Useful Tomato Facts
For Edible Landscaping
Here are some tomato facts that might be helpful when you're deciding what plants to choose for your edible landscaping.
The main categories for tomatoes are "determinate" and
Grow in a compact and bush-like
manner (sometimes they're called bush tomatoes)
Grow like vines (they are sometimes called vine tomatoes)
Produce all their fruit at one time (useful if you want to preserve a large amount at once)
Provide tomatoes all season long
More tomato facts
- Plant type: Perennial vine (frost-tender) -- tomatoes are normally treated as annuals in higher latitudes, because they are killed by freezing temperatures.
- Plant size: 3 feet high (determinate/"bush"); indeterminate ("vine") varieties will go up to ten feet.
- Fruit color: just about any color in the rainbow
- Flower size: a bit smaller than 1x1x1 inch (2.5 cm)
- Leaf color(s): medium green
- Leaf type: long and lobed; "potato-leaf" varieties have oval flat leaves like a potato plant
- USDA zones:
Can be grown year round in zones 10b-13, but can be grown outdoors in
any zone during the months where the temperature is above freezing.
Short-season varieties exist for annual outdoor growing down to zone 2
with frost protection needed in the beginning and end of the season.
- Likes: Rich, evenly moist soil, full sun. Most varieties require staking or support of some kind.
- Tolerates: wide range of pH, poor soil, moderate drought, partial shade (prefers shade in very hot/sunny areas)
- Dislikes: extreme heat (will cause blossom drop). Will be killed by freezing; intermittent dry and wet periods during fruiting will cause fruit to crack
- Uses: Determinate -- flowering shrub, fruiting foliage plant; Indeterminate -- trellis, wall, arbor, hanging basket.
Both are good for children's gardens, theme gardens and container gardens.
If you want to keep a tomato in a container permanently, use one which contains at least 5 gallons (18 liters) for best results.
How to grow tomatoes in edible landscaping
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