Organic Tomatoes

TOMATOES Approximately 10,000 seeds per oz.
A little over 100 years ago tomatoes or Love Apples as they were called then, were grown for ornamental purpose and not for
food. They were looked upon with suspicion as the cause of various diseases & were thought to be poisonous. First used as
food in Italy, then France and England. Modern types appear to have come on the market in this country during the 19th
century. The 1st record of this fruit quoted on the market was in New Orleans,1812. Seed growers 1st offered tomatoes in 1818
PLANTING: Start seeds indoors, 5-7 weeks before transplanting outdoors. Use Jiffy 7’s or flats with inserts with a good soil
substitute, like Berger BM-2. Do not use field or garden soil as it may harbor a disease. Place seeds 1/16″ deep. Cover lightly.
Keep moist, not wet. Germinate at 80F until emerge. Do not start tomato seeds in a cold frame if soil temperatures gets
below 70°F at anytime after your seed has been sown. After emerge reduce temperatures to 60-65°F until transplanted
outdoors after all danger of frost is past and soil has warmed up. Place plants 18-24″ apart in a row spacing of 4-6′
apart. If plants are planted into plastic mulch, make sure you have water supply source like a drip line under the plastic mulch.
Plants can be caged or staked for support. If using the stake method, you can use the weave method. Place a stake in between
2nd or 3rd plant. Now start at the beginning of the row at first stake, tie your string to 1st stake. Take string around the outside of
plants on one side to next stake. Wrap string around stake 2 or 3 times. Now continue down the row with string on the same
side of row until you reach the end. Wrap string around last stake 3 or 4 times and now go back up the other side and do the
same. When you are done, your tomato plants should have a string on either side of them to give them support. Repeat this
process as plant grows. Strings should be 6″ apart. Tomato tying twine is found in the supply section of this catalog. To make
stringing easier, do the following: take a 3/4″ PVC pipe about 3′ long. From top down and bottom up, 4″ drill a 1/4″ hole. Run
your string in top of pipe and out top hole and into bottom hole out the bottom of pipe. Now you have a handy tool and a time
saver. Follow above tying instructions. This tool works as a handle. When you get to a stake, put hand or fingers over string on
outside of pipe. This works as a brake to tighten up your string. HARVEST: Pick gently when fruit is fully developed and of a
good color. Use fresh or can for later use.