Beefsteak tomatoes are very large and can actually weigh up to two pounds per tomato. This variety of tomatoes is a favorite among gardeners as well as visitors to farmers markets and local fresh produce stands.

Because of their enormous size, the beefsteak tomato variety requires some extra care when growing . Proper staking of the tomato plant is a necessary step in growing the hearty, large beefsteak variety successfully.

Here Are Some Guidelines For Staking Beefsteak Tomatoes

As the beefsteak tomato plants continue to grow and tomatoes begin to appear, the beefsteak plants can become very top heavy. This requires the staking of each tomato plant with an eight foot long wooden stake. Place the stake about one foot away from the plant allowing for the strong growth and use a heavy cotton string to tie the plant in an upright position to the stake.

Do not tie plant directly to the stake itself, but just enough so that the plant is straight and upright and sturdy. The stake is merely providing support. Tie in intervals that help support the weight of the growing plant in various locations, using more string when necessary as the plant continues to grow in height, width, and weight. Re-adjust the string, taking up the slack if and when necessary. Add new string to support the new upright growing of the plant.

Why Stake My Tomato Plants?

*Staking the tomato plant will help provide the stability needed to prevent it from toppling over from the weight of the growing tomatoes.

*Staking helps to protect the plants from damage, helping the plants remain upright during times of strong winds and inclement weather.

With proper care, soil, sunlight, adequate water, and fertilizer, in addition to proper staking, you will ensure that your tomato plants survive the wild side mother nature and successfully yield the hearty, delicious tomatoes you love. Staking beefsteak tomatoes is a minor detail and small extra step to take when you consider the rewards for your efforts are delicious and well worth the effort.

Some gardeners who do not have the problem of vermin and pests can let these tomatoes grow along the ground and in this instance they usually place mulch or plastic under the plants to protect the tomatoes from rotting.

Using the best fertilizer for tomatoes is a crucial part in nurturing the plants and ensuring that the freshest and tastiest fruits will be produced. Gardening stores have a wide array of offered fertilizers. For you to know which among these products will work best, it is imperative to do a soil test first. This would allow you to know the nutrients already available in your garden and at the same time determine as to which nutrients it lacks.

Fertilizers Required in Yielding the Best Tomatoes

• Nitrogen – This is responsible for giving plants their green foliage. Among all the nutrients found in fertilizers, nitrogen is considered as the most important.

• Potassium – Plants’ lack of potassium leads to their susceptibility to many diseases. Thus, potassium also facilitates photosynthesis.

• Slow release fertilizer – This fertilizer is normally mixed with the soil and it allows the slow feed of nutrients to tomatoes thus limiting the risk of burning the plant due to too much chemicals.

• Organic fertilizer – This fertilizer for tomatoes employs biodegradable compounds in order to provide the plant’s needed nutrients.

• Phosphorous - This fertilizer is a proven and tested means in order to yield big and healthy tomatoes.

• Micro-nutrients - These are typically comprised of iron, zinc, manganese, and magnesium. These are considered as secondary essentials in growing tomatoes.

• Liquid fertilizers – These are effective in ensuring fast absorption of nutrients.

The amount of fertilizer needed by tomatoes varies during the course of the plant’s growth. The importance of the proper nutrient dosage should never be overlooked or compromised. This will directly affect the tomatoes’ yield.

It is imperative to know and understand the soil condition before moving on to fertilizer shopping. While some soils are already equipped with most of the essential nutrients, others require more fertilizer for tomatoes in order to become conducive for planting.

Some may wonder why experienced gardeners suggest that using heirloom tomato seeds is the best way to go when growing their tomato crop.  In actual fact it is not just tomatoes, but other vegetables too that are much better when heirloom seeds are used.

What Is An Heirloom Seed

They were originally considered to be seeds that have been handed down from generation to generation but in the commercial world that may not be strictly true.

Commercial heirlooms may be open-pollinated varieties of tomatoes that have been in circulation for more than 50 years.

Family heirlooms are seeds that have been passed down for generations.

Created heirlooms are named this when the crossing of two know parent plants, which could be either two heirlooms or one heirloom and one hybrid and then dehybridizing the resulting seeds.  This is done to eliminate undesirable characteristics in the resultant plant and stabilize the desirable features and this could even take as many as seven or eight years to achieve.

