This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Plant scientists consider themfruit. Most other people think of them as vegetables. Whatever youcall tomatoes, there are many different kinds of this popular andhealthy food.
Each plant can produce about four to seven kilograms of fruit.Growers can harvest a big crop with little space. Full plants withfruit take about eighty days to grow from seed. Cold weather candamage young plants, so they are often grown inside for four to sixweeks.
A tomato plant can grow several thick stems from its base. Onlytwo or three stems should be kept. From the stems come smallergrowths called suckers. New suckers that grow between the stemsshould be removed. There should be a full meter between plants withthree stems, a little less for plants with two stems.
There are two general groups of plants. Small tomato plants growto about one meter. They can be planted rather close together. Someshort kinds do not require special care and are often harvested bymachines.
Large tomato plants can grow over two meters tall. They alsoprovide larger fruit. These plants need support. One method useswires run along both sides of a row of plants. The wires help holdthe suckers and fruit. The wiring is secured to strong posts oneither side of the row. The wires are raised as the plants and fruitgrow.
People who grow only a few plants can place wire cages aroundeach one. The cage can be made of wire fence material. The cagehelps the plant grow taller and to produce a bigger crop.
Tomatoes often need extra calcium, or the fruit may be ruined.Adding lime to the soil can prevent this problem.
Dry conditions may also ruin fruit. Tomatoes need waterregularly. The soil should never dry out completely. Dried grass orleaves placed around the plant can help keep the soil wet andcontrol unwanted plants.
Tomatoes are native to South America. The tomato is a member ofthe potato family. Like its relatives, the leaves of the plant arepoisonous. Before the middle of the eighteen-hundreds, people onlygrew tomatoes as pretty plants. They called the bright red fruit a”love apple,” but would not eat it.
The North Carolina State University Web site has more aboutgrowing tomatoes. The address is www.ces.ncsu.edu. You can also finda link on our site, WWW.51VOA.COM.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter.