Paying the High Price of Tomatoes - Not!

Recently the United States imposed a large tariff on tomatoes imported from Mexico. These are the tomatoes you find on the vegetable aisles...

Recently the United States imposed a large tariff on tomatoes imported from Mexico. These are the tomatoes you find on the vegetable aisles of the major grocery stores, nicely packaged, with those green stems attached.

The tariff is 17% but prices may rise with a lack of competition on the locally produced table tomatoes from Florida and greenhouses.

But whether the tomato comes from Florida, California, Mexico or a local greenhouse, this is a great excuse to discover that the best tomato you can have is from your own yard. Picked off the vine when ripe, is the prime time to eat a tomato.

Last year's Roma tomato is still producing. The old leaves are looking anemic, but lots of fruit.

Tomatoes, like their potato cousins, are new world plants. In fact the English name, is derived from the Nahuatl language of the Aztec, tomatl. The Aztec may have been the first to cultivate the plant.

Ready to grow your own? First, choose a variety. Broadly speaking, there are two types of tomatoes, determinate and indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes are usually bushy and ripen all at once. Indeterminate are more common at your nursery, they have an extended harvest time. If you have a sunny patio or a yard, you have the ingredients to grow tomatoes. A tomato is a fast growing plant, but the amount of space it takes can be controlled, sort of..., here in Southern California tomatoes can survive the winter, continuing to grow in the spring. My Roma tomatoes in the pictures have vines that are over 3 meters in length - Make sure you buy a support for your tomato plant!