Home-grown tomatoes

It seems that as the cold weather starts to subside, many folks begin to think of Spring,
warmer days, and the delicious vegetables they can grow at home; especially tomatoes.
I picked tomatoes because they are my favorite; although I’m sure there are people out
there who don’t care for them - I just figure that maybe their taste buds are shot. All
joking aside, I really don’t know anyone who doesn’t like them.

My dad always looked forward to having a garden. He concentrated on tomatoes,
cucumbers, okra, peppers, and squash. I can remember taking a salt shaker to the
garden and feasting on the ripe ‘maters until he ran me off.

Nowadays, I don’t raise a garden because I don’t have the soil for it and my yard doesn’t get all that much sun. So
I just depend on friends and the local farmer’s market to supply me with those round-red fruits.

Fruits? Yep, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica: “The age-old question actually
has an answer—it’s both! Tomatoes are fruits that are considered vegetables by
nutritionists. Botanically, a fruit is a ripened flower ovary and contains seeds. Tomatoes,
plums, zucchinis, and melons are all edible fruits, but things like maple “helicopters” and
floating dandelion puffs are fruits too. For some reason, people got hung up on
tomatoes, but the “fruit or vegetable” question could also work for any vegetable with
seeds.”

It’s easy to find all kind of tips on how to raise tomatoes by searching the Internet. In
fact, many of them get a little too technical to suit me. As with everything else, these
would-be gardening experts write so much on the subject that it becomes boring. To be
honest, I’ve found that talking to people you know who actually have gardens are the
ones to ask. If you want to get high-tech, talk to your county extension agent.

Local gardeners can tell you all you need to know. Basic things like: what kind of plants
to buy; how to prepare the soil and fertilizing; pest and disease prevention; and most
important - how often to water and how much.

One of my colleagues here at the newspaper, Henry Joe Jasek, plants a garden (winter
and summer) every year. “I wait until around March or April to plant,” said Jasek, “you
just have to watch the weather and wait for the last frost.”

Probably the best tomato plant for this area is Celebrity - I know that’s what Daddy
always planted and Jasek agrees, “Celebrity seems to do best around here, I’ve tried
others but they are the best.” He also plants Cherry and Roma tomatoes - they do well
and produce a lot.

Jasek puts his plants into large tubs that once contained molasses; used by local
ranchers as part of their cattle feed. He said using the tubs is more convenient than
actually plowing up a garden.

In conclusion, chances are that everyone you ask will have a slightly different opinion on the types of plants and fertilizer to use. However, I strongly suggest that, before you start a garden, take the advice of local folks who’ve been doing it a long time and are quite successful.