Tomato, Roma Organic

How to Sow

SOW indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost. Sow 2 seeds into individual containers filled with seed starting formula. Cover to 1/4".

How to Grow

Seedlings emerge in 7-14 days. TRANSPLANT outdoors in full sun after hardening off. Plant 3-4’ apart, or 24-30" apart if staking or caging. Give plants 1" of water each week. Water container plants when they are partially dry, but not wilted; they may need watering every day. If you are training the plants to trellises or stakes, prune the developing plants to keep one or two strong stems. Every week, remove the side shoots that develop from where each leaf meets the main stem. In general, tomatoes will stop producing fruit when temperatures drop below 50°F or rise above 90°F. In hot, dry weather, plants may drop their flowers or fruit, but when conditions improve, they generally recover fully. Tomatoes may be scalded by the sun in too-hot temperatures, when the fruit is not shaded from the direct sun. The fruit needs warmth--not light--to ripen, so you can cover the developing tomatoes with the leaves to shield them. Do not plant tomato family crops in the same spot 2 years in a row.

Harvesting

Pick tomatoes when they are as ripe as possible--they should be fully colored and firm. When you know there will be a frost, pick all the almost-ripe tomatoes you can, and ripen them in brown bags or spread on newspapers at room temperature. Many cultivars will store for months. Store only sound fruit, at 50-60°F. The foliage of tomatoes is toxic and should not be eaten. Tomato fruits are enjoyed in many cooked dishes as a flavoring. Use them to make soups, sauces, stews, ketchup, paste, juice, quiche, and pies. Add them to curries, casseroles, and chutney.