How to Grow Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes, also known as heritage tomatoes, have captivated the imagination of gardeners over the last several years. To say that they have become trendy would be an understatement. In the Canadian off-season, a small basket of various heirloom tomatoes sells in large grocery chains for approximately five dollars a pound! With careful planning and armed with a little know-how, gardeners can grow their own vibrantly colored, fresh heritage tomatoes in the back yard.

Find Interesting Tomato Varieties

While the Internet can be an excellent source of information when it comes to gardening, one of the best sources for finding interesting and unique varieties of heirloom tomatoes is seed catalogues. Many companies will send out their annual seed catalogue free of charge. Individuals can be added to their mailing list electronically. The catalogues will begin to arrive several months before it’s time to start growing seedlings.

How to Choose Heritage Tomatoes

To get the most out of a patch of heritage tomatoes, grow plants with a variety of sizes, shapes and colors of fruit. Gardeners should consider choosing at least one of each of the following types:

• Cherry or grape tomato, such as ‚”Brown Berry”
• Plum or paste tomato, such as ‚”Amish Paste”
• Green tomato, such as ‚”Green Zebra”
• Purple tomato, such as ‚”Purple Prince”
• Beefsteak tomato, such as ‚”Brandywine”

When ordering seeds from a catalogue or website, gardeners should be sure to allow ample time for delivery before starting seedlings indoors.

Starting Heirloom Tomato Seeds

Heritage tomato seeds should be sown 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost. Seeds should be sown in the seed starting medium of choice 1/4″ deep, placed in a seed starting tray and covered with a plastic dome or plastic cling film in a warm room out of direct sunlight until seedlings emerge.

When seedlings begin to emerge, the plastic cover is removed and the tray placed under a fluorescent light, 1 to 2″ above the level of the soil. As the plants grow, the light should be kept about an inch from the top of the growing leaves. Regular fluorescent shop bulbs work just fine. After the first set of true leaves appears, the seedlings should be fertilized weekly with a diluted solution of 20-20-20 fertilizer. The seedlings can be transplanted into larger pots, if necessary, to facilitate root growth.

Hardening Off Tomato Plants

The small heirloom tomato seedlings will need to be gradually introduced to the outdoor weather and sunshine in order to prevent burning them. Seedlings can be set out for an hour or two at first, in a place that is sheltered from the wind, in filtered sunlight. Increasing the time the seedlings spend outdoors each day will allow them a chance to become accustomed to outdoor growing conditions.

Planting Out Heirloom Tomatoes

When the soil in the garden has warmed, about a week after the last frost date, and once the plants have been hardened off, tomatoes can be planted in the ground, allowing about two feet between plants. Tomatoes have the unique ability to grow roots along their stem, so as much of the stem of the plant can be buried as possible, leaving the top two sets of leaves exposed above the ground. This may seem strange at first, but the plants will grow to be much sturdier than they would otherwise.

Regularly watered and staked plants will reward the gardener with a healthy crop of unique and delicious heritage tomatoes to share with family and friends.