Do heirloom tomatoes (or other heirloom vegetables, for that matter) have benefits or advantages when compared to hybrid tomatoes? The answer is not simple. Natural selection of tomatoes Most of the crops we eat today, including tomatoes, have evolved from less desirable wild plants. Over generations and generations, humans have selectively created many plant varieties […] More
How do you choose which tomatoes to grow in your garden? Here’s a suggestion: Make a list of how you and those in your household enjoy tomatoes. Consider the 5-S’s— salads, sandwiches, sauces, soups., and salsa. There are tomatoes perfect for each of these uses. Plant 1 to 3 tomato plants for each household member […] More
Early-season tomatoes ripen fruit 55 to 70 days after being transplanted to the garden as 6-week-old plants. Because great tomato flavor comes with just the right combination of sugars and acids that are the product of sunlight and photosynthesis, early-season tomatoes are often dismissed as less tasty than mid- and late-season tomatoes (which require 80 […] More
Epsom salt contains magnesium, an essential plant nutrient. Used as a foliar spray or soil additive it will help tomato and pepper plants grow and produce larger, tastier yields. Milk contains calcium, an important plant macronutrient. Milk can feed tomatoes and peppers and double as a fungicide. Compost tea, comfrey tea, and other liquid organic […] More
Fresh corn, herb, and tomato relish is a mix that comes together naturally as the summer harvest peaks. When sweet corn kernels can be cut from the ears and popped in your mouth as a garden snack—well, that is the same time you are going to find meaty tomatoes ripe on the vine. For this […] More
To make the most nutritious tomato juice the easy way, do this: wash your tomatoes, cut out the cores and bruised or bad spots, and place the whole tomatoes in a blender—no peeling required. Blend until smooth and drink. Freeze what you don’t drink now for later use. Most recipes for tomato juice ask you […] More
Tomatoes can come to harvest in early summer, mid-summer, or late summer depending on the variety. Early-summer harvest tomatoes are ready to be picked in 70 days or less after seedlings are planted. Mid-summer harvest tomato varieties come to harvest in 70 to 80 days after seedlings are planted. Late-summer harvest varieties come to harvest […] More
What could be more satisfying than a late summer soup made from the vegetables out of your own garden or the one’s you hand selected at the farm market. Print Basil and Tomato Soup Author Steve Albert Yield 6-8 servings Here’s a basil and tomato soup which you can serve hot or cold. I like […] More
Stephen Albert