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Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum

The most popular home vegetable, grown for sweet, juicy fruit from tiny cherries to big beefsteaks. Determinate types grow to a set size and ripen in a burst; indeterminate types keep growing and bearing until frost or heat stops them. In Florida, small-fruited and heat-setting types do best.

Growing facts

Scientific name
Solanum lycopersicum
Origin
Western South America (Andes)
Plant size
3–4 ft bushes (determinate) or 6–10 ft vines (indeterminate); stake or cage
Growth rate
Fast
Sun
Full sun, at least 8 hours
Soil
Rich, well-drained soil with plenty of compost; keep evenly moist to prevent cracking and blossom-end rot
Soil pH
6.2–6.8
Pollination
Self-pollinating; wind, shaking and bees help. Fruit stops setting when nights stay above about 75°F or days top 90°F.
Cold hardiness
Killed by frost; growth stalls below 50°F
USDA zones
Grown as a warm-season annual in all zones
Harvest
60–85 days from transplant; cherry types are quickest
When to plant (zones 9–11)
Jan, Feb, Mar, Aug, Sep
When to plant (zones 5–8)
May–Jun
Water
About every 3 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
Feeding
About every 14 days
Taste
Sweet-tart and savory; cherry types are sweetest, heirlooms often richest
Nutrition
Vitamin C, potassium and lycopene, which is better absorbed when tomatoes are cooked with a little oil

Is tomato safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Ripe fruit, raw or cooked
  • Green fruit, cooked (fried green tomatoes, relish)

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Take care: The leaves and stems contain tomatine and solanine. Don't eat them or brew them into tea; they can upset the stomach.
  • Good to know: Handling the plants can leave an itchy rash on sensitive skin; wear gloves and long sleeves when pruning.
  • Good to know: Acidic tomatoes can worsen heartburn and reflux for some people.

Pets: The leaves, stems and green fruit can cause drooling, vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy in dogs and cats; keep pets from chewing the plants. Ripe fruit is generally fine in small amounts.

How to eat and enjoy tomato

  • Fresh in salads, sandwiches and salsa
  • Sauce, soup and roasted tomatoes
  • Fried green tomatoes from unripe fruit
  • Canned, dried or frozen for winter

When it's ripe

Pick when the fruit is fully colored and gives slightly. In hot, rainy weather or when birds strike, pick at first blush and finish ripening indoors; flavor stays good.

Storing it

Keep at room temperature, stem side down, out of the sun. The fridge dulls flavor and texture; chill only fully ripe fruit you can't eat in a day or two.

Tomato varieties (8)

  • Better Boy

    A popular, productive hybrid with big red slicing tomatoes.

    Taste: Classic, juicy · Size: Large

    Indeterminate; needs a tall cage.

  • Celebrity

    A reliable, disease-resistant hybrid slicer that bears well in many climates.

    Taste: Classic balanced tomato · Size: Medium to large

    Semi-determinate; a dependable choice for beginners.

  • Cherokee Purple

    A dusky purple-red beefsteak heirloom with rich, smoky flavor.

    Origin: Tennessee heirloom · Taste: Rich, sweet, slightly smoky · Size: Large

    Indeterminate. Soft fruit that cracks easily; less disease-resistant than hybrids.

  • Everglades · also Everglades tomato, Wild Florida tomato

    A tiny currant tomato that has naturalized in South Florida and keeps producing through heat that stops other tomatoes.

    Origin: Florida · Taste: Bright, sweet-tart · Size: Very small, pea-sized

    Sprawling and self-seeding. One of the few tomatoes that sets fruit through a Florida summer.

  • Heatmaster

    A hybrid bred to keep setting fruit in hot weather.

    Size: Medium

    Determinate. A good pick for Florida and the Gulf Coast.

  • Roma

    The classic paste tomato: meaty, egg-shaped and low in seeds.

    Taste: Mild; best cooked · Size: Medium, plum-shaped

    Determinate. Good for sauce and drying.

  • Solar Fire

    A heat-setting hybrid slicer bred for hot, humid summers.

    Origin: Florida (University of Florida) · Size: Medium to large

    Determinate, with resistance to several common diseases.

  • Sun Gold · also Sungold

    An orange cherry tomato famous for its fruity, very sweet flavor.

    Origin: Japan · Taste: Very sweet, tropical · Size: Cherry

    Indeterminate and vigorous. Fruit can split after heavy rain; pick promptly.

Pests and diseases to watch for

  • Scale insects

    Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

    What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

  • Mealybugs

    White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

    What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

  • Aphids

    Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

    What to do: Spray off with water.

  • Sooty mold

    Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

    What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

  • Spider mites

    Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

    What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.

Growing tomatoes? Let Gardyn keep track.

Gardyn tells you when your tomato needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.

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General guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.