Tomatoes are native to South and Central America and were domesticated from small, yellow wild tomatoes. While the leaves and green tomatoes contain small amounts of toxic alkaloids, ripe red tomatoes are safe to eat. Tomatoes thrive in full sun and require regular watering to produce large, flavorful fruits. There are over 7,500 tomato varieties that differ in size, shape, color, and disease resistance. Tomatoes are a very nutritious food, containing antioxidants and vitamins that are beneficial for health.

1. www.PermaTree.org, Herbarium Page 10
Tomato, Tomate
Solanaceae lycopersicum | Familiy: Solanaceae
(Many Solanaceae members contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic, but many cultures eat nightshades, in some cases as staple foods).
img: yago1.com
Water: Lot
Sun: Hot
Challenge: Blossom-end rot and cat-facing
Substratum: Humus-rich, well-drained, pH 6.0 - 6.8
Fertilisation: During pre-planting and beginning of ripen
Temp.: Hot climate
Companion: Carrots, garlic, onion, cabbage, kohlrabi, leeks,
peppers, mint
Non-Companion: Fennel, cucumbers, potatoes
Spacing: Between 9 und 14cm apart
Description:
The Leaves are in fact poisonous, although
the fruit is not. But is that really true? It‘s
all about that quantity that‘s consumed.
Green tomatoes also contain both sola-
nine and tomatine, although the levels
decrease as the tomato matures. Even so,
we happily batter and fry up these unripe
green tomatoes without question. Former
Chez Panisse chef Paul Bertolli even in-
cludes the leaves in his tomato sauce to
add some punch to the flavor. While the
leaves might not have the sweet, ripe tas-
te of a summer beefsteak tomato, they do,
in fact, have a tomato flavor. So, leaves,
stems, and green unripe fruit of the to-
mato plant contain small amounts of the
toxic alkaloid tomatine. They also contain
solanine, a toxic alkaloid found in potato
leaves and other plants in the nightshade
family. Use of tomato leaves in herbal tea
has been responsible for at least one death.
Fruit:
Is a berry and tomatoes, as the seed-bea-
ring ripened ovary of a flower, are fruits.
Native versions were small, like cherry
tomatoes, and most likely yellow rather
than red. A member of the deadly nights-
hade family, tomatoes were erroneously
thought to be poisonous by Europeans
who were suspicious of their bright, shiny
fruit. The fruits develop 3-4 months after
sowing.
Medicine:
Some sources claim that they regarded to-
mato seeds as an aphrodisiac.
Native:
To South and Central America. Probably
the first tomatoes came from what today
is Peru, and wild tomatoes can still be
found in the Andes.
Cultivars:
Its many varieties are now widely grown,
sometimes in greenhouses in cooler cli-
mates. Most cultivars produce red fruit,
but a number of cultivars with yellow,
orange, pink, purple, green, black, or whi-
te fruit are also available. Multicolored
and striped fruit can also be quite strik-
ing. There are around 7,500 tomato varie-
ties grown for various purposes. Tomato
varieties are roughly divided into several
categories, based mostly on shape and
size: Heirloom tomatoes are becoming in-
creasingly popular. Cherry-, Plum-, Heir-
loom, Medium (Normal)- and Beefsteak
Tomatoes.
Companion:
Carrots love tomatoes! Borage is thought
to actually repel the tomato hornworm
moth. Several species of umbellifer are
therefore often grown with tomato plants,
including parsley, queen anne‘s lace, and
occasionally dill. These also attract pre-
datory flies that attack various tomato
pests. Ground cover plants, including
mints, also stabilize moisture loss around
tomato plants and other solaneae, which
come from very humid climates, and th-
erefore may prevent moisture-related
problems like blossom end rot. Finally,
tap-root plants like dandelions break up
dense soil and bring nutrients from down
below a tomato plant‘s reach, possibly be-
nefiting their companion. Tomato plants,
on the other hand, protect asparagus from
asparagus beetles, because they contain
solanum that kills this pest, while aspara-
gus plants (as well as marigolds) contain
a chemical that repels root nematodes
known to attack tomato plants.
