Growing Heirloom TomatoesGrowing heirloom tomatoes is a variety that has been passed down through several generations because of its valuable characteristics. Family heirlooms have been passed down through a family. Commercial heirlooms have been either more than fifty years in circulation or dating from pre-1940. Suitable Conditions Heirloom tomatoes love the sun and under six hours of sunlight a day can result in rangy tomato plants which lack fruit. If your soil is not naturally nutrient rich, you need to use compost. Plant your heirloom tomatoes in different places because planting them in the same place every year depletes the surrounding soil of nutrients. If it is not particularly windy where you live, stroke the vines or gently shake them every now and then to encourage fertilization, which is vital for fruit production. Heirloom tomato plants are vines which mean they produce fruit throughout the season rather than producing everything at once. If you don't have a lot of space but you want large tomatoes, make sure you prune regularly else your heirloom tomatoes might get out of hand! How to Prepare the Soil You need to dig a large hole for planting and fill it with water the day before planting your heirloom tomato plant. Fill the hole partway with compost and add some eggshells or fertilizer. Gently dig at the root ball at the base of the plant until the roots hang down. Break off all the branches except the top three of four and plant the heirloom tomato plant deeply. If you live somewhere cold, plant the heirloom tomato plant sideways or diagonally, so the roots are nearer the surface. Soak the soil around the plant when you have planted it but don't water vigorously or get water on the leaves because water splashing from the ground can spread disease. Use a specialist tomato fertilizer or a vegetable fertilizer once a month. The nitrogen in fertilizer encourages the leaves and stem to grow healthily but, in order to grow fruit on your plant, you need less nitrogen after the stems and leaves have grown successfully. Watering and Fertilizing Heirloom Tomatoes When growing heirloom tomatoes, make sure the soil doesn't dry out but be careful not to over water. When you see the first tomatoes, cut back on both water and fertilizer. Possible Growing Heirloom Tomato Problems Tomato hornworms might leave black droppings on your plants. They eat the fruit and leaves. You need to pick them off by hand. If you see white bugs under the leaves, you can use a pest repellent. If heirloom tomatoes don't get even moisture, they can crack. These still taste fine but you need to cut any out parts which have gone bad. If you are growing heirloom tomatoes, it is important to know that wilts and blight can kill tomato plants if you don't catch it in time. Tomato disease is rarely fatal but you need to keep an eye on your plants to check everything is OK. Growing heirloom tomatoes is a lot of fun and a simple process. The most important things to remember are to make sure you water your tomatoes frequently without over watering and keep an eye out for pests and diseases.
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