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How to Grow Temperature Controlled Sugar, Acid, and Nutritional Quality Tomatoes in Your Garden: New Research Tips

June 7th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Gardener's Health, Gardening News, home gardening tips, tomato, vegetable garden

Grow Tomato
Questions & Answers (Q&A)
Indoor Ripening of Green tomatoesAs a gardener the nutrition value and importance of fresh quality tomatoes is nothing for you. You also know that both these factors could be best ensured by growing them on your own in your garden. Nevertheless,

I have something new and interesting fact for you. This is about a very recent research finding about the temperature at which fruits ripen and in what way the temperature affects its taste along with the chemical composition.Scientists at the Avignon, France harvested mature green tomatoes from a greenhouse in controlled conditions. Fruits were ripened in such conditions with two different sets of conditions where light and dark rooms were used. Temperature for this ripening used was almost 70 or 79 degrees F.

After a period of six days researchers observed that, the fruits were fully ripe. Chemical analysis of all such fruits was conducted to reveal the contents of nutrients elements within.

Among the tomatoes grown and fruits ripened in the light rooms at the temperature of 70 degrees F, the scientists found that these fruits were very rich in “Carotenoids” nutrients. Carotinoids including the cancer-fighting compound ‘Lycopene’ was found to be at maximum level in these tomatoes.

Similarly, the fruits ripened in controlled temperature of 70 degrees F in the light rooms were recorded to be rich in sugar and lower in acidity.

“You cannot regulate the temperature outside in this manner in your garden but you can always control and adjust the temperature indoor and this way you can easily ripen the green fruits harvested well before the first fall frost,” say the researchers.

Researchers also suggested that in order to obtain the highest nutrient value tomatoes you must keep the green fruits at 70 degrees F. If you are growing sweeter fruits this way then you should preferably keep them in controlled temperature of 79 degrees F.

Main objective of this study was to understand the impact of ripening stage, temperature, and irradiance on seasonal variations of tomato fruit quality. Researchers concluded that during the process of controlled ripening of fruits the concentrations of nutrients, elements, and chemicals like sugar, carotenes, ascorbate, rutin, and caffaic acid were on increased side while compounds in titratable acidity, chlorophylls, and chlorogenic acid contents were on decreasing side. Final fruit composition was more dependent on the temperature and irradiance.

This research finding is extremely useful for gardeners and the results will certainly promote the controlled green fruit ripening method for obtaining high nutritious value tomatoes in your garden.


Grow Tomato Pictures

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Grow Tomato Videos

How to grow tomatoes
How to Grow Tomatoes at White Flower Farm
How to Plant and Grow Tomato Seedlings : Growing Tomato Seedlings: Part 1
How to Plant and Grow Tomato Seedlings : Growing Tomato Seedlings: Part 2


Grow Tomato Question & Answers

Grow Tomato Question: 1


Can I grow tomato plants from a tomato?

Hello. I am living in Panama and would like to grow tomatoes. I have not been able to find tomato plants or packaged seeds, I guess because it is warm here so they can grow stuff year round, but still the tomatoes I get from the store are nothing compared to the "real" homegrown tomatoes. Is there a way to use the seeds from an actual tomato and be able to have new plants? Should I just stick a tomato in the dirt and hope for the best?

Answer:
There's a web site that tells you, step by step, how to collect the seeds and prepare the seeds for planting. It's:

Grow Tomato Question: 2


Can a person grow tomato plants indoors?

I am moving to a new house that I bought in a few weeks, but I would like to start growing some tomato plants now. Any suggestions on how I can grow them indoors, have a certain size of potting plant, certain type of window for sunlight and having support for the plant? Any advice would be great.

Answer:
Start them in seed trays, and put near sunny window. If you don't have a sunny window, use grow lights. You can find them at stores specializing in plants, or an all-purpose home and garden store. You can grow one plant in a 6-inch pot or two plants in larger pots. Tomatoes prefer well-drained, highly organic soil as well as a soil PH between 6 and 7. Water slowly and deeply to promote root growth. Check out this site on container gardening: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/03/03mar17a.cfm

Grow Tomato Question: 3


Why do people hang tomato plants upside down to grow?

I was just wondering, I see people hanging their tomato plants upside down on the eaves of their sheds or out buildings and I was just curious as to why they grow them like this. Is it a special breed of plant that grows best like this? Or can any plant grow like this? What are the benefits of growing tomato plants like this?

Answer:
We are growing one to try it out. We have an unscientific experiment to see how growing them upside down compares to a regular container grown plant. Visit our gardening blog and look at the June 7th entry at- http://www.gardening-at-the-crossroads.com/gardening-blog.html Good Luck and Happy Gardening from Cathy and Neal!

Grow Tomato Question: 4


Do u need two Tomato plants in order to grow tomatoes or can one plant grow some by itself?

Can a single tomato plant by itself actually grow tomatoes on it? Or do you need "two" tomato plants growing near each other in order to get tomatoes to start growing on them...?

