According to the National Gardening Association, tomatoes are the most commonly grown backyard vegetable, and for good reason.
Not only is a fresh-picked, homegrown tomato extraordinarily tasty, especially when compared to the supermarket variety, Solanum lycopersicum is easy to grow, and thrives almost anywhere.
Just a few plants will provide enough fruit for your entire family. Because they flourish in the summer heat, they are a summertime favorite in gardens across the country.
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Easy to grow and great in salads, the tomato is a perfect starter plant for the novice.
Unbeknownst to many, S. lycopersicum is actually a fruit, not a vegetable. Culinarily, of course, we consider them to be vegetables. But botanically, they are fruit, because they are seed-bearing structures that develop from the ovary of a flowering plant.
Now that we have that bit of science out of the way, let’s learn more about choosing and growing the perfect tomato for your family.
Here’s what’s to come:
Cultivation and HistoryNative to Central and South America, tomatoes have been cultivated since the time of the ancient Mayan civilization.
They were later grown in the southern part of Mexico by the Aztecs. After the Spanish invasion of Mexico (1519-1521), tomatoes were introduced to Europe by returning colonists. In Spain, the name tomate is a derived from the Aztec name, tomatl.
In the mid-16th century, they became popular in Italy, and were renamed pomo d’oro, the “golden apple.”
According to Andrew Smith, author of the fascinating book, “The Tomato in America: Early History,
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