California Grown Tomatoes

There are many people that may not be aware that California is listed second in the United States for the production of tomatoes. At least 45 percent of tomato production in California is within the Stanislaus and Merced counties. Tomatoes were first planted in California in 1948 in the Southern California area of Bakersfield and in the Northern region of California and areas of Sacramento. It is said that the average person will eat about thirteen pounds of tomatoes each year.

Tomatoes are usually grown in raised areas five feet to five and a half feet wide. Tomatoes are started in nurseries and then transplanted into fields to mature. To optimize harvests they stagger the planting times of tomatoes to harvest them over a longer period. This enables the stores to have fresh tomatoes all year round. When planting smaller tomatoes like cherry, grape, patio, or plum tomatoes they will ripen close to a month earlier than the larger tomatoes. The reason behind this is, the smaller the tomato the less time they need to grow. Tomatoes are grown in different parts of California throughout the year and within different zones.

Even though most tomatoes come from growers that produce large quantities of tomatoes throughout the year, many people prefer to grow tomatoes at home in their own garden. Over ninety five percent of those who have a garden grow tomatoes. Most of the time there are more tomatoes than one family can eat, so the gardener shares them with friends, neighbors and family. Some gardener's say they like to have a lot of extra tomatoes to share, because that gives them the opportunity to converse with neighbors and friends they do not always see.