Panel data provided by Madison's Canadian Lumber Reporter.

Tomato, a Greenhouse, and Garden Favourite

By Jos Van Hage

A vegetable that is grown in 95% of all home gardens is the tomato. This versatile vegetable is eaten almost daily either raw, cooked, juiced, canned, or pickled and is used in the making of sauces, ketchup, salsas, soups etc. With so many different uses, there are just as many different varieties of tomatoes many of, which are grown for a specific purpose.

Deciding which variety to grow depends on what you want to use the tomato for and where you plan to grow it. Tomatoes come as either determinate or indeterminate. Determinate types are a bush type and grow to a certain height and then stop growing, they are not pruned and do very well in tomato cages. They tend to have one large production of fruit, which makes them great if you want to process many tomatoes in one time. 

The indeterminate varieties grow tall and need to be staked so need less space as they grow up. They are also pruned meaning that the suckers are removed. Suckers are the growth or shoots that grows in the joint just above the leaf branch and if they are removed when they are just beginning to form, they are easily pinched out. Pinching out the suckers will produce larger fruit as all the plants energy is then put into fruit production. The other nice thing about indeterminate varieties is that they produce throughout the season rather than one large production. 

If space is very limited then the ‘Tumbler’ cherry tomato is perfect as it is a hanging tomato so it needs very little space. The tumbler tomato has proven to be a wonderful producer as it produces all summer and into early fall as well as being very tasty Another thing in choosing the right variety for you is deciding what you want to use the tomato for. Cherry tomatoes are tasty raw in salads and dips, or on barbecues on skewers. Paste tomatoes are more meaty and less juicy with high sugar and acid making them excellent for tomato paste and sauce. There are also different sizes of tomatoes ranging from very large, large, and medium as well as early types and novelty types. Some of the novelty types include different colors such as yellow, black, orange, green, and striped and different shapes such as the pear shaped.

Where the tomato will be growing will also help determine the variety. Some varieties such as ‘Vendor’ are specific for greenhouse growing. If you are growing tomatoes outdoors you want to have fast maturing tomatoes as our season is shorter than many other areas. Choose early or mid-season types, as they require fewer days to maturity. In addition, you want to have varieties that can withstand temperature changes as Prince George evenings get very cool compared to the daytime temperature. Varieties such as ‘Sub-
Arctic’ and ‘New Yorker’ work well.

If you want to start tomatoes from seed, you need to start them now, as they require a long growing period. Start them as you would start any other seed and they should germinate in 10-14 days. Give them lots of light and fertilize them with a weak solution of 10-52-10 plant start fertilizer and later changing to an all-purpose 20-20-20. Later in May fertilize with tomato fertilizer and continue doing this throughout the season once a week.

Tomatoes are easy to grow in pots or containers provided the container is large enough. The pot should be at least 12 inches wide and 12 inches deep and filled with a good quality sterile potting soil that drains well. I have grown tomatoes in containers for the past 20 years and they have always done very well. When they are grown in pots you can control the moisture as well as provide a protected area for them to grow. Putting the tomato filled container on a south wall or fence is ideal as it gives the plant lots of heat and protects it from harsh weather and wind. In addition, by growing tomatoes in pots you can move the pots to a warmer area if the temperature goes below zero or you can cover the pots with a protective frost blanket such as ‘Reemay’. Tomatoes can not withstand any degree of frost so it is important to always protect them when temperatures become cold.

-Jos. 

Jos Van Hage owns three Art Knapp Garden Centres in the Prince George region
-Highway 97 north
-Highway 16 West
-Highway 97 South at the old Cariboo Highway





Previous Story - Next Story



Return to Home