Seedless Tomatoes
A Beginner's Guide To Growing Seedless Tomatoes
Seedless tomatoes are technically a hybrid tomato that is made by crossing different genetic traits with tomato plants that keep the current tomatoes from producing any further seeds. This results in a tomato that has absolutely no seeds, is much sweeter than the average tomato and it’s perfect for people that have colon disease.
Seedless tomatoes also have the ability to resist most common diseases that will often affect other plants in your garden. Tomato seeds for these plants are quite expensive so you will want to familiarize yourself with how to plant them before you just wing it and ruin them.
Starting The Seeds Of Seedless Tomatoes
The most important step of growing seedless tomatoes is to plant them in plastic containers with a special soil mix. This nutrient should be rich so you can keep a good eye on how the new plant is growing. After it starts growing a bit you can replant it and get it out of that little container you started it in but for now this must be its home. Jiffymix or Promix will usually do a good job of getting the seedless tomatoes growing. Be sure to moisten up the mixture so the soil is damp but not soggy. Your plants will need to be in these plastic containers for around six to eight weeks. Most people keep them up on top of their refrigerator out of the way but be sure to keep the soil moist until after the seeds have germinated. After they have germinated you can move them under light and they should stay there for about 18 hours a day. They need a lot of light!
Moving The Plants To Your Garden
Once the plants of your seedless tomatoes have grown to about three inches high it is safe to move them out to your garden. The plants should be placed in a row about 24 inches apart. There should also be a minimum of 30 inches space between each row so that the individual plants of the seedless tomatoes are not fighting each other for nutrients or sunlight. Once you have figured out where the plants are going to go you will dig a big enough hole so that you can bury all of the dirt that was in the container that the original plant was being germinated. Put water into the hole prior to placing the plant in so that the soil is already moist. Fertilizer can also be added at this time.
Pest Precautions
The plants from seedless tomatoes are generally disease resistant but they still will attract pests. The most common pest is the hornworm. You can either kill them by picking them off individually which can be quite annoying or you can let loose some Braconid wasps into your garden. They will lay their eggs on top of the worms and when the larvae finally hatches the wasps eat the worms. This is not always an ideal solution so other pesticides can be used.
Health Benefits Of Seedless Tomatoes
Seedless tomatoes contain a great amount of vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium and iron. The red pigment is an antioxidant that can actually neutralize free radicals that otherwise might damage cells in your body. It is proven that consuming daily amounts of seedless tomatoes can lower your risk of stomach or rectal cancers by 60 percent. They can also help older people to feel and look younger longer. Seedless tomatoes may also prevent lung cancer. The more vibrant the color the more beta carotene and lycopene they contain. Although eating them raw is good for you, cooking them is even better. Additionally, if you cook them in olive oil you allow your body to better absorb the lycopene.
Seedless tomatoes are beneficial to people who can't consume foods with seeds allowing them to also reap the great benefits of a traditional tomato. Although this can be a difficult plant to grow, it reaps it sweet rewards.