Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
As the plant grows, nip off the side shoots that appear and tie your plant to the support.
Whenthefirstfruitstarttoappearafterthebloomshavegone,feedoneladleoforganictea
every second day and increase to once daily as more fruits appear.
Water well especially as more fruit starts to grow, but do not over-water as this can rot the
base of the stems.
Heritage vine plants can grow to around 6 feet or more, and produce an abundance of
nutrient-sucking leaves; I tend to snip away the leaves on the bottom 3 feet of the plant
and leave only the upper half of the plant with foliage other than the fruit bunches. This
increases the nutrients that are used to produce fruit instead of leaves.
Tomatoesarepronetoattackfrombothinsectandfungussoitiswisetoincludecompanion
planting practices to help reduce the risk of either.
Aphids, white-fly and Tomato Hornworm can be a particular threat.
Overhumidityorsoakingtheleavesoftheplantinparticularcanleadtofungaldiseaseand
tomato blight.
Harvesting:
Tomatoes are best eaten within days of plucking in order to get the best flavour possible;
however if storing simply place in a paper bag and keep stem-up in a cool dark place.
Contrary to popular belief green tomatoes do not ripen well on a window sill - they are
more prone to rotting.
Best time to pick is when the tomato is firm and bright red (or yellow?) in color - depend-
ing on the variety of course.
They can be kept in the fridge for a few days, but in doing so you will lose much of the
natural tomato flavour.
