Why You Should Plant Tomatoes

Growing tomatoes is very gratifying and satisfying for the gardener. You plant a seed or a plant and watch the tomatoes. Picking a fresh tomato from the vine is hard to resist. Tomatoes can even be grown in pots on a patio as they are easy to grow and take very little care.

Kids love to grow tomatoes, because the plants grow fast and produce a lot of fruit. Cherry tomatoes are also great for kids to grow since they are small and sweet. You should choose a spot that gets at least five hours or more of sun every day. Be sure the soil is well drained and the spot that hasn't been used for growing in the previous year.

Water your tomato plants daily, especially during their flowering time. Tomatoes offer so much to a home gardener and are a healthy and delicious fruit; a great source of vitamin C, vitamin A and lycopene. The home grown tomato is much juicier than the commercial grown tomato and just four or five plants will produce an abundance of tomatoes to feed a family for the whole summer.

The tomato has often been misunderstood. They originated in South America and were considered poisonous. Thomas Jefferson recognized their culinary use. The tomato is an herbaceous perennial. However, they are grown as annuals, since they cannot survive the winter frost in the United States. The tomato is technically a fruit; however, in 1893 the Supreme Court declared the tomato as a vegetable. Since tomatoes come in many varieties, you must decide which one you wish to plant when determining a tomato garden.