Friday, May 17, 1991 - North Shore News - 15

For backyard garden gamblers everywhere
pointers on growing the ‘perfect’ tomato

IF YOU ask 10 people what they are going to plant in the
vegetable garden, I would be very surprised if nine and a
half of them didn’t start off with the tomato. Anyone who
has had the pleasure of tasting a fresh, sun-ripened,

home-grown tomato can understand why.

It is hard to believe that the
tomato was considered to be the
“fruit of the devil’? by the first
explorers of the Americas. Back in
the days of the Salem witch hunts,
growing a tomato could get you
nine to five in the pillory if not an
unwanted invitation as guest of
honor at the next outdoor
barbecue.

Fortunately, times have chang-
ed. Now, the most intimidating
thing about growing this most
rewarding of ail garden vegetables
is that your neighbor may outdo
you. f know of no other plant in
the garden that homeowners actu-
ally choose to place bets on.

1 am_ regularly plagued with
questions posed by these garden
gamblers concerning the most
successful methods of cuitivation.
Listening to them outline the
nature of their wagers, I feel it is
time that someone introduced a
standardization of the rules of the
game.

First, level the playing field. if
your neighbor has a sunny,
south-facing wall that is protected
from chilly winds and you have
nothing but drafty shade, give him
your money and save yourself the
effort. The same can be said if his
soil is enriched with compost or
well-rotted manure and yours is
more akin to the bottom of a
gravel pit.

Next thing to consider are the
parameters of your contest. Are
you growing for size, quantity or

Geoff
Tobiasson

OVER THE GARDEN GATE

flavor? A ‘‘Beefsteak’’ may pro-
duce the largest fruit, but how
does it compare in taste to *‘Early
Gir?’ and what are its total
numbers when related to ‘‘Sweet
100’s"’?

I suggest each contestant be re-
quired to grow at least one of
each. This will allow the
measurement of his (or her) abili-
ties with regard to getting the
most from each of the above
categories.

Lastly, set the date for judging:
well in advance. If the neighbor
sets his planis into the garden well
ahead of you and adopts the pro-
per protection procedures, he is
likely to be taunting you with

tomato success by the prescribed
date.

That’s about all we need in the
form of mules. The rest should be
left to the test of techniques and
the measure of green thumbery.
May the better gardener win.

Here are a few tips for the
beginner:

Buy the right plant. Do a little
research to determine the most
Suitable variety for your goals and
area, In addition to those men-
tioned, you might try ‘‘Celebrity”’
as a good producer of tasty, mid-
sized fruit and ‘Big Boy”’ will out
beef ‘‘Beefsteak’’ for taste and
size.

Bigger is not always better. If
your prospective purchase is so
large chat it has become root
bound and begun to drop leaves
and turn yellow, fook for a
sinaller, healthier version.

Avoid tke blue-bloods. No, |!
am not talking about the lineage
of your plants, Tomatoes develop
a bluish cast when subjected to
too much cold. This may not kill
them but it certainly slows them
down for a week or two.

How about a little tanning lo-
tion. Certainly not a good idea,
but it would be wise to go slow
when introducing your plants to
strong, full sun. Take about a
week to acclimatize your plants by
giving them an hour the first day,
two hours the second and so on.

Watch your diet. Too much
nitrogen-rich fertilizer early on
can force the plant to concentrate
on the production of foliage
rather than fruit. An inch or two
of compost or well-rotted manure
is usually all that is necessary to
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64 How sweet it is can depend on
the ievels of nitrogen and
potassium present in the later
Stages of development. 99

How sweet it is can depend on
the levels of nitrogen and potassi-
um present in the later stages of
development. Once the fruit has
begun to visibly develop, you can
begin adding small amcunts of
enriched compost, but go slow.

The Black Bottom or Blossom
End Rot, as it is more commonly
known, is a sign that the plant
may be suffering from a calcium
deficiency. This can sometimes be
avoided by adding a heaping ta-
blespoon of bonemeal to the
planting hole at the time of plant-
ing.

This condition can also be
caused by excessive heat build-up
in the root zone. Try to water
your plants at ground level arcund

nine or 10 in the morning. The
cooling effects of evaporation can
reduce the risk of Blossom End
Rot.

Get potted. If you do not have
the benefit of a good area in the
garden but do have a sunny deck,
plant your tomatoes in containers.
They should be at least 16 inches
deep and 18 inches by 18 inches in
width. Look to ‘Pik Red’’ and
“Patio”? for flavorful mid-sized
fruit and ‘‘Tiny Tim’’ as a cherry

type.

I hope some of this information
helps you get off to a good start.
Look for more on the subject of
growing the perfect tomato in the
coming weeks.

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