For many gardeners, growing the perfect aromatic, unblemished, sun-ripened tomatoes is the ultimate trophy. In the right climate, tomatoes are generally easy to grow. But choosing the proper varieties and keeping your plants healthy and productive require both art and science. Then, once you reap your bounty, the question becomes what to do with the excess. From harvesting and preserving to buying and storing, maintaining the best tomato practices will assure you a fruitful summer and give you a leg up on next year’s crop. When planting your tomatoes, select a sunny space in your garden with well-draining soil. Adding compost or all-purpose organic fertilizer to the soil before planting will assure your plants get enough nutrients to thrive. Then, start your plants from seed indoors, or buy seedlings from a nursery, planting them directly in the ground once the risk of frost has passed and the nights begin to warm. Pests including aphids, cutworms, flea beetles, and hornworms can also affect your tomato crops. There are many natural ways to eradicate these critters, including essential oil preparations and diatomaceous earth. Worms are especially destructive, as they can eat an entire tomato plant in a matter of hours. Tomato seeds need to be fermented before drying to improve next year’s germination. To do so, store them in their pulp until it forms a mold film. Then, rinse, dry, and package them away for next year’s sowing. Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry spot. Make sure to label with the date and variety. When choosing tomatoes, select ones that are free of bruises and yield only slightly when pressed with your fingers. If you’re buying tomatoes to use later on, select harder fruit and allow it to ripen on your kitchen counter. Never refrigerate tomatoes. Doing so makes them mushy and tasteless. If you need to save a sliced tomato, simply place it in a dish on your counter, and cover it with plastic. You can pick them as is, and ripen them on a sunny windowsill. Or place individual tomatoes in a brown paper bag with an apple, which releases gases that promote ripening. Alternatively, you can also wrap them individually in newspaper, and store them in a dark spot. And, if all else fails, you can whip up a yummy dish of fried green tomatoes. The simplest method, canning whole tomatoes, can allow you to preserve your harvest through the winter and into the new year, giving you the chance to appreciate your bounty all year long.
