skip to main content

Cornucopia - Australia

Roma Tomatoes

20 years ago

The kids have their own vegie gardens and this is a bowl of romas, just under 2kgs, from their garden. They get this amount every couple of days from 3 or 4 plants. Not as good as the ones you tomato lovers grow but it keeps us going.

{{gwi:2116662}}

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

Patrina_Pepperina
20 years ago
Wow, very nice! That's a great looking bowl of home grown tommies

So really they're already experienced heirloom tomato growers, tomatophiles in the making... hehe

I think it's fantastic to encourage young ones in gardening - I bet you're very proud of their achievements!

PP
Raymondo
20 years ago
Tell the kids that this so-called tomato lover is green with envy.
Related Discussions
Roma Tomatoes w black bottoms
Q
Comments (24)
Of the thousands of tomato varieties available it is impossible to recommend just one. But for fresh eating then you do not want any of the paste types, you want a slicing variety - aka beefsteak type. Still thousands of those. If you are buying your transplants then your choices will be limited to whatever is available locally. As for growing in a container then it all depends on the size of your container. Indeterminates require BIG containers 15 gallons up for best result, determinates can be grown in 7-10 gallons, dwarf types in 5 gallons. So start with determining the size of the container you have to use. Dave
...See More
Need help! Roma tomatoes dropping before ripe?
Q
Comments (7)
Some very nice pictures there, I am growing some Roma too and those pics may give me some help as to when they are ripening, they seem to go from a lighter to a darker green first. Cannot really off any advice on the toms though, at least not expert advice. All I can suggest, on the positive side is the that the plant knows best and decided to drop those fruits, perhaps because it had such a big crop? Too may mouths (tomatoes) to feed? But why would it drop them? Well maybe if they rotted on the plant the whole plant might become diseased? Sacrificed for the greater good? I am just guessing of course, I am a novice grower, just trying to apply some tomato logic. I guess it remains to be seen how the plant will get on. There is picture of my Roma in the linked blossom end rot thread. I am just wondering how long that big one has tell it ripens. I think some of mine fell off last year too, but they were all hit by disease. I would consider ripening ones falling off a success, none of mine got that far before disease set in!! I'm in the UK though and they are outside, so I was never expecting much, I started earlier this year and am hoping things will be better this year as the weather has been better (sunnier) too. All my plants are twice the size as well, it's like a jungle out there!!! Best of luck with the rest of them!! Here is a link that might be useful: my pic in blossom end rot thread
...See More
LOOKING for: Tomato sauce from grape and Roma tomatoes?
Q
Comments (8)
You can make a wonderful pasta sauce with romas and grape or cherry tomatoes. One was is to roast as Ginger says...but I cut the grape or cherry in half and the romas in quarters... Place on a baking sheet in one layer and top with very skinny slices of onion and some grated garlic....and sweet pepper strips if you like. Sprinkle all with Kosher salt and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. I roast at 300 for well more than an hour...things shouldn't brown but become syrupy a bit caramelized. Rough chop and toss with cooked pasta and top with lots of fresh grated parmesan cheese. Or you could do a more traditional sauce....I did a huge pot last week. I sauteed an onion and a sweet green pepper in a couple of tablespoons of EVOO. added 4 or 5 bug cloves of grated fresh garlic....and while that was sauteeing I started blanching and peeling the romas. I cut them in half and tossed them in the pot and cut the little tomatoes in half and just cooked a bit.. Cooked some pasta and put it all into a pasta bowl, topped with fresh grated parm and sopped up the juice with some home made bread. If I had cooked it longer, it would have thickened up....but I just cooked about 30 minutes total including the sautee time of the onions. Oh and lots of fresh cut basil and parsley on top! and invited the neighbors in! Linda C Here is a link that might be useful: Roasted cherry tomatos and pasta
...See More
Roma Tomatoes ?
Q
Comments (4)
It depends on which type of Roma you're growing. Confusingly, Roma is both the name of a variety and the name of a group of similar varieties of paste tomatoes. Some are determinate, others are indeterminate. It is not strictly required to cage or stake any of them, but I feel like you have less disease issues and an easier time harvesting if you support even the determinate Roma varieties in some way. It doesn't have to be cages. It could be stakes (preferably more than one per plant, or it could be using the Florida Weave, for example. If you're growing Roma VF, that one usually gets about 4' tall in my garden and I cage it, but it likely would do as well with just stakes. If you're growing one of the Roma types that is an indeterminate, a cage or Florida Weave would be better, but the world wouldn't end if you let the plants sprawl on the ground, assuming you have space to let them sprawl. It has been a long time since I've let any sprawl because, as Kim noted, they can turn into a big mess of tangled plants. Also, fruit on plants that sprawl on the ground tends to be slightly more prone to being eaten by varmints and to picking up diseases that involve fruit rot because they are closer to the ground. About the only Roma variety I've grown that probably didn't absolutely need to be staked is Martino's Roma, which is a short determinate. It only gets 2 or 3' tall, but it is so heavily loaded with fruit that it tends to lean over and lean over and lean over from the weight of the fruit, so I still tend to stake it or cage it with a short cage when I grow it. That keeps it from leaning over so much that the heavy load of fruit touch the ground.
...See More
happyjacq_bris
20 years ago
Well GH thats at least $4.00 you owe your children and thats just for today. The up side to that is you know they are Australian grown and owned and the money won't be leaving the country!
bikingchris
20 years ago
I've heard that Roma tomatoes are resistant to fruit fly. Have you had any troubles with fruit fly?
goldhills
Original Author
20 years ago
The kids have really gotten into gardening lately. They need to be reminded to water occasionally but otherwise look after them pretty well.

