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All right, enough is enough!

• In 1781 Thomas Jefferson brought tomatoes to his
  table, along with French fries. He is given
  credit, by many, for popularizing tomato use in
  North American culture.
• New Orleans cuisine is reported to have
  incorporated tomatoes by 1812.
• Col. Robert Gibbon Johnson supposedly put all
  doubts about tomatoes to rest in 1820 when he ate
  a bushel of tomatoes on the Boston courthouse
  steps. Thousands are reported to have turned out
  to watch the poor man die.

HE DIDNT!
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Fruit or Vegetable ?

• The United States Congress passed the Tariff Act
  of 1883 requiring a 10 tax on all imported
  vegetables.
• A tomato importer decided to challenge the Act on
  botanical grounds that tomato was technically a
  fruit not a vegetable and therefore should be
  exempt.
• In 1893 the case Nix vs. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304,
  came before the Supreme Court.
• The court ruled that although tomatoes were
  considered the fruit of the vine they are
  generally eaten cooked or raw and served during
  the principal part of the repast and therefore
  a vegetable not like fruits generally, as
  desert.

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How to Become a Green Thumb Tomato Grower

• Select Recommended Varieties.
• Plant at the Right Time.
• Proper Soil Preparation and Fertilization.
• Control Weeds, Diseases and Insects.
• Adequate Soil Moisture.
• Harvest at the Right Time .

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Ideal Garden Location

• Receives 8 hours of sunlight.
• Soil has good internal and external drainage.
• Free from competition from other large plants,
  buildings, etc.
• Near a source of water.
• Visible!

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Starting Your Own Tomato Transplants

• Select Proper Varieties.
• Sterile Potting Media.
• Sterile Containers.
• High Light Intensity for 14-16 hours.
• Regular Applications of Soluble Fertilizer

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Temperature and Fruit Set

• Fruit-set is affected by night temperature.
• Night temperatures below 50F delays the time
  from pollination to fertilization causing flower
  drop.
• Night temperatures above mid 70s disrupts pollen
  shed causing flower drop on large fruited
  varieties.

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When is a Tomato Really Ripe?

• GREEN - Stage 1 tomato is completely light to
  dark green.
• BREAKER - Stage 2 break in color from green, to
  tannish-yellow, pink or red (less than 10).
• TURNING - Stage 3 -10 but not more than 30
  shows a change in color.

• PINK - Stage 4 -more than 30 but not more than
  60 shows pink or red color.
• LIGHT RED - Stage 5 -more than 60, not more
  than 90, shows pinkish or red color.
• RED - Stage 6 -more than 90 of the surface is
  red in color.

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Staking versus Caging
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Growth Habit of Tomatoes

• Determinate
• Floriamerica
• Mountian Delight
• Bush Celebrity
• Bush Early Girl
• Carnival
• Jackpot
• Solar Set
• BHN 444
• Heatwave

• Indeterminate
• Beefmaster
• Super Fantastic
• Champion
• Dona
• Early Girl
• Brandywine
• First Lady
• Better Boy
• Big Beef

• Semi
• Celebrity
• Heartland
• SuperTasty

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Whats the Alphabet After the Variety Name?

• ASC - Alternaria Stem Canker
• BSp - Bacterial Speck
• F - Fusarium Wilt
• F1 - Fusarium Wilt race1
• F2 - Fusarium Wilt race2
• N - Nematodes

• V - Verticillium Wilt
• V1 - Verticillium Wilt, race 1
• V2 - Verticillium Wilt, race 2
• TMV - Tomato Mosaic Virus
• St - Stemphylium (gray leaf spot)

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Intermission
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Recipe for SuccessfulTomato Production

• Champion, highest producer ever in our trials at
  73 lbs./plant
• Average production on modern hybrids is 40-50
  lbs./plant.
• Average home gardener produces less than 10
  lbs./plant.

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1. Plant large, vigorous plants. Incorporate
¼-½ cup of complete, slow release fertilizer at
planting.
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2. Wrap tomato cages with row cover.

• Benefits of Row Cover.
• 2 to 4 F of Frost Protection.
• Wind Protection.
• Keeps Out Insects.
• Allows 85 to 90 Light Penetration.
• Up to 30 Increase in Production.

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3. Apply a weekly foliar spray of a water soluble
fertilizer with micro-nutrients.
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4. Work in 2-3 Tbs. of high nitrogen fertilizer
when 1st cluster of fruit sets.
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Totally Terrific Tomatoes

• Bush Celebrity (61)
• Solar Set (53)
• Dona (53)
• Carnival (54)
• Heatwave (50)
• Early Girl (50)
• Champion
• Celebrity

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Totally Terrific Cherries

• Juliet (57)
• Baxters Early Bush
• Sweet Chelsea
• Yellow Pear

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Totally Tomatoes 1 [phone]
www.totallytomato.com
Tomato Growers 1 [phone]
www.tomatogrowers.com
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Common Diseases and Insectsof the Nightshade
Family
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The End