Mystery heirlooms are those that have been cross-pollinated naturally with other heirloom varieties.

All heirloom varieties are open-pollinated, but it should be noted that not all open-pollinated varieties are necessarily heirlooms tomatoes.

Heirloom tomatoes have very many qualities and amongst them are the fact that there is an evolved resistance to diseases and pests.  Some varieties are also suited to the different climates and growing conditions.  This indeed helps the home gardener who may not have all the commercial equipment to protect their plants from the cold or the heat, whichever the case may be.

Hybrid Tomatoes

These are tomatoes that are bred for their commercial qualities and this could be in relation to the shape, the size, the color, and the taste.  Some hydrids are more flavorsome than the heirlooms but it is all in the breeding.  Not all commercially bred tomatoes concentrate on flavor and therefore some commercial varieties can look beautifully but actually have little or no tomato taste at all.

Other Features Of Heirloom Tomatoes

Growers who like to experiment with different varieties have lots of fun trying out the various heirloom seeds because in the mix it is possible to get the traditional red tomato, but also black tomatoes, striped tomatoes, green tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, white tomatoes and within this mix also there are varying sizes from the huge tomato down to the small cherry and grape tomatoes.

Popular Varieties

Top Heirloom Varieties:  Brandywine, Chocolate stripes, Black From Tula, Amana Orange, Sun Gold, Cherokee Purple, Coyote, Black Krim, Black Plum

Top 10 Cherry Tomato Heirlooms: Black Cherry, Super Snow White, Ildi, Yellow Gooseberry, Black Plum, Isis Candy Cherry, Yellow Gooseberry, Flamme

Try any of these varieties (as long as they suit your area) and I am sure you will be pleased with the result.

Growing Heirloom Seeds

These plants don’t usually need any extra special care except for good tomato growing steps that you would encounter with any successful tomato growing.

If you have not grown from tomato seeds before check out this article so that you get it right.  It really is not that difficult and is probably one of the easiest phases in growing tomatoes.

Most long term hobby tomato growers have their own agenda when it comes to growing their favorite tomato plants.

Some growers look for a particular type of tomatoe plant whereas others are more concerned with a particular type of fruit.   They could want to grow the smaller varieties like cherry and grape tomatoes, or they might want to grow the much larger varieties which are excellent for sandwiches and also very good for bottling either as whole tomatoes or to cook up into relishes and chutneys.

Determinate Tomato Plants

These are plants that will only grow to a certain height, most around the 2 foot mark, but some types do grow higher.

A determinate plant is one which is bushy and does not need pruning.

The reason that it does not need pruning is because the branches that one may initially think of as suckers are actually the stems from which the fruit stem grows.  A determinate tomato plant has lots of shorter branches from which the cluster of tomatoes grow.  Often a tomato cluster will have up to 10 tomatoes on the one branch.  Even more in some cases.

Staking The Plant

Often a determinate tomato plant is not staked at all because they are so short, but care does need to be taken to see that the main stem is strong enough to hold the fruit the plant is producing.  If the plant has a large number of fruit on it then staking could be a good idea so that the plant does not fall over and snap the stem.

If this is the case I would use two strong stakes and put one about 14 inches on either side of the plant.  I would then use a soft material and run a figure 8 from stake to stake with the tomato stem in a loop in the very centre of the figure 8.  Essentially you end up with 3 loops, one around each stake and 1 around the tomato plant.

This method will support the tomato plant without hindering its movement due to gentle winds and will prevent if from falling over even in the stronger winds.

A single stake can be used and if this is the case it is best put in place when planting the tomato plant so that the roots do not get damaged.  Hammer this stake in about 6 inches from the stem and tie it once the plant is about 12 inches high.

Another method of securing a determinate tomato plant is by using the cage method.  Push the feet of the cage into the ground and secure the cage by tying it to two stakes.  A good tip is to cut off the bottom horizantal wire so that there are longer legs to push into the soil.

