While not technically a vegetable tomatoes are usually the most widely grown and rewarding vegetables in your backyard garden. Tomatoes are technically a fruit, however, they belong in the vegetable patch. Tomatoes vary in size from the tiny and sweet cherry style tomatoes to big juicy and meaty beefsteak tomatoes weighing more than a pound. This is great for gardeners as it gives us so many options of different varieties to grow. Tomatoes are warm-season plants and should be transplanted only after danger of frost has passed. Temperature is an important factor in the production of tomatoes, which are particularly sensitive to low night temperatures. Blossom drop can occur in early spring when daytime temperatures are warm, but night temperatures fall below 55°F as well as in summer, when days are above 90°F and nights above 76°F. 

Planting Suggestions
A home gardeners tomato crop begins with compact vigorous health seedlings 5 to 7 weeks old, grown in 4" or larger growing pots. Growing your own seedlings insure quality and varieties not commercially available. However, if you decide to buy your seedling from a commercial source, buy early, compact plants growing in 4" pots. If the seedlings are grown to normal transplant size in small pots they will not perform well. We've grown a lots of tomato varieties over the years. I sow our seeds in flats indoors during winter. I start my seedling in mid January in the Greenhouse. Sow the seed about 1/4" deep in your soil. The seeds should be started about 6 to 8 weeks before your average last frost date in your zone, or your planned transplant date. Make sure the seed starting mix is a light sterile soil mix with a liberal portion of Perlite or Vermiculite to maintain moisture. I always plant twice and as many seedlings as I will need. The extras are sold to offset the cost of growing my seedlings and give some away to friends. During the day, keep the seedling flats next to a sunny window after they have germinated. Move to top of the water heater or refrigerator at night if you do not have a greenhouse. A heated greenhouse will produce ideal, controllable growing conditions. I also use supplemental overhead florescent lighting. Here in Southeast Texas our winter days are too short to produce healthy plants. Never allow your lights to burn more than 16 hours per day. A cheap electrical timer is the key to success here. Seedlings must be allowed to have a period of rest to grow properly. Hang your lights 1½ inches above the tops of the seedlings. This will prevent the seedling from becoming leggy. Raise the light suspended by a chain as the plants grow. Do not allow the soil to dry out. Feed seedlings every other watering cycle. I prefer feeding my young seedlings with Fish Emulsion or liquid seaweed. If you notice your seedling leaves turning purple this is the result of phosphorus deficiency.

Harvesting and Handling
All tomatoes tend to have a purple coloring to the young stem but watch the leaves. The colder growing conditions prevent adequate absorption of phosphorus. Ten days after germination transplant the seedlings into individual 2" growing pots. Clip all the leaves 1" below the top of the plant. Replant to the maximum depth the pot will allow. Pack the soil around the stem lightly to make good contact between soil and root ball. The additional plant stem buried into the soil will produce more roots making a healthier plant. Fertilize with Fish Emulsion or Liquid Seaweed at this time. Two weeks later transplant the seedlings into larger 4" pots, repeating the preceding potting method above. I am a firm believer in growing seedlings in large growing pots. Tomatoes can be severely stressed by allowing them to become root bound. Seedlings grown to transplant size in 2" pots will never perform as well as those grown in 4" pots. Two weeks prior to transplanting in the garden bed clip off all but the top 1/3 of all leaves from the stem. This will allow the wounds to heal before transplanting into your beds. This is done to allow deep planting in your garden beds without exposing the wounds to deadly soil borne diseases such as Verticillium wilt or Fusarium wilt. Planting resistant varieties will help prevent this disease as well. Planting seedlings deep will allow the roots access to moisture well below the normal rain runoff. Brushing the tops of the tomato seedlings back and forth helps to produce the Harmon Cytokin, which promotes stronger stems. A gentle breeze outdoor produces the same effect naturally. This practice is encouraged throughout the life of the plant. 

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