Seven Tips for Growing Big Tomatoes
2022-05-23
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1Tomatoes are the most popular crop among American home gardeners.
2Garden writer Jessica Damiano says there are many good reasons to grow your own tomatoes.
3Just the smell of homegrown tomatoes, Damiano says, will remind you of summer.
4A major benefit of growing your own tomatoes is variety.
5If you visit a garden center, you will find seeds and small starter plants for yellow tomatoes, purple tomatoes, huge tomatoes, and even very small tomatoes.
6There are kinds you simply cannot find at a local food store.
7Damiano loves tomatoes.
8In fact, she created and hosted The Great Long Island Tomato Challenge while working for a local newspaper in the state of New York.
9The gatherings of people who love tomatoes, or "tomatophiles," continued for 13 years.
10One tomato that was entered into the challenge weighed more than 2.3 kilos.
11Damiano also got to meet and speak with the competitive tomato growers who raised the winning fruits.
12It did not take long for her to notice some common practices among them.
13Tomatoes are not difficult to grow.
14The most important things are to give the plants plenty of water, well-draining soil, heat and light.
15It is best to grow tomatoes in a place that receives at least six hours of sunlight each day.
16Removing weeds will keep pests and diseases away while giving the plants enough nutrients to produce fruit.
17Tomatoes grow best in soil with a pH level between 6.0 and 6.8.
18If the pH reading is lower than 6.0, you can add about 2 cups of dolomitic lime into the soil for each plant.
19Make sure to mix it deep into the soil -- down to around 30 centimeters.
20If you want to grow really big tomatoes, try following these seven tips from expert growers:
21Select tomato seeds with names like Big Zac, Porterhouse, Rhode Island Giant or Bull's Heart.
22They are all genetically designed to produce large fruit
23Start seeds early indoors and re-plant them into larger containers several times before moving them outdoors.
24Plant them deeply each time, removing leaves from the bottom one-third of plants and burying stems up to the next set of leaves.
25 This will produce stronger plants.
26Remove new flowers that develop at the top of the plant when older fruits near the bottom begin to grow.
27This will force the plant to produce fewer but larger tomatoes.
28Pay close attention! Observe the plants daily for pests and diseases. React quickly to prevent problems.
29Remove the small growths where the plant's stems and branches meet.
30This will prevent them from taking away nutrients and shading developing fruit under them.
31Cut back, or prune, the plants to keep only one main branch instead of letting them develop into a shorter, wider shrub.
32Finally, water, fertilize and weed!
33I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Tomatoes are the most popular crop among American home gardeners. 2Garden writer Jessica Damiano says there are many good reasons to grow your own tomatoes. Just the smell of homegrown tomatoes, Damiano says, will remind you of summer. 3A major benefit of growing your own tomatoes is variety. If you visit a garden center, you will find seeds and small starter plants for yellow tomatoes, purple tomatoes, huge tomatoes, and even very small tomatoes. There are kinds you simply cannot find at a local food store. 4Damiano loves tomatoes. In fact, she created and hosted The Great Long Island Tomato Challenge while working for a local newspaper in the state of New York. The gatherings of people who love tomatoes, or "tomatophiles," continued for 13 years. One tomato that was entered into the challenge weighed more than 2.3 kilos. 5Damiano also got to meet and speak with the competitive tomato growers who raised the winning fruits. It did not take long for her to notice some common practices among them. 6Tomatoes are not difficult to grow. The most important things are to give the plants plenty of water, well-draining soil, heat and light. It is best to grow tomatoes in a place that receives at least six hours of sunlight each day. Removing weeds will keep pests and diseases away while giving the plants enough nutrients to produce fruit. 7Tomatoes grow best in soil with a pH level between 6.0 and 6.8. If the pH reading is lower than 6.0, you can add about 2 cups of dolomitic lime into the soil for each plant. Make sure to mix it deep into the soil -- down to around 30 centimeters. 8If you want to grow really big tomatoes, try following these seven tips from expert growers: 9Select tomato seeds with names like Big Zac, Porterhouse, Rhode Island Giant or Bulls Heart. They are all genetically designed to produce large fruit 10Start seeds early indoors and re-plant them into larger containers several times before moving them outdoors. Plant them deeply each time, removing leaves from the bottom one-third of plants and burying stems up to the next set of leaves. This will produce stronger plants. 11Remove new flowers that develop at the top of the plant when older fruits near the bottom begin to grow. This will force the plant to produce fewer but larger tomatoes. 12Pay close attention! Observe the plants daily for pests and diseases. React quickly to prevent problems. 13Remove the small growths where the plants stems and branches meet. This will prevent them from taking away nutrients and shading developing fruit under them. 14Cut back, or prune, the plants to keep only one main branch instead of letting them develop into a shorter, wider shrub. 15Finally, water, fertilize and weed! 16I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Faith Pirlo. 17Jessica Damiano reported this for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted the story for Learning English. 18_______________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20benefit - n. good result or effect 21variety - n. a number of different things 22challenge - n. an invitation to compete in an event