As we know a tomato is used an important food ingredient that gives a delightful touch to our food by enhancing its taste. We can grow them in our garden and make them easily available for use. But if you are living in an apartment or small house and space is not available for planting tomatoes then you can also plant them in pots or containers.
If you grow tomatoes in pots it gives you many benefits. it not only fulfills your tomatoes requirement but also beautifies your balcony.
There are many varieties of tomatoes but the Roma tomato is the best type to grow in pots or in your garden because it is a plum tomato and it is firm and slender and used for many purposes like canning and producing tomato paste. They are also called Italian tomatoes or Italian plum tomatoes.
Tomatoes taste very sweet because they use less water to grow. They are maximum of 3 inches long in size and oblong in shape. they have variations in color ranging from deep red to pink and orange.
Roma tomatoes have many characteristics they are very tasty and full of flavor like fresh tomatoes from a garden. Moreover, they do not have too many seeds, making them preferable for planting.
They have a fixed time for ripening. They ripened at one time rather than continue through the season. You can eat them in raw condition but they are at their best when used in cooking by enhancing the taste of food.
Growing Roma Tomatoes:
Roma tomatoes are the best choice for growing in home gardens because they grow densely in a tightly packed manner on a bush and when tended well they can even produce a massive yield.
When you want to grow Roma tomatoes make sure that you have a proper place and a good seed collection. A shaded area is not suitable for them, you have to locate a sunny area for their best growth. You can easily grow them in pots. The duration from germination to maturity of Roma tomatoes is 75-90 days.
The growing pattern of Roma tomatoes is not different from other varieties. Although they are different in size and shape from others their growing needs, processes are similar to other varieties.
Benefits Of Growing Tomatoes In Containers
Growing tomatoes in containers have the following benefits
Portability:
When the weather is cloudy or harsh and conditions are not suitable due changing in sunlight, then you should transfer pots and their plants to a safe place where they can get enough light.
Containers and pots are very helpful to fulfil the desire of people who want to do gardening but they don’t have enough space in their houses for planting. With the help of containers and pots, they can grow plants without a proper garden plot.
Year-Round Growing:
The tomatoes have 365 days growing season and it is very beneficial for indoor growing. Containers can be placed on balconies, windows, and porch making for year-round growing.
Everything Is Under Full Control:
While planting in the container everything is under the control of the gardener. All the conditions such as soil’s type and contents, drainage, and temperature is easily controlled. And this is a great advantage to the gardeners.
Growing Roma Tomatoes In Pots:
For growing Roma tomatoes in pots following material is required.
- Seeds
- Suitable container with a hole at the bottom (for drainage)
- Soil
- Watering cane
- Cage for support (because they are bushy)
- Suitable fertilizer
Propagation of Roma Tomatoes:
They continue growth through seeds or seedlings. Climatic conditions should be suitable for their growth because it had a great impact on growth. You can easily grow tomatoes from seeds If you have left two to three months before your last frost date. If it is one to four weeks left your frost date seedlings are a better choice to grow Roma tomatoes.
Planting Procedure:
While planting the Roma tomatoes in pots, clean them and make them contamination-free. In case of any impurity, the chances of rotting of the plant may be increased. For exceptional growth of Roma tomatoes use the best quality seeds.
In beginning, give them a fresh start by giving an airy and well-drained growing medium with high content of organic matter. Moist the potting mix before filling in pots or containers.
Tomatoes seeds are not very large in size to be planted in very depth. They are small in size. While planting them make sure these are healthy seeds and plant them at proper depth so they can germinate easily.
If you plant them too deep they face difficulty in germination or never germinate. So plant them carefully. So sow them about half-inch deep and cover them lightly with potting mix.
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Care For Roma tomatoes:
After planting seeds care to involve the following things
Container Size:
While planting Roma plants in a container, make sure that the container should be large enough to give proper space to the roots of the plant for growing well. A pot at least 14 inches across is the minimum size to have decent success growing a patio tomato.
Pots that have a size of more than 20 inches help plants to grow well. When we planted them deeply they can easily get their water and nutrients from the soil. And it also plays an important role in gaining them a maximum height.
Location:
Roma plants require proper sunlight for growth. They can’t grow properly in dark or shady Places. So while selecting the location to plant them make sure that they can get at least 8 hours of direct sunlight per day.
If they gain proper sunlight according to their requirement they grow out to be a juicy crops. It is right to say that Sun is the important component that influences their growth and makes them productive and successful to harvest.
Temperature:
There is an optimum range of temperature for Roma plants to grow well. The temperature range for the Roma plant is 12-32 degrees Celsius. You should not start your tomatoes too early because they are highly susceptible to frost.
Soil pH:
Soil should be well-drained for appropriate growth of Roma tomatoes which contain high content of organic matter. Roma tomatoes give maximum yield levels between 6.0-6.5 pH. Although they can also tolerate more acidic conditions. Watering:
Roma plants are heavy drinkers. they need large content of Water for growing well. They grow well in sunny places but they need more care in cold climates especially when grown in a partially shaded area.
Take more care of water in a cold climate. When it starts producing food the requirement for water has increased. Tomatoes will be split due to a lack of water.
Pruning:
Pruning is not required for Roma tomatoes due to their bush variety. They have fixed time to grow and produce food. When they reached a certain limit of height they stopped the growth.
Fertilizer:
As we know fertilizers are an important component for the best growth of any plant. Rima tomatoes also flourish with fertilizers. In this regard apply proper content of manure or compost to Roma tomatoes at regular intervals. Nitrogen fertilizers can affect fruit quality so avoid them.
Fertilizers can also be added once a week in the growing season, or when the plant is going to produce fruit. During planting also add balanced slow-release fertilizer.
Pests and Diseases:
Roma tomatoes are highly resistant to certain diseases and pests. But if their leaves become wet they are easily caught by blossom end rot and fungal diseases.
Disease Control:
As we know Roma tomatoes resist diseases but if they are caught by a disease then you can control this by using neem oil or by companion planting.
Support:
You can use a tomato cage in your pot or container. A Tomato cage is used to establish the plant structure as it grows. Due to this support, they grow in the right direction. The plant should be placed in the center of the cage.
Harvesting:
The color is the best indicator for Roma tomatoes which tells about their ripening. When tomatoes turn to be red there is no doubt that tomato is ready for picking.
If you pluck the fruit before maturity or ripening then it does not give you a good taste. So always pluck the fruit when it gains maturity then it gives you a more delicious and flavorful taste. They have a fixed time of ripening so all tomatoes ripened at the same time. So you can quickly harvest them when they turned red.
Types Of Tomatoes Grow Best In Pots:
There are six amazing types of Roma tomatoes that you will definitely love to plant in your home.
Plum Regal:
Plum Regal is a very good type of Roma tomato. They are meaty, flavorful, and dark red Roma tomatoes with good immunity towards early and late blight diseases. They’re easy to grow and require high fertile soil rich in phosphorus and moderate in nitrogen content.
Granado:
Granado is a variety of Roma tomatoes. It has bright red color and oval shape. It is highly resistant to pests and show best growth in fertile soil and moderately cool temperatures.
Sunrise Sauce:
Sunrise Sauce variety of Roma tomatoes is used to make different sauces and pastes due to its sweet taste sweet. They are easy to grow as other varieties of Roma tomatoes.
Heinz:
Heinz is a superior Roma tomato variety that nurtures large, plumy, flavorful, and nutrition-filled tomatoes. It is also rich in lycopene, an effective antioxidant that nourishes the body with several health benefits.
Kindly ensure to grow them in organic-rich and well-drained soil accompanied by watering on a regular basis.
Martino’s Roma Tomato:
Martino’s tomatoes are delicious, pear-shaped, and slightly dark red tomatoes with good yield and early blight disease resistance. Its growing requirements are similar to other varieties of Roma tomatoes.
San Marzano Tomato:
San Marzano is widely used in seasoning, sauce preparation, and exotic salad toppings. They’re bright red long fruits with rich taste and thrive well in fertile, well-drained, and organic soil
Roma Tomatoes Are Good For?
Roma tomatoes have high nutrition value and are a great source of potassium and vitamin C. they are very beneficial. Roma tomatoes have several beneficial forms of nutrients in the vitamin A family, including lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene.
These nutrients play an important role to improve vision, and immunity and lower risk of several diseases like cancer, etc.
Uses Of Roma Tomatoes:
This tomato is used to make different sauces which have a very delicious taste. For an even more intense flavor, try roasting your Roma in the oven and using it to create a tomato pesto or bruschetta topping that has a bit of a kick.
As mentioned above this type of tomato is easy to grow and cultivate and has very delicious taste so it is perfect to grow in your garden.
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