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Lycopersicon lycopersicum
'Fresh Salsa' Common Names: Tomato |
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| Fresh Salsa Salsa lovers, your tomato is here. You can chop this tomato into tiny cubes that remain perfectly firm and solid yet also sweet. Large, plum-shaped and dripless, 'Fresh Salsa' is "all meat"- ideal for tasty salsas, bruschettas and "light" Italian sauces. | |
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Cultivation: Tomatoes should be set 30 to 48 inches apart in the row with the rows spaced 48 inches apart. It's very tempting to put them closer at planting time, but if you get them too close you'll only increase the chance of disease. Wrap the stems with a piece of cardboard or wax paper that extends an inch above and below the soil to protect them from cutworms. A regular office stapler can be used to secure the material in a circle. After the stems toughen up in 3-4 weeks cutworm damage will no longer be a concern and the paper will have rotted away. Use 1/3-strength Burpee Big Boy Tomato Food dissolved in water as a starter solution when transplanting (one pint per plant). Then use the recommended application of the granules periodically throughout the growing season. Tomatoes demand lots of fertility once the fruit sets, but too much early in the season will grow a large plant but with fewer tomatoes. Using slow-release fertilizer pellets at planting time is also a popular technique. To reduce transplant shock, use Wall O' Water plant protectors at planting. These devices will protect the plants from late frosts and the drying effects of the wind. Fiber row cover wrapped around tomato cages after the plants grow too large for the Wall O' Water protectors will continue to protect plants from wind damage and it also helps to keep early insect invaders like aphids away. Tomatoes need even watering to prevent blossom end-rot. Water thoroughly but not too often (twice per week should suffice at first) and try to water early in the day so that plants will dry off before evening. This helps to reduce disease problems. Using drip or soaker hose irrigation is the best idea. Water is used more efficiently this way and the leaves don't get wet. Mulching can help to insure an even supply of moisture is available to the plant. Try putting down a layer of newspaper 5-10 sheets thick between the rows (soak the papers in water first, so they won't blow away) and then cover the newspapers with dry grass clippings, bark mulch, etc. Some weeds will eventually get through, but the tomatoes will be about finished by that time anyway. Also the paper will have decayed by fall so it can be tilled in to create more organic matter. Something new this year in mulches is Burpee's Red Mulch. It's a reflective material that works like black plastic to warm the soil early in the season, and it increases production of top quality early tomatoes. Growing Tips: To sucker or not to sucker. Whether to remove the side shoots that grow out of the leaf axiles or not depends on the support system used. Gardeners using stakes usually snap off these side shoots. They typically get earlier and larger tomatoes but overall production is smaller. If tomatoes are grown in cages the suckers are generally left on, although it's a good idea to pinch the tip out of them when they are 6-8 inches long. Regardless you may want to remove all growth from the bottom 6-10 inches of the plant. This helps to improve air circulation and reduce the spread of diseases like early blight. Wait until the plants are knee-high and, in the morning when the plants are nice and turgid, snap off the lower growth. Any plants that look sick with distorted foliage or have a mosaic pattern to the leaves should be removed as they may have a virus that can be spread to other plants. It's best to do this early in the season. Harvest tips: Tomatoes can be harvested when they begin to show color, as they will continue to ripen. However, the closer you can get to vine-ripened the better the flavor will be. Bird damage usually becomes a concern at this stage. Birds love to peck holes in the fruit. Some gardeners say they're after water, so place some pans of water in the garden. Others claim red Christmas tree ornaments will fake the birds out and they will go away. Putting fake owls in the garden (move them around every few days), covering the plants with bird netting (just before harvest time) and wrapping clusters with fiber row cover are other techniques to try. |
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Early blight fungus is a major tomato disease. It begins as a few yellow spots on the lower leaves followed by the leaves turning completely yellow. The disease progresses up the plant and the leaves begin to turn brown. By this time it's too late to do much. Removing some of the bottom leaves will improve air circulation and reduce the spread of this disease. If you plan to use fungicides, start early and be sure to spray the underside of the leaves where the disease gets its start. Spider mites begin to multiply rapidly as summer temperatures rise (especially in a dry season). Try high-pressure water sprays directed to the underside of the leaf and or spray with low toxicity, wettable sulfur. Stinkbugs come along later in the season just as you're starting to "lick your chops" in anticipation of the first ripe tomatoes. They puncture the fruit and suck out the juices leaving a corky, white layer underneath. Not, exactly what you were salivating over. Organic gardeners hand pick them or spray/dust with sabadilla. The few chemical pesticides left in the homeowner's arsenal can help to control them too, but you will need to check with your local Extension Agent for current recommendations. Persistent spraying is the key since stinkbugs seem to fly in from another weed patch just after you've sprayed to kill them. |
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