You probably might have heard a lot of people talking about heirloom tomatoes, and it has certainly left you wondering, what’s so special about it?
Heirloom plants are extremely different from your regular garden-variety and they require very less growing conditions, but has a lot of benefits including a wide range of vitamins and antioxidants.
How are organic heirloom tomatoes different from regular tomatoes?
Well, you very well know what a tomato looks like, but heirloom tomatoes come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. They can vary from white, pink, green, red, yellow and numerous other colors. The color of these tomatoes greatly varies according to their variety.
When it comes to variety, you might see all sorts of skin textures, appearances (some that might look like a pumpkin), patches and size.
Heirloom tomatoes refer to tomato varieties that have been around for a very long time and were initially cultivated by our forefathers. But as time passed by, businessmen started modifying these tomatoes or making hybrids that were more profitable in a business perspective. This is how most heirloom varieties were washed away and it is only today that people have started considering restoring them and giving their dishes a tinge of history.
How to produce best heirloom tomatoes?
If you like to bring things to life from the very start, then you are most likely going to need heirloom tomato seeds. For this you may choose to prefer a good nursery that offers you some of the best tomato seeds or you can also enjoy the exchange between gardening hobbyists. You can also resort to online nurseries that offer you some of the best quality seeds and great information. It does not matter what type of seeds you choose, but here are certain factors that you must consider:
- The first thing that you must do is to start growing tomato seeds in your house indoors before replanting them into your garden. For instance, you can plan eight weeks before an anticipated frost and move them outside towards the end of April. Some garden experts suggest using heat mat that will help seeds to remain sufficiently warm.
- Moving your plants outdoors is a big move, so you need to personally monitor each and every plant and how they can adjust to the outside temperature. To help you to do this more easily there are two ways – you can either start moving them to shady areas outside for several days, after which you can slowly increase the Sun exposure until they are ready to move out.
- Before you transplant your tomatoes make sure that you have prepared your soil well. Heirloom plants need well-trained heavy clay soil with organic material such as compost. This mixture will help the plants to protect themselves from any infections or diseases and will add more nutrients for efficient growth.
- Water your plants well and make sure that you choose cool parts of the day for transplantation. You can also water them after the transplantation has been done.
Once you think that the plant is ready to face the sun, you can put them right under full sun, but try to avoid keeping it near other plants such as potatoes, pepper or eggplant. Also, avoid places that tomatoes have been grown before.