Tomato is the easiest vegetable to grow. When i came to vegetables growing (and i was growing flowers for many years) i was told "If you can not grow tomato, you can not grow any vegetable. Heck! you can not grow anything". I experimented tomato as my first vegetable and i was amazed to see the results. They are easy to grow indeed.
There are types of tomatoes growth and yield wise, the determinate and indeterminate. Determinate varieties stop growth at a certain height and then produce all the fruit at once in one go. Indeterminate varieties keep growing and growing and produce fruits at regular intervals. They are mostly vines or tall plants, need stalking.
Tomatoes in lahore can be grown almost year round except in winter months as tomato is a warm weather vegetable. It needs warmth to form fruits. Almost all tomatoes (except cherry tomatoes) affect from humidity and extreme heat and other adverse conditions. So cherry tomatoes are good for beginners though in cherry tomatoes the fruit size is not as large as in some of the other variates. Beef steak varieties have some of the largest fruits big size giant tomatoes. But they also need more care and effort than cherry ones. Remember, tomatoes can be easily grown in containers!!!!!
Here are some of the tips for successful tomato growing.
1- When transplanting, always bury the whole stem, except first top set of leaves. The stem buried will grow roots as well.
2- Never allow your young plants to go on flowering. If they go to fruiting, the yield will not be good as plant still not has established its root system extensively. I always pinch the buds of my cherry tomatoes, until they get thick stems and many branches. For vine types, side shooting will do the job.
3- High potash in when flowering commences. I feed with NPK 5-15-45 liquid fertilizer. I never damaged any tomato plant with high fertilization. They are always hungry (I grow in pots).
4- Full direct sun in winter and spring. In hot months, i give 5 hours direct morning sun only.
5- There are many beefsteak varieties which yield heavy. Remember cherry ones have more resistance to adverse conditions, pests,heat and humidity.
6- Staking or support is a must for a healthy plant..Tthe distance should be greater than 8-9 inches between every plant in soil bed..
7- You can easily multiply your favorite plant by tip cuttings, they root so easily..
8- Fruits should be checked frequently for any hole and if found, the whole fruit should be plucked immediately as the grubs inside release a pheromone which lure the other pests to lay their eggs on that plant.. 9- In the open pollinated varieties every plant is different so don't expect same yield from every individual plant.. select the better ones and discard others.. multiply the better ones through cuttings..
The most common tomato include Fantastic, Roma VF, T-10, Summer Giant, Bountry, Marglobe, Marmande, Money maker etc but cherry tomatoes are also becoming popular with the passage of time. My favorite varieties include kentucky beef steak, benary cherry tomato, sun gold and gardener's delight etc. There are many varieties of tomatoes suitable for hot and humid climates such as lahore. Tomatoes are also successfully grown in tunnel farming.
Some of the commonly sown vegetables in winter include Broccoli,Potato, Onion, Lettuce leaf, Cauliflower, Turnip, Peas, Spinach, Carrot, Beets, Mustard, Coriander, Radish and mint etc. You can also sow tomato in winter if there temperatures do not go very low. You may have to place the plastic sheets over seedlings of winter vegetables at night specially in those areas where winters are cold like Islamabad, Peshawar etc.