Answer:
One plant will be fine..to pollinate simply manually shake the plant for about 5 seconds each day after you see blooms appearing...this will pollinate it..In commercial greenhouses that have no access to bees to pollinate they actually have machines that shake the plant to pollinate..

Grow Tomato Question: 5


Can you grow tomatoes from existing tomato plants?

My mom has a bunch of heirloom tomato plants growing, I was wondering if anyone knows how I could grow them from her plants? She said use seeds, but do I just take a tomato and cut out the seeds, or rince or how would I start it? We don't usually throw them away, I was asking how to start growing them if I have an actual tomato?

Answer:
I grow heirloom tomatoes. Tomato seeds are easily saved, but you need to briefly allow them to ferment so that the germination-inhibiting gel coating on the seed is dissolved, allowing the seed to germinate. You open a ripe tomato - put the seed glop into a shot glass or cup and add a bit of warm water and stir. Let it sit for a few days until it looks bubbly or is starting to grow mold on top. Plop it all into a seive and rinse under the tap until all the red fleshy and jelly bits are rinsed off. Then set the seeds on a coffee filter for a couple of days until dry. Heres a nice link with pics showing how to save heirloom tomato seeds.

Grow Tomato Question: 6


How can I grow productive tomato plants?

I quit trying to grow tomatoes a few years ago because, I can grow lovely, tall, healthy looking plants but, no tomatoes? Is there something I can do to grow great tasting tomatoes? I always planted them where they would have full sun all day. Can they grow and produce in shady areas?

Answer:
Tomatoes grow well under full sun conditions, just orientate the rows from south to north not east to west other wise the fruit from one side would get sunburns. If you grow the tomatoes at open field they get pretty good air pollination you don´t need to do something else. If you over water your plants or over fertilize them (specially with great amount of nitrogen) you push the plant to grow more vegetative rather to start to set fruit. When you see that the first flower set opens change the fertilization program to one N-P-K relation with less nitrogen and more potassium (e.g. from a 6-6-6 at the beginning to a 5-3-8) and don´t over water them. You should find the rigth planting dates from your area because if your plant the too early or too late by the time the first set blooms and the weather is not right those flowers will drop and the plant is going to get more vegetative also.

Grow Tomato Question: 7


Can I grow Tomato plants indoors?

I live in a top floor 1 bed flat and have no garden, can i grow a tomato plant indoors? Will i need lights etc? If so what ones? Help x

Answer:
Naw... Fluorescent lights are NOT for indoor growing vegetables! Read up on hydroponics, and yes, you can grow vegetables indoors! Learn about the aerogrow, a great home system for growing herbs and veggies and even berries inside

Grow Tomato Question: 8


How Do I Grow Tomato Plants with Little Sun?

My yard is heavily wooded and i would like to have some home grown tomatoes. Is there any hope tomatoes will grow and ripen?

Answer:
Tomatoes like full sun. Look at your yard during the day and see what part of it gets the most sunlight. Try planting them there with cow manure mixed into the soil as you plant them. Hope this helps!!

Grow Tomato Question: 9


How to grow tomato plants?

I have a pair of tomato plants which are growing quite nicely and quickly. Can anyone tell me though: how do you know WHICH of the 'lateral shoots' to nip off and HOW and WHEN? Thanks!

Answer:

Grow Tomato Question: 10


tomato hornworms - can we still grow & eat the tomotoes after we remove the worms?

We grow tomatoes in a container on our deck. We found hornworms tonite. The have eaten a lot of leaves. Can we still try to cultivate tomatoes and eat them? Should we trim back the damaged parts of the plants?

Answer:
Just leave the plants alone, and they will most likely send out some new leaves. As for the suggestions to spray your plants, why make the tomatoes all covered in poison? Sevin is not a product I want to eat! I currently have one tomato plant that was pretty much defoliated by hornworms. I kept looking and looking but never finding the worms, and the plant is very sad looking. It still has a few tomatoes which are ripening. Yes, you can eat tomatoes from such plants. To control your big, fat green tomato eating worms, try going outside in the early evening or early in the morning, and squat by the bushes and look very carefully. They are easier to find at those times. I hate the things and wear gloves to pull them off. My ducks love to eat the hornworms. tomatoes will readily root all over again, so you might try burying a portion of the leafless plant and it will send out roots from there. The new roots might stimulate the plant to leaf out sooner. If your plant is tall, you could take one of the long, leafless stems and bury it in a new pot, next to the existing one. You can also take cuttings, stick those in water, and put it on the kitchen counter. In a month, you'll see new roots and you can plant the clone in it's own pot.

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1 response so far ↓

  • 1 hydroponics // Jun 9, 2008 at 4:48 am

    yummy tomatoes. congratulations for raising such a very good tomato. it is so enticing. you know i love eating tomatoes and i’ve got lots of them in my hydroponic garden. fresh is the best choice of all.

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