Everyone loves to eat their fruit and vegetables when they are ripe. Ripe fruit and vegetables are more flavorful and can sometimes make a difference in the taste of the whole dish. Tomatoes are one of those vegetables that are often used for cooking or as toppings on things like salads. A ripe tomato can be just the thing to make that dish or salad perfect.

It is hard at times to tell if you are using a ripe tomato. Many times they are picked before they are ripe to help prevent damage during shipping, so there is a good chance that they are still not fully ripe by the time you decide to purchase them at the store. There are some general rules of thumb to follow with almost all fruits and vegetables and also some specific to a certain fruit or vegetable. Things like color, aroma, texture and heaviness are often aspects to consider in determining ripeness.

If a tomato is ripe, it should have a rich red color and be soft but not squishy. If the tomato is too firm then it is most likely not ripe. A heavy tomato is also a good indication that it is ready to eat.

Selecting ripe fruits and vegetables can make a big difference in the enjoyment we get from eating them, as the ones that are ripe are the most appealing in every way. They smell, feel, and look better and most importantly taste better.

California tomatoes are big business. Last year they grew 95 percent of tomatoes for processing in the United States. These tomatoes are made into tomato paste, sauce, ketchup, and canned tomatoes. They also grow 50 percent of tomatoes for processing in the rest of the world.

Tomatoes can grow in any of the fifty states, but conditions are better in California. With a longer growing season and the dry sunny summers, California is ideal. Over the last twenty years other states have shut down their tomato processing plants.
There are about 277,000 acres of tomato farms in California. With 225 growers, these crops have contracts with one of 16 different tomato canneries.

The farmer actually only makes about 3.5 cents per pound for their processing tomatoes. Farming is very expensive, with the cost of fuel forever rising. It costs the growers about 2,700 dollars per acre to grow tomatoes.

On the other hand, California only grows about 30 percent of tomatoes that are sold fresh. With Florida having 40 percent of this market. California provides fresh tomatoes to all states west of the Mississippi, as well as Japan, Mexico and Canada.

They dodged the bullet, so to speak, with the salmonella scare a few months ago, because their tomatoes were not yet harvested. Still, it has taken a toll on tomato growers. Grocers pulled tomatoes off the shelves, and even though the salmonella scare is past, the growers will never regain what they lost in revenue, which is estimated at 100 million dollars.

Heirloom tomatoes are tomatoes of the most original kind. They are not hybrids, and they have not been genetically modified or enhanced. Any changes in genetics are due to natural cross-pollination. Supermarket tomatoes and, unless noted, seed catalog tomatoes are hybrids. They have been bred for a specific market or growing condition.

Heirloom tomatoes are grown from seeds that have been saved over the centuries from plants selected for their naturally occurring desired characteristics. Some types are best for paste, some for slicing. Some have naturally adapted to grow and produce in cooler climates. Some are determinate (grow to a certain size, produce fruits at once, then die back) and some are indeterminate (vining types that continue to grow and produce until frost. Color is a natural characteristic, as is size and shape.

Growing heirloom tomatoes is much the same as growing newer hybrid varieties. Start your seeds indoors about 10 weeks before the expected last frost in your area. They will require plenty of light and you may need to supplement a sunny windowsill with additional artificial light. They should be kept fairly warm and out of drafts. Before you set tomatoes out in your garden, you need to harden them off by setting them out in the warm spring sunshine for a few hours a day. Gradually increase the outdoor exposure until you are ready to set them out permanently. Soil temperatures should be about 70 degrees when you set out tomatoes. Plant them deep, leaving only about three leaf bracts above the soil. Roots will grow from the underground stem and will give the plant additional strength and nutritional support. Keep tomatoes lightly fertilized and well watered. Heirlooms may need extra attention since they do not have genetic modification for disease resistance.

Making tomato sauce from scratch is really great because you know it is fresh because of the ingredients you put in it. You can make it any way you like it: thick, medium, or thin. It can be made sweet, salty, smooth or chunky. There are three styles of sauce. When making these sauces, removing seeds from the tomatoes will make a better sauce.

Tomato sauce that is simmered for a long time reaches a complex and rich flavor, and this tomato sauce is great anytime. The water is cooked out of the tomatoes, and, as the sauce cooks, it thickens. As the sauce cooks, the other ingredients blend together and the sauce becomes sweeter. This can take from a couple of hours to an all day process. This sauce can be frozen or canned for later use.

Raw sauce is lighter and has the fresh luscious flavor of tomatoes. It is bright and refreshing and made with really ripe tomatoes. It can be eaten right away with pasta, on grilled bread, on pizza for a different flavor to your favorite meal, and to whatever you can think of to put it on. It is made with fully ripe tomatoes and olive oil, some basil and parsley plus a little salt and pepper.

Barely cooked sauce will have a taste that is tart and sweet. Heating this sauce for a short time will add some depth of flavor. You could add caramelized onions and garlic to this sauce for a great flavor.

Tomatoes grow best in soil that is rich in organic matter. They are heavy feeders, and really soak up nutrients. Tomatoes grown in rich organic soil that is soft and in good condition will be able to grow extremely healthy root systems that spread over a wide, deep area. This is important because tomato plants need lots of water during fruit production time. Tomato plants are easily stressed during fruit production times, and without enough water, tomatoes will be small and of poor quality. Providing water is not enough in itself; the plants must have well-developed roots to make use of the nutrients in the water.

The pH level determines how efficiently tomatoes can absorb nutrients from the soil. Tomatoes grow best in soil that is neutral or a little on the acidic side, about pH 6.5 or 7. If you are serious about improving your soil for specific plants, get a soil test kit so you know for certain what changes you should make. If you are using chemical fertilizer, retest until the level is correct. For organic gardeners, if you have been adding compost and organic matter to your garden for several growing seasons, you can probably follow some general soil maintenance guidelines. In general, you should add compost, well aged manure or both to your tomato area in very early spring. Work it in to the planting area two feet deep and about three feet in diameter for each plant. Healthy tomato root systems should spread this far. Tomatoes respond to compost that contains eggshells, or you can add ground oyster shells (chicken feed supplement) for the calcium.