What started you growing tomatoes?

elight · April 16, 2012

I've always liked tomatoes, but I discovered just how good they can be a few years back when I lived in Israel for 10 months. There, the produce available fresh--never trucked more than a couple hours from where it was grown... not to mention, cheap. Tomatoes were usually 3 shekels per kilo, and sometimes as cheap as 1 shekel... that worked out to about $0.12/pound! They were also available year-round, as they would grow them in greenhouses and hydroponically.

When I returned to the States, I realized just how much I had been missing by eating the grocery store tomatoes we get here. So after a year or two, I decided I'd like to try to grow my own. Unfortunately, I lived in a ground-level, rear-facing apartment in Manhattan that got no light, and had had no access to outside space. When I moved out of the city to the suburbs last year, I decided to have my hand at gardening.

Mistakes/lessons from year #1:
1. Choose plants that fit what you're planting them in!
2. Use the right potting mix; not all are built the same.
3. Do not prune unless there is a good reason to.
4. Plan how you will support your plants before you plant them.
5. Harden off.
6. Don't overwater.
7. The "conventional wisdom" isn't always right... even if it is written in gardening books or is what everyone else is doing. If something is supposedly the right thing to do, ask WHY--then you both ensure you are actually doing the right thing, and learn something in the process!

This year I am planning on a reliable heirloom variety (Cherokee Purple, Mr. Stripey, etc.), a sweet cherry variety (Sunsugar, Sun Gold, Sweet 100s, etc.), and an early variety (Early Girl, preferrably bush variety if possible). Two will go into an EarthTainer, and the third into a 5-gallon bucket. I will also plant a bush cucumber and a pepper plant in 5-gallon buckets. The garden center said they'll have their transplants available mid-week this week, and I can't wait to go pick them up!

April 16, 2012	#16
elight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Allentown, PA Posts: 349	I've always liked tomatoes, but I discovered just how good they can be a few years back when I lived in Israel for 10 months. There, the produce available fresh--never trucked more than a couple hours from where it was grown... not to mention, cheap. Tomatoes were usually 3 shekels per kilo, and sometimes as cheap as 1 shekel... that worked out to about $0.12/pound! They were also available year-round, as they would grow them in greenhouses and hydroponically. When I returned to the States, I realized just how much I had been missing by eating the grocery store tomatoes we get here. So after a year or two, I decided I'd like to try to grow my own. Unfortunately, I lived in a ground-level, rear-facing apartment in Manhattan that got no light, and had had no access to outside space. When I moved out of the city to the suburbs last year, I decided to have my hand at gardening. Mistakes/lessons from year #1: 1. Choose plants that fit what you're planting them in! 2. Use the right potting mix; not all are built the same. 3. Do not prune unless there is a good reason to. 4. Plan how you will support your plants before you plant them. 5. Harden off. 6. Don't overwater. 7. The "conventional wisdom" isn't always right... even if it is written in gardening books or is what everyone else is doing. If something is supposedly the right thing to do, ask WHY--then you both ensure you are actually doing the right thing, and learn something in the process! This year I am planning on a reliable heirloom variety (Cherokee Purple, Mr. Stripey, etc.), a sweet cherry variety (Sunsugar, Sun Gold, Sweet 100s, etc.), and an early variety (Early Girl, preferrably bush variety if possible). Two will go into an EarthTainer, and the third into a 5-gallon bucket. I will also plant a bush cucumber and a pepper plant in 5-gallon buckets. The garden center said they'll have their transplants available mid-week this week, and I can't wait to go pick them up!