Buffman and Gram's Vegetables for Vitality: Tomatoes

As many of you know Allen, Sterling & Lothrop's fourth generation has been getting more and more involved in the business.  You may have met Jenn's (AS&L's seed room manager) daughter Nadia running the front with her grandmother, Shirley, or  you may have had one of Shawn's boys help you with a Christmas tree.

This year Buffman (Shawn's middle son) has joined forces with his grandmother, Shirley, to bring you their thoughts on the healthiest vegetable's you can grow.  They consulted Shirley's vast knowledge of gardening and nutrition and www.whfoods.com

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Tomatoes provide an excellent amount of vitamin C and beta- carotene. Tomatoes have been shown to provide anti-cancer benefits. Prostate cancer is by far the best researched type of cancer in relation to tomato intake. Tomatoes can definitely help lower the risk of prostate cancer in men. Diets containing tomatoes have also been linked to a few studies with reduced risk of obesity.
Start tomato seeds indoors or in a cold frame 5-7 weeks before you plan to put them into your garden.  When transplanting tomato seedlings into the garden be sure all danger of frost has past (tomatoes so best when day time temps are not less than 70F) and that the seedlings have at least four true leaves.  Give tomato plant plenty of sun, well drained soil and room to grow (30" between plants).  Many tomatoes require support, you can use a cage, or stakes or try the basket weave method as demonstrated by UMaine Cooperative Extension:

Choose tomatoes with rich colors. Deep reds are the best choices. They shouldn’t have a puffy appearance. When you buy canned tomatoes it’s a wise decision to buy with labels from the United States, some foreign countries don’t have strict standard on lead content in containers. When cooking, it is better to not use aluminum cookware since the high acid content of the tomatoes may interact with the cookware.