Sowing:
Tomato seeds and seedlings need to be
kept moist, but never wet, at all times.
Small seedlings can be misted several
times a day with a spray bottle. The con-
tainers tend to heat up more quickly. This
increased soil temperatures causes water
to evaporate at a fast rate. The containers
also can‘t hold as much water as the soil
surrounding tomatoes planted in the
ground. You‘ll likely need to water these
plants more. To help retain soil moisture,
add a few inches of organic mulch to the
top of your soil. The seedlings need to
be 2-3 cm tall before you plant them in
your garden. When transplanting toma-
to plants, set the plant’s root ball a little
deeper into a hole or trench dug into the
garden than originally grown in its pot.
Spacing in general between 9 und 14cm
apart.
Water:
Tomatoes need a lot of water and feed to
get the best fruit. Water little and often for
the best results. The number 1 rule of wa-
tering tomatoes is to make sure that you
go slow and easy. Never rush watering to-
mato plants use, for example, a drip hose.
your plants should never dry out or live in
sopping wet, swampy conditions. Evenly
moist soil is your goal. If you keep your
soil moist most of the time, you‘ll be pro-
viding the correct amount of hydration.
The fruits from tomato plants watered
once each week were flavorful, and many
Source: web; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato, www.planetnatural.com, www.thekitchn.com, homeguides.sfgate.com,
www.gardeningknowhow.com, www.thompson-morgan.com,

2. www.PermaTree.org, Herbarium Page 11
taste testers preferred the intense flavor of
fruits from tomato plants that weren‘t wa-
tered at all after the fruits reached 1 1/2
inches in diameter, although those fruits
developed thick skins.
Climate:
Tomato plants thrive in full sun.
Soil:
Humus-rich, well-drained soil with a pH
between 6.0 and 6.8. Best when the soil
remains evenly moist, as uneven watering
can cause blossom-end rot and cat-facing
in tomatoes
Fertilisation:
Too much nitrogen at the beginning stage
will cause less fruit development and hen-
ce too much top leaf growth. Ultimately
affect the firmness and even shape of the
fruit in some cases. As the plant develops
and sets more fruit, more nitrogen is re-
quired to keep foliage healthy and fill the
fruit which is forming. Potassium Often
given as a side-dressing later on to increa-
se fruit size and quality. Application will
depend on how much potash is in the soil
in the first place. the potash has to be in
a balance with calcium, magnesium and
sodium for the plant to gain maximum
benefit. First, use a good, balanced ferti-
liser during pre-planting, working it into
the soil just as you would for planting po-
tatoes. Then, don‘t apply any more fertili-
ser until tomatoes begin to ripen. At that
point, I use a little 0-5-5 - no nitrogen -
once only. Gypsum is a great soil conditio-
ner for tomatoes. It contains calcium and
sulphur which keeps your growing medi-
um from packing down.
Cut:
A pruned and staked plant will produce
larger fruit two to three weeks earlier than
a prostrate one. A properly pruned and
supported single-stem tomato plant pre-
sents all of its leaves to the sun. Most of
the sugar produced is directed to the de-
veloping fruit, since the only competition
is a single growing tip. The result is large
fruits that are steadily produced. In gene-
ral, more stems means more but smaller
fruits. As a tomato grows, side shoots, or
suckers, form in the crotches, or axils, bet-
ween the leaves and the main stem. If left
alone, these suckers will grow just like the
main stem, producing flowers and fruit.
The main stem should always be stronger,
because it has to feed the entire plant. To
encourage a strong stem, I trim all suckers
and I don‘t tie plants to their supports un-
til the first flowers appear. In simple prun-
ing, remove the entire sucker at the base.
