Tomato
Botanical Name
 Lycopersicum esculentum
Origin By the time European explorers arrived in the New World, the tomato had made it's way up into Central America and Mexico. The Spanish carried plants back home from Mexico, but it took some time for the tomato to gain acceptance in Spain because it was thought to be poisonous. The French, however, believed the tomato had special powers and called them "love apples". It wasn't until the 1900's that the tomato gained popularity in the United States. Today, the fruit is one of America's favorite "vegetables", a legal classification the government gave the tomato for trade purposes in 1893.
Growth Habits

Roma Tomatoes are small compact plants with stems only 12 to 18 inches long that stop bearing fruit once they reach their full size. The tomato fruit is an oval 2 1/2 to 3 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

Season For early crops in regions with winter frost, start plants indoors or in a hotbed five to seven weeks before night temperatures are expected to stay above 60°; set the seeds 1/8 inch deep. When seedlings become about 1 inch tall, transplant them to individual 3- to 4-inch pots. Move the plants to the garden when night temperatures are expected to remain above 60°.For later crops, sow seeds directly outdoors when night temperatures stay above 60°. In frost-free regions, sow seeds outdoors in early fall for harvesting in winter and spring. Tomatoes may also be started from small purchased plants; set them in the garden when seeds or seedlings should be planted outdoors.
Location Tomatoes grow best in soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7.5.
Spacing Group three or four seeds in a spot, setting each group 1/2 inch deep and 2 to 3 feet apart in rows 4 feet apart; when the seedlings become 1 inch tall, cut off all but the strongest one.
Tips To prepare the ground, scatter a 1-foot-wide band of 5-10-5 fertilizer at a rate of 1 1/2 pounds to every 25 feet of row; dig the fertilizer in thoroughly. Apply mulch and water regularly to reduce damage from blossom-end rot, a disease that decays the bottoms of the fruits. To prevent cutworm injury, cover each plant with a paper cup that has had its bottom removed. Once a month scatter a handful (about 1/3 cup) of 5-10-5 fertilizer around each plant in a circle extending at least 2 feet from the stem in all directions. A staked plant must be trained to one or two stems; to remove side stems that grow between each leaf and the main stem, wait until they are 1 or 2 inches long, then pull them down sharply--they will snap right out. To assure a crop early in the season, when temperatures are cool, spray the blossoms with a hormone compound designed to stimulate the formation of fruit.
Harvest Tomatoes are ready to be harvested when they have developed their full color; to pick them, gently lift each tomato until the stem snaps.

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