Home and Landscape
Tomato
- Solanum lycopersicum
- Family Solanaceae (Nightshade family)
Plant Description
Tomatoes are a popular garden vegetable with many varieties that bear fruit of different sizes, colors, shapes, and flavors. Tomatoes are warm-season vegetables, but certain varieties will tolerate cooler temperatures. Determinate or bush type varieties have a bushy appearance and produce fruit within 4 to 6 weeks before the plant declines. Indeterminate varieties produce vines that grow tall and produce fruit throughout the season. Varieties are also grouped by cherry type which have small fruits, container varieties which are good for small spaces and containers, and standard-sized varieties. Some varieties have also been developed for disease resistance.
Cultural Tips
Cultural practices such as proper site selection, soil preparation, planting, and watering are important for plant health, pest management and pest reduction when growing tomato.