Harvesting

Allow the tomatoes to ripen on the vine and pick fresh ready for use.  If it is the end of the season the last green tomatoes can be picked and put into a brown paper bag with an apple and be left to ripen.

Are you aware of what an indeterminate tomato plant is?

When I first started growing tomatoes I did not, but what I did find out soon enough was that by understanding the different types of tomato varieties I was better able to choose the varieties that would suit the conditions I was growing my tomatoes in.

Indeterminate Tomato Plants

These plants are large plants and when staked can grow up to  7 -9 feet if allowed to continue on their merry way.  But most gardeners will keep them trimmed down so that they can easily access the fruit at the end of the season.

Indeterminate plants are very popular for the home gardener because they do bare a lot of fruit and usually of a quite large size.  In fact, some of these plants grow giant fruit up to even 2 kilos in weight – can you imagine that?

An indeterminate tomato plant is one that is multi-stemmed.  It grows suckers from the V of the stem and leaf and when these suckers are allowed to grow they become secondary stems.  Most gardeners will not allow more than 6 of these suckers to continue growing (nipping off the others early) as the more suckers the weaker the plant and the smaller the fruit.

Staking the Indeterminate Tomato Plants

Some gardeners do not actually stake even the largest of these plants because they are lucky enough to live in an area where they do not have a lot of problem from ground pests.

Most gardeners do stake them though.  A popular methods is to hammer in long, strong stakes about 18 inches away from the plant in a circular form.  One stake will be needed for each sucker.

As the suckers are left to grow, train them out to the stake and attach them and let it run up the stake for support.  Further suckers can be allowed to grow from these suckers but that is definitely a personal choice.  More suckers, more fruit but as mentioned the more fruit the smaller the fruit usually is because the plant can only feed so much fruit.

Be Part Of The Thousands Growing Tomatoes In The Australian Climate

Growing tomatoes in the Australian climate is a bit like a walk in the park, so easy.  The moderate climate of the country makes for excellent growing seasons of all vegetables and fruits and tomatoes are no different.  In the sub-tropical areas like Queensland,  Northern Territory and northern Western Australia, tomatoes are grown all year round in home gardens and even the commercial ventures have a very long growing season.

Like most large continent the growing seasons vary throughout and can be short in some areas and long in others.  In Australia the tomato growing season does vary but due to the fact that Australia is surrounded by sea the climate is more moderate than most other continents.

Many Australian growers are often blessed with vine ripened tomatoes all year round because of the length of the growing season.

Make sure of these points when planting tomatoes:
•    That the climate is satisfactory – the night temperature needs to be a minimum of 14ºC and the day temperature should then be suitable at a minimum of 17ºC

•    That the soil has been prepared with the correct nutrients and organic compost

•    The correct tomato seedlings are either grown indoors and ready to plant when the weather is warm, or that strong seedlings are bought from a nursery

•    Ensure that pest control is considered and take measures at planting time or be ready for later in the season depending on the problem you have in your area

•    Stake the plants when planting so that the roots do not get damaged at a later stage when the plants do need the support

Taking care of the tomato plants:

•    Make sure that the plants get sufficient water – the soil needs to be very moist at all times but not water logged

•    Use mulch to help keep the soil moist

•    Side feed the tomato plants once they start producing fruiting stems

•    Keep a diligent watch for pests and diseases

How to grow tomatoes

One of the beauties of growing tomato plants is that they can be grown in a vegetable garden, a single plant or two at the side of the flower garden, in large patio containers or even in hanging baskets.  There are so many systems that a hobby gardener can use to experience the thrill of growing and picking their own tomatoes.

Growing tomatoes in the Australian climate is something that thousands of home gardeners do so why not plant your own tomatoes and see what they are experiencing?

The warm climate in Australia is fantastic for growing sweet, luscious tomatoes and the plants when growing well, will produce an abundance of fruit.  Tomatoes can be used fresh in salads, sandwiches and other dishes, plus they can be cooked into relishes and pickles which go down a treat during the winter season.

Tomato Harvesting and Tomato Varieties

Growing tomatoes is such a popular hobby with home gardeners that many of them try desperately to perfect a tomato growing method.  When growing tomatoes most gardeners like to have a long harvesting season because tomatoes are such a popular part of most family’s everyday diet.  Tomatoes are excellent from a health point of view and when a hobby gardener grows them they usually like to be able to use them fresh for many months and also prepare them for use during the off season by freezing, bottling and pickling them.