Yeah HJ, they don't forget to remind me to pay them. It's one way they earn pocket money. I think sometimes they overcharge me :)

Chris, for some reason I don't seem to have trouble with fruit fly around here. I usually suggest to the kids to use Romas because they are easy and prolific though my son has Ox-heart planted as well which are just starting to ripen. We usually lose more fruit to caterpillars, probably threw 8 - 10 tomatoes to the chooks when we picked these.
Raymondo
20 years ago
Don't know whether it's too late up your way, but Kmart are selling punnets of mixed heirlooms (from Diggers Seeds) this year. The kids might have fun with them - there's at least one that has a bizarre colour ( light green with dark green stripes when unripe and green and gold stripes when ripe). Just a thought.
adamus
20 years ago
Great stuff. Congratulations to the people concerned.
Our plants are about 1 cm. high at the moment.
We can drean though. I might print that photo and keep it near me. Thanks.

Related Stories

EDIBLE GARDENS Summer Crops: How to Grow Tomatoes

By Marianne Lipanovich

Plant tomato seedlings in spring for one of the best tastes of summer, fresh from your backyard

FARM YOUR YARD If You Have Room for Only One Summer Crop ...

Get an edible that’s long on flavor even if you’re short on space, with a long-time gardener’s favorite picks

FARM YOUR YARD How to Grow Vegetables in Containers

By Annie Thornton

Get glorious vegetables and fruits on your patio with a pro’s guidance — including his personal recipe for potting mix

EDIBLE GARDENS 8 Surefire Vegetables and Herbs for Beginning Gardeners

By Abundant City

Learn the edible plants that are popular and easy to grow in a backyard or container garden

EDIBLE GARDENS Houzz Call: What Did You Grow This Summer?

By Annie Thornton

Let’s celebrate the homegrown fruits and vegetables of the season. Post your pictures and tell us about your harvest

SUMMER FRUITS AND VEGETABLES Summer Crops: How to Grow Beans

By Marianne Lipanovich

Grow your own beans for amazing variety and healthy, convenient produce all summer

HOUZZ TOURS My Houzz: Updated Federal Style in Massachusetts

By Mary Prince Photography

This spacious 18th-century home artfully combines traditional and modern design

Sponsored