Author: Gerardo Gonzalez

Perhaps, as the sun beat down, the tomato plant’s leaves weren’t shading its fruit enough. Or maybe it was simply too darn hot. Whatever the cause, this tomato probably got warmer than 85 degrees. When a growing tomato gets that hot, its development stalls and you get those hard white areas. Why does my tomato […]

Pick them when they’ve turned their expected color. When they’re ready, they’ll come away with the gentlest tug. Every day or two in peak season you’ll have more ripe cherry tomatoes to harvest. How do you pick a good cherry tomato? As with any tomato, pick cherry tomatoes with a firm, taut skin and a […]

Tomatoes only set fruit when temperatures are below 90 degrees, so your late-season plants will wait for fall. When planting tomatoes in July, start them from transplants. Transplants are harder to find mid-summer than in spring, but local nurseries such as The Natural Gardener and The Great Outdoors carry them. What do you do with […]

Tomatoes that have black spots or white mold on them should be tossed out, says MSU’s Oakland County extension educator in food safety and nutrition. “Some of the molds that grow on fruits, they can be dangerous and they can make you sick.” Is it OK to cut mold off a tomato? But if you […]

Green seeds are likely not yet ripe. In fact, color is one factor gardeners use to determine whether or not seeds are mature enough to germinate. A tomato is ripe for seed saving when it is ripe to eat. If a tomato is under-ripe, it will not produce viable seed. Is it OK if tomato […]

The seeds appeared to be mature but wanted to get peoples thoughts on if slightly underripe tomatoes will still have good germination results. As long as there’s a blush at the blossom end the seeds are mature. Will unripe seeds germinate? Germination studies have shown that seeds harvested from fruits with an unripe or semi-ripe […]

The British tomato season runs from June to October. In winter, you could use more canned tomatoes to save on food miles (the environmental cost of food transportation). Tomatoes are easy to grow at home, especially the smaller tumbling varieties. What months are tomatoes in season? Tomatoes are part of the nightshade family, which also […]

Tomatoes are a warm-season crop that dies back when cold temperatures threaten. This usually means no home-grown tomatoes in winter, unless you have a greenhouse. You can, however, grow tomatoes indoors, but they are usually smaller and produce less prolifically than their summer cousins. What season crop is tomato? warm season cropTomato is a warm […]

All three universities showed the same results: many heirloom tomatoes were in fact less acidic than modern varieties. The University of Wisconsin Extension tested the pH of 55 heirloom tomato cultivars. Which type of tomato has the least acid? Tomatoes With Low Acidity The Golden Boy or Lemon Boy (Lycopersicon lycopersicum) and Golden Jubilee (Solanum […]

Because Hepworth Farms’ tomatoes are grown so close to New York City, they can be vine-ripened for maximum sweetness before arriving here. The heirloom season generally runs from late summer into the fall, with local heirlooms first appearing around late July or early August. How do you know when heirloom tomatoes are ripe? Gently feel […]

1/4 inch. Quick Reference Growing Guide Plant Type: Annual vegetable Water Needs: Exposure: Full sun Soil pH: Time to Maturity: 70-80 days Soil Drainage: Spacing: 2 feet Family: Planting Depth: Seeds: 1/4 inch Genus: How deep do roma tomato roots grow? Taproots are famous for going straight down provided there are no obstacles in the […]

Large, thickly fleshed beefsteaks are the biggest type of tomatoes, weighing 1 pound or more. Growing quickly to at least 6 feet tall, the late-maturing tomato plant will produce a bountiful harvest in about 85 days. It needs a sturdy cage, trellis, or stake to support its fruit. Do beefsteak tomatoes climb? “Beefsteak” tomatoes (Solanum […]

You shouldn’t soak tomato seeds for longer than 48 hours. It is advised that you soak seeds at a minimum of 12 hours and a maximum of 24 hours, definitely no longer than 48. Many farmers and gardeners have stated that they’ve left their tomato seeds in water overnight, ready to be planted the next […]

Mealiness. This is the granular, powdery, soft, dry or coarse texture that tomatoes can have. The fleshy element of the tomato is responsible for this texture. How do you describe tomatoes? They are usually red, scarlet, or yellow, though green and purple varieties do exist, and they vary in shape from almost spherical to oval […]

Physical description and cultivation They are usually red, scarlet, or yellow, though green and purple varieties do exist, and they vary in shape from almost spherical to oval and elongate to pear-shaped. Each fruit contains at least two cells of small seeds surrounded by jellylike pulp. What adjectives were used to describe tomatoes? Words to […]

The smallest tomatoes are less than an inch wide, while the largest can be over four inches wide. Some are spherical while others are oblong or somewhat flattened. The shape/size of cultivated tomatoes can correlate to their common preferred culinary uses. What size is a medium tomato? U.S. Department of Agriculture grades Size No Pass […]

What does a fresh tomato weigh? Size of Tomato Weight Large 7 oz Medium 5 oz Small 3 oz How big is a large tomato? U.S. Department of Agriculture grades Size No Pass inches see note 1 Pass, inches see note 2 Small 2 ¹⁄8 inches 2 9⁄32 inches Medium 2¼ inches 2 17⁄32 inches […]

What Are Heirloom Tomatoes? Heirloom tomatoes grow from seeds from the previous season’s harvest. This differentiates them from hybrid tomato plants, which rely more heavily on manmade cultivars than open-pollinated and organic seeds. What is an heirloom tomato and how is it different from regular tomatoes? While regular tomatoes are grown for appearance and graded […]

As each jar is filled, stand it on rack in canner of hot, not boiling, water, which should cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. (Add additional water if necessary.) Put cover on canner, and bring water to a boil. Process quarts for up to 45 minutes (40 minutes for pints) at a gentle but […]

Cherry tomatoes have thin skin and a lot of juice, so when you bite into them, they’ll probably squirt. According to Food Republic, this juiciness is one of the reasons many chefs prefer cherry tomatoes over grape tomatoes. What is better grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes? When it comes to Cherry and Grape Tomatoes, their […]