Tomato Tips

[Steering Committee Members]

Fruit is starting to form on our tomatoes so here are a few tips for
keeping the fruit as lovely as can be.

1. Thin fruits to achieve larger tomatoes. There should be one fruit
per truss on large tomatoe varieties. For smaller cherry tomato
varieties don't worry about it the more the merrier.

2. Calcium - This is a vital element for healthy fruit formation,
without it fruits blacken and rot from the base up (Blossom-end
rot)Adding crushed eggshell is the easiest way to add calcium but is
best mixed into the soil at time of planting. Do not worry if you
haven't done that; simply save up a few eggshells from that omlette
and boil them for an hour. The water will become a nice calcium rich
liquid feed you can add to your next watering schedule

3. Cat face - We may see quite a bit of this as the season goes on. It
appears as a deformed segmented tomato bottom. This is caused by
inproper fertilization of the flower, usually due to cool weather. If
your tomatoes show sign of this don't worry the tomatoes are still
fine to eat.

4. Even moisture with fewer waterings - In order to create tastier
fruit it is recommended that watering is gradually reduced in order to
concentrait sugars/flavour. It can become a bit of a tricky balance as
erratic watering scheduals can cause fruit to split. What helps is a
heavy mulch at the base of tomatoes to retain more even moisture
levels. Allow the first few inches of soil to dry out completely
before watering again. In most cases you should not be watering more
than 2x a week.

5. Watch out for the late summer rain, a few days of it can easily
water log fruit. In mid-August watch the weather reports and cover
tomatoes with an overhead canopy to keep your fruits looking and
tasting thier best.


-Rob