Various ways to lengthen a tomato harvesting season:

• if growing the same tomato variety then spreading the planting over several weeks will help
• plant different varieties – different varieties have different periods of time from the planting to the harvesting and by choosing the right varieties the ripening period of a tomato patch could cover several weeks

Circumstances affecting a lengthened harvest period:

• the most difficult problem to overcome will be weather in some growing areas as tomatoes like to be planted and growing when the temperature is over 65 degrees night and day which means after the last frosts – if the tomatoes are going to be grown in a location that has a short summer then most definitely the choice of variety grown will be critical
• starting the planting late in the season – if this is what is going to happen for one reason or another then it will be advisable to choose quick ripening varieties

In most cases tomatoes vary from ripening in 65 days to 85 days, so by choosing to plant the quicker ripening ones early, the slower ripening ones a few weeks later and then some more of the the quicker ripening varieties it could be possible, given the right weather conditions, to have a ripening period of approximately 2-3 months.

With consideration given to these factors when growing tomatoes, most hobby gardeners will be able to achieve that extended harvesting period that they were looking for.

Ever since the Spanish bought back tomatoes from the lands that they conquered in South America, tomatoes have become a staple ingredient in the kitchens around the world.  The most popular varieties of big tomatoes that are usually used for cooking are known as ‘Beefsteak’ and ‘Marmande’. The Beefsteak tomatoes are the largest and are recommended for being used in sandwiches. Many of the tomatoes can weigh as much as 2 pounds each and slicing them is simpler for sandwiches. These tomatoes can even be eaten raw.

Beefsteak is the biggest tomato that is grown

Beefsteak, which is one of the varieties of the Big Tomatoes requires a lot of sun and is grown in soil that is well drained. The tomato takes 90 days to become ripe and mature before it can be plucked. Another variety which also comes in the Beefsteak category and is also one of the varieties of big tomatoes is the “Better Boy”.  These tomatoes are extremely juicy and have a meaty flesh and incredible flavor that is well tuned for cooking.  These varieties of big tomatoes can be used for innumerable preparations in cooking such as slicing, pasta sauces, canning and many more purposes.  It takes 70 days to become fully mature and can be harvested. This variety of tomatoes can weigh as much as 10 ounces each.

However, these varieties of big tomatoes aren’t grown commercially as the other tomatoes.  These varieties are more popular with people that like to grow the big tomatoes in their home garden or in their herb gardens.  The color of the tomato is usually red or pink and has innumerable seeds as compared to some of the smaller varieties.

Marmande is also like the Beefsteak that is so well liked  in Europe

Marmande are also big tomatoes and is used extensively for making salads and even for cooking various dishes. They are grown in the sunny outdoors and are cultivated all across Europe and North America.  They require extremely sturdy vines to hold them up. They can weigh a pound each and require clay or heavy soil that is extremely well drained.  They can also be grown by novice tomato growers quite easily as there isn’t much of skill that is required. These tomatoes are usually used by the commercial growers since it has a number of seeds that is preferred by the commercial growers for canning and making pastes.  This tomato variety has very slight pleats and tastes exceptionally wonderful.

The various varieties of big Tomato include:

• Beefmaster
• Beefsteak VFN
• Big Beef
• Brandywine
• Bucking Bronco
• Cherokee Purple
• Marmande
• Mortgage Lifter
• Coeur De Boeuf

The bigger varieties are so popular because home gardeners pick them to make their chutney, pickles, soups and other cooked tomato dishes.  They are hungry growers and require good fertilizer to produce the best fruit.

One could easily be excused for saying, “Well, you plant, it grows, you pick the fruit, then pull out the plant.” But really that would be a tomato growers dream!

The life of a tomato starts with planting seeds, whether a home gardener does this or whether it is done in a nursery.  A home gardener may enjoy starting their tomato plants from seed, but many gardeners do prefer to buy their seedlings.

Where to from here in the life of a tomato plant?

