By Betsy Finklea
The Dillon County Clemson Extension Service recently hosted a Growing Health class on tomatoes.
Guests received a number of free items including four tomatoes, growing bags, soil, a knee pad, a measuring cup, a portion plate, a tomato keeper, and more along with valuable information gained from the class by Carmen Ketron and Justin Foxworth. At the end, everyone got to try a tomato dish prepared by Foxworth.
Carmen Ketron kicked things off with a tutorial on how to grow tomatoes in containers. She suggested using potting soil because it stays fluffy and holds water better. She said if one plans to grow their tomatoes in the ground, they should get a soil test first, which is available through Clemson Extension.
Tomatoes require 6-8 hours of sunlight. The perfect place would be a location that gets bright sun in the morning and afternoon shade and that is near a source of water.
Ketron said to water the tomatoes once to twice a day. She said the consistency of the soil should be that of a wrung-out sponge. She suggests watering deeply and regularly.
There are two types of tomatoes—determinate, which are tomatoes that grow to a certain size and are usually consistent and disease resistant and indeterminate, which grow all over the place and continue to grow and are mainly heirloom and old-type varieties.
Now is the time to go ahead and plant. In July and August, the tomatoes stop flowering and bearing fruit.
There are many delicious types of tomatoes that are easier to grow such as cherry, grape, and beef steak. Good Friday is a great time to get these tomatoes in the ground. Granular or organic soil does not work as well in a container as sterile soil.
Use the blue synthetic fertilizer that is water soluble every 14 days. She also talked about some of the pests and diseases that can affect your tomatoes.
Ketron urged everyone to compete in the Dillon County Tomato Contest. See details in the flyer at the end of this story.
After many informative tomato growing tips from Ketron, Justin Foxworth conducted the remainder of the program. He said gardening was a great way to get in some physical activity. Some of the activity one might do in the garden includes using your upper body while sitting or standing, pruning, planting seeds, mixing soil, hand watering, digging, raking, weeding, etc. He said to check with your healthcare team before starting any workout regimen or changing your diet. He suggested the Choose My Plate app to help one set up a balanced meal. A plate should included fruits, vegetables, protein, grains, and dairy. Men should have 2 to 4 cups of vegetables per day and women should have 2.5 to 3 cups of vegetables per day. An example of tomato nutrition is that one My Plate cup equals one cup of chopped or sliced, fresh, canned, or cooked tomato OR 1 large tomato OR 2 small tomatoes. Whole tomatoes should be stored at room temperature not in the refrigerator.
Foxworth urged the attendees to pay attention to nutrition labels and not to get tricked. He said to pay attention to serving sizes, calories, the amount of sugar in a product, etc.
After Foxworth’s remarks, everyone had the opportunity to sample some tomato bruschetta that he prepared and to get their tomato plants so they can start planting.
There will be future programs that will be announced as part of the Growing Health series.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Betsy Finklea/The Dillon County News, LLC