In Missouri pruning, pinch out the tip
of the sucker. Missouri pruning is neces-
sary when things have gotten out of hand.
When you‘re dealing with large suckers,
it‘s better to pinch off just the tip than to
cut off the whole thing close to the main
stem. If disease hits, it‘s farther away from
the main stem. less of a shock to the plant
than removing a foot or so of side stem.
Harvesting:
To facilitate transportation and storage,
tomatoes are often picked unripe (green)
and ripened in storage with ethylene.
Ethylene is a hydrocarbon gas produced
by many fruits that acts as the molecular
cue to begin the ripening process. Tomat-
oes ripened in this way tend to keep lon-
ger, but have poorer flavor and a mealier,
starchier texture than tomatoes ripened
on the plant.
Sexes:
In the wild, original state, tomatoes re-
quired cross-pollination; they were much
more self-incompatible than domestic
cultivars. As a floral device to reduce sel-
fing, the pistil of wild tomatoes extends
farther out of the flower than today‘s cul-
tivars. The stamens were, and remain, en-
tirely within the closed corolla. While to-
mato flowers are typically wind pollinated,
and occasionally through bees, the lack of
air movement or low insect numbers can
inhibit the natural
pollination pro-
cess. Many plants
are self-fertilizing,
or self-pollinating.
Viruses:
One common to-
mato disease is
tobacco mosaic
virus. Handling ci-
garettes and other
infected tobacco
products can transmit the virus to tomato
plants
Fungi and Pests:
Various forms of mildew and blight are
also common tomato afflictions, which
is why tomato cultivars are often marked
with a combination of letters that refer
to specific disease resistance. The most
common letters are: LB - late blight, V –
verticillium wilt, F – fusarium wilt strain
I, FF – fusarium wilt strain I and II, N –
nematodes, T – tobacco mosaic virus, and
A – alternaria.
Food-facts:
Dense in phytonutrients. They contain
flavonones, flavonols, hydroxycinnamic
acids, carotenoids, glycosides and even
fatty acid derivatives. Better antioxidant
protection has also been shown using
broad measurements of oxidative stress
in different body systems including neu-
rodegenerative diseases. Improves digesti-
on and prevent constipation. They help to
improve the functioning of the digestive
system and the liver, and the prevention
of constipation, especially when mixed
with spinach juice. Prevent kidney and gall
bladder stones. They work as a disinfectant
to protect the body from diarrhea and pre-
vents the appearance of kidney stones and
gall bladder stones in the long term. They
also dramatically reduce the incidence of
lower urinary tract symptoms. Healthy
hair. Improves the appearance and tex-
ture of hair. Vitamin k helps to strengthen
the tufts of hair and increase its luster as
well as the revitalization of growth. Re-
duce blood clot risks. Tomato juice helps to
reduce the risk of blood clots. Numerous
phytonutrients in tomatoes have been
shown to help prevent excessive clumping
of our platelet cells.
Preservation:
It is not recommended to refrigerate as
this can harm the flavor. Tomatoes that
are not yet ripe can be kept in a paper bag
till ripening. Storing stem down can pro-
long shelf life
Source: web; gardeningknowhow.com, www.farmersweekly.co.za, www.npr.org, www.finegardening.com,
homeguides.sfgate.com, book; Taschenlexikon tropischer Nutzpflanzen und ihrer Früchte
img: www.finegardening.com
Tomato Fruit; 100g contains:
Minerals mg
Sodium 3.00
Potassium 280.00
Magnesium 10.00
Calcium 11.00
Manganese 0.114
Iron 00.6
Copper 00.00
Zinc 00.24
Phosphorus 24.00
Selenium 00.00
Vitamins mg
Vitamin A 0.042
Vitamin B1 0.09
Vitamin B2 0.04
Vitamin B3 0.5
Vitamin B5 ?
Vitamin B6 0.08
Folate 0.0
Vitamin E 0.54
Vitamin C 14.0
Vitmain K 0.079