1.    As mentioned there is the germinating of the tomato seed.  Seeds are planted into a fine soil in a seed box.

2.    The next step is to plant the very young seedling out into a seedling pot.

3.    From here the seedling is usually planted straight into the garden or growing pot.  It is possible to purchase fruit bearing tomato plants from some nurseries and this means that you are waiting a shorter time for the fruit to ripen in your garden or tomato container.

4.    Indeterminate tomato plants need pruning so that they are only growing a few branches on which to form fruit.   Determinate tomato plants (the bushy type) are not pruned.

5.    Tomato plants need watering on a consistent basis so that they do not dry out, otherwise this will cause a number of problems.  Tomato plants do not like wet feet, nor do they respond well if they dry out.

6.    Pests and diseases need controlling right from the first day of planting, but in saying that these become more of a problem as the plants get older.

7.    Tomato plants are voracious growers and fruit providers so they need a continuing supply of fertilizer, but this must be applied at the right time during the growing cycle or it won’t be beneficial.

8.    Care needs to be taken that the fruit does not get sunscald which is like sunburn.

9.    Tomato plants need staking and there are a number of methods that are used by the various home gardeners.  Some gardeners use several methods and others are quite adamant about a particular method.  Some gardeners who live in areas that are relatively pest and disease free do not even stake their plants at all.

10. Harvesting the tomato plant.  There are several thoughts here.  It is a good idea to leave the fruit on the vine until it starts to color.  In some areas the fruit has to be picked because of the early onset of cold weather, or even where weather is warmer but the plant has been put in the ground later in the season.  Fruit can be left on the vine until red and even in color.  If it does need to be picked early, it can be ripened indoors.

11. Seeds from the tomatoes can be taken out, dried and kept for the next year.

This is the basic cycle of the tomato plant but along the way there are steps to take to ensure that all goes well.  There are weather issues to deal with, pest and disease issues as well as watering and fertilizing.

One tomato disease that really upsets tomato growers is the tomato blight.  The common strands being ‘early blight’ and ‘late blight’, but at the end of the day regardless, the plant and fruit suffers from blight.  Once a plant has tomato blight there is very little that can be done about it and the plants have to be destroyed.  They either need to go in the trash for collection or burnt.  If they are thrown on the compost the garden will have more blight than the grower can cope with.

So what is blight exactly?  Blight is a fungal disease which grows on the tomato plant and destroys it and its ability to produce fruit.

How does blight establish itself?

Being a fungal disease the spores are in the air and when they land on a wet, warm tomato plant and they start growing.  The ideal situation is for the water to sit on the plant long enough that the spore can grow.  If the water dries up very quickly it cannot take a hold, or if there is no water on the plant the occurrence of fungal growth is reduced.  Areas where the fungal disease is really bad, is partly due to its climatic conditions.  The humid areas suffer the most.

What does late blight look like?

The leaves on the plant will look black and greasy.   On the underside of the leaf there is a fine gray mold during the wet periods.

Dealing with late blight.

Watering is a major issue with these types of plants and keeping the leaves dry is the most important task.  When growing tomatoes set up a ground watering system so that the leaves stay dry.

How to grow tomatoes for blight protection.

There are 3 methods that can help with keeping the plants aerated so that they dry quickly and they are:

1.     To protect them from rain a clear plastic sheet can be arranged over the plants to keep them dry.

2.    Grow them in the espalier method which spreads out the branches along a wall and where the plants get heat from a wall which will help with drying the leaves.

3.    Planting the plants against a single stake and making sure there is at least 4 feet between plants so that the airflow between the plants will dry them quickly.  Using this method also requires that there are only 3 – 5 suckers allowed to grow to full length for fruit production otherwise there will not be sufficient airflow in the plant itself.

Blight might be able to be contained by immediately removing any parts where it is noticed in the very early stages.  Any tomato parts removed should be disposed of off the property.

There are two other courses of action that can help with controlling blight and that is to purchase ‘blight resistant’ tomato plants and to rotate crops every 3-4 years with non-related crops.

Fungicide can be used to control blight and it does need to be used on a regular basis and also needs to start before the onset of any signs of blight.  Spraying also needs to include any new growth that is being formed.