The Texas Tomato Lover's Handbook (Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service Series)

Perhaps no vegetable makes the mouth water in anticipation more than the perfect tomato--slices sprinkled with salt and pepper or lapped over a burger; sweet cherry tomatoes in a salad; fresh tomato sauce over pasta; tomato soup; tomato salsa. Tired of half-green, hard-but-mushy, store-bought tomatoes, an increasing number of people would like to grow their own. But as anyone who has ever stuck a seedling into the ground anticipating a bush full of luscious homegrown tomatoes in a couple of months knows, it isn't that easy. Tomatoes require a gardener's knowledge and attention, and in this handbook William Adams has provided a complete, step-by-step guide to success in the tomato patch. Drawing on more than thirty years of experience, Adams takes readers through the basics of soil preparation, planting, feeding, caging, and watering. He lists the pros and cons of standard, hybrid, heirloom, and cherry varieties, sharing tips about old favorites and suggesting new varieties. After the tomatoes are chosen, planted, and thriving under his tutelage, Adams prepares growers for the insects, diseases, and other visitors they are likely to encounter, warning that “gardeners are not the only ones that love tomatoes.” Once readers are armed to meet these challenges, Adams ends by offering a few words about “tomato kin folk” (peppers, eggplants, tomatillos, and potatoes) and a source list of selected suppliers. With patience, humor, and his own excellent photographs, Adams brings to this manuscript all he has learned about tomatoes in Texas to help ensure that the rest of us have a bumper crop. A garden-grown tomato, sliced and laid across a grilled hamburger . . . Sweet, plump cherry tomatoes in a crisp, green salad . . . Sauce made from fresh tomatoes, ladled over a steaming bowl of pasta . . . Spicy tomato salsa . . . Savory tomato soup . . . Is there any single vegetable as mouth-watering as the tomato? And yet, as thousands of peopletired of mushy, half-green, and tasteless tomatoes bought from supermarketshave discovered, much more is involved in growing your own than simply putting a plant or two in the ground and expecting to harvest luscious tomatoes a few weeks later. William D. Adamsdraws on more than thirty years experience to provide a complete, step-by-step guide to success in the tomato patch. Growing good tomatoes requires a gardeners attention to a variety of factors, and Adams begins by explaining the basics of soil preparation, planting, feeding, caging, and watering. He also outlines the pros and cons of standard, hybrid, heirloom, and cherry varieties, sharing tips about old favorites and suggesting new varieties. After the tomatoes are chosen, planted, and thriving under his tutelage, Adams prepares growers for the insects, diseases, and other visitors they are likely to encounter, warning that "gardeners are not the only ones that love tomatoes." He ends by offering a few words about tomato kin folk (peppers, eggplants, tomatillos, and potatoes), along with a source list of selected suppliers. Liberally sprinkled with the authors easy humor and illustrated throughout with excellent photographs, The Texas Tomato Lovers Handbook has everything youll need to assure a bumper crop, year after year. Content: History of the garden tomato -- Must-have tools for the tomato patch -- A recipe for the perfect tomato crop: basic cultural needs -- Locating the tomato patch -- Growing your own transplants -- Grafting tomatoes -- Preparing the soil -- How to build a raised bed -- Growing tomatoes in containers -- Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse -- Tending the tomato patch -- Planting and protecting new transplants -- Cages or stakes for support -- The row-cover benefit -- Maintaining soil fertility and foliar feeding -- Irrigation: not an option -- Cleaning up for the next crop -- Tomato varieties -- Hybrid varieties: medium to large fruit -- Open-pollinated and heirloom varieties: medium to large fruit -- Cherries and small-fruited varieties -- Insects, diseases, weeds, and varmints -- Tomato pests -- Insect pests -- Beneficial insects -- Trap crops -- Tomato diseases and environmental stress -- Organic and low-toxicity sprays that really work -- Pollination -- Tomato-snatching critters -- Weeds -- Tomato relatives -- Peppers -- Eggplants -- Tomatillos -- Potatoes -- Tomato source list. Is there anything as mouth-watering as the tomato? And yet, as thousands of people - tired of mushy, half-green, and tasteless tomatoes bought from supermarkets - have discovered, much more is involved in growing your own than simply putting a plant or two in the ground and expecting to harvest luscious tomatoes a few weeks later. Now, Bill Admas draws on more than thirty years' experience to provide a step-by-step guide to success in the tomato patch Is there any single vegetable as mouth-watering as the tomato? William D. Adams draws on more than thirty years' experience to provide a complete, step-by-step guide to success in the tomato patch. William D. Adams ; Photographs By William D. Adams And Deborah J. Adams. Includes Index. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web.