HOME GARDENING

Internet A 1994-1995 NGA. GIA II survey conducted by the Home Improvement Research Institute found that 78 million Americans garden-42% of all adults-with 18 million new gardeners since 1992, a 30% growth in 3 years. Gardening is the number one leisure activity in America (American Demograhics), with baby boomers spending more time in their gardens than in their gyms (Wall Street Journal). In a more recent inquiry, those who monitor gardening activity suggest that the interest in vegetable gardening has not declined. Although there hasn't been a recent survey on the number of those vegetable gardening, a 2003 survey found that 18.4% or 72 million homeowners said that they "planted a garden." The number one garden vegetable is tomato, with some home gardeners just growing a few tomato plants for sufficient fruit to eat or can. The home gardener has several options for growing tomato plants: in a large soil garden, among flowers or other nonvegetable plants, or in some kind of container. Some may even grow them hydroponically. A 1997 Growing Edge magazine readership survey revealed that 70% of its readers grow plants hydroponically and 50% have greenhouses and solariums, with tlte most popular indoor plants being ornamentals, vegetables, and herbs. This suggests that there are a considerable number of home gardeners growing tomatoes, possibly year round, in an enclosed environment as well as with the use of a hydroponic growing method. Most home gardeners tend to select the older standard varieties and are somewhat reluctant to bring newer varieties into their gardens. Proven perfomers, such as Better Boy, Whopper, Celebrity, and Mountain Pride, are some of the more commonly grown garden varieties. The so-called heirloom varieties are attracting considerable attention based on the fruit flavor and color. The only exception would be for the Roma or paste-type tomato for making sauce and salsa, fruit that comes in various shapes (oxhart, plumb pear, long pear, pepper lemon, and round) and colors (red, red/orange. orange, and yellow). There are five important aspects the home gardener needs to follow in order to produce a contiuous yield of high quality tomato fruit during the entire growing season. Site Selection: choose a site that receives the full morning sun and is then partially shaded in the afternoon sun. Having the tomato plant exposed to direct afternoon sun can reduce the yield and quality of fruit as well as shorten the productive growth period. This is particularly important in the southern regions. Soil Preparation: have the soil tested by a competent laboratory to determine pH and level of essential elements. Follow the recommendations given. Work any admendments into the soil to a depth of 18 to 24 inches. Add compost to the same soil depth to create a loamy soil structure. The tomato plant is deep rooted and will significantly benefit from a uniform depth of soil. The diameter of the soil area treated should be no less than 18 inches. If the soil is properly limed and fertilized, no additional treatment will be needed during the growing season. If tomato was the previous crop, it would be well to select another site. Be sure that the soil is free of nematodes. Variety Selection: Select a variety that is adapted to the local climatic conditions and one that has excellent disease resistance. With the recent interest in heirloom varieties, use care to ensure that the selected heirloom has reasonable characteristics in terms of high fruit quality and yield, and disease resistance. Many past so-called "heirloom" varieties can have serious limitations in one or all three characteristics. For fruit production over the entire season, select an indeterminate variety. Moisture Control: place into the ground to a depth of 4 inches, a 6-inch diameter pot about 3 inches from the base of the plant. When watering, add sufficient water to fill the pot. The pot should have a small hole in its base so that the added water will slowly flow from the pot. Keeping the soil moist (not wet) around the roots of the plant at all times is better than watering when the soil becomes dry. If the plants are under moisture stress, fruit yield and quality will decline. Fruit blossom-end-rot will occur when the tomato plant is under stress, which can be prevented if the plants are kept continuously provided with water. Cultural Practices: follow recommended cultural practices to keep the plant productive, removing suckers, cluster pruning when needed, and tying the plant to a support stake. Remove fruit that will not eventually mature. Leaving small slow developing fruit on the plant will significantly reduce yield and the quality of produced fruit. Remove diseased or insect damaged leaves and fruit when they initially appear. Older leaves below the last fruit cluster harvested should be removed by cutting from the main stem. Other Amendments: If the procedures described above are followed, it will not be necessary to add additional substances to sustain the tomato plant in a fully fruit productive condition. The use of blossom and foliar calcium treatments is not recommended.