In today’s program, Cathy Isom tells a bit about growing your own beefsteak tomatoes. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Beefsteaks are the biggest type of tomato, with fruit often weighing over a pound. These big, red, juicy, tomatoes have thick, plump flesh that’s nothing short of a taste sensation. The large, meaty fruit of the beefsteak tomato has smaller seed cavities than other varieties.
If you’d like to grow your own beefsteak tomatoes, there are a number of varieties to choose from, such as Beefmaster, Big Beef, Brandywine, Corazon and Aunt Ruby’s German Green. Most varieties can be sown under cover six weeks before the last frost date. Tomatoes require at least eight hours of sunlight a day. Best planted in a full sun position, tomatoes can also sit in partial shade, but they will be slower to grow and mature.
Tomatoes are notoriously thirsty, so you’ll need to water them regularly. Try to keep the soil evenly moist. This prevents diseases such as blossom end rot from striking, and also stops the fruit from cracking. Carrots, onions, garlic, chives and asparagus are all good tomato companion plants.
I’m Cathy Isom…