Romas tend to boil down faster than a salad tomato and have more flesh and less juice that a regular tomato. They also have more flesh and less liquid which makes them the perfect choice for sauces and canning. Roma tomatoes, also known as plum tomatoes, are oval or plum shaped and usually medium sized.

All tomatoes need plenty of water, soil rich in organic material and need to be staked up off the ground for the best fruit production. Roma tomatoes are no different. Romas do tend to be a little easier to grow than other tomatoes due to the fact than many are fusarium and verticillium wilt resistant.

Planting Roma Tomatoes Determinate tomatoes, like Roma, are often grown in cages, so plants need spacing of 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet between plants and 2 to 2 1/2 feet between rows. Tomatoes need plenty of room between plants for good air circulation and provide access for care and harvest.

Appropriate Tomato Varieties Few varieties of ‘Roma’ tomatoes have been developed for container growing. ‘Little Napoli Compact Roma’ and ‘Window Box Roma’ are among the few readily available dwarf types, and can be grown in a pot as small as 14 inches and without any trellis-type support.

seven to 10 days

Tomatoes ripen faster on the vine when they are growing in optimal climate conditions. Place them indoors next to ethylene-producing fruits for best results. Temperature changes can prevent the production of carotene and lycopene, the substances responsible for the tomatoes’ red color.

During ripening of tomatoes various processes occur simultaneously. The sugar concentration in the tomatoes will increase, but the most apparent one is the change of colour. Tomatoes are green when they start growing and only when they stary ripening is when they start turning red.

about 6-8 weeks

Temperatures Are Too Warm Along with ethylene, temperature dictates when the pigment will begin to change. The optimal temperature for tomatoes to turn red is 68-77°F. A little warmer is okay, but when temperatures exceed 85-90°F, the ripening process grinds to a halt, or at least slows down.

Pour on the water (Too-dry tomatoes drop flowers sooner than well-watered ones.) In areas with sandy, fast-draining soil, like parts of the Southwest, South Florida, and Coastal South, you may need to water plants daily or even twice a day during the hottest days of summer.

The optimum temperature for ripening tomatoes is 70 to 75F. When temperatures exceed 85 to 90 F, the ripening process slows significantly or even stops. At these temperatures, lycopene and carotene, pigments responsible for giving the fruit their typical orange to red appearance cannot be produced.

Storing green tomatoes with other ethylene producers can speed up the ripening process considerably. For just a few tomatoes, place them in a paper bag with a banana and store at room temperature out of direct sunlight.

Early-season tomatoes require 50 to 60 days to reach harvest from transplanting; mid-season tomatoes require 60 to 80 days; late-season tomatoes require 80 or more days. In hot summer-mild winter regions such as USDA zone 10 or warmer, tomatoes can be grown as a fall and winter crop.

How to Plant and Care for Tomatoes

• Tomatoes run on warmth; plant in late spring and early summer except in zone 10, where they are a fall and winter crop.
• For a head start on growing, plant starter plants instead of seeds.
• Devote a prime, sunny spot to growing tomatoes.

about six to eight weeks

One of the fastest-growing vegetables you can grow is cress. To grow your own, sprinkle cress seeds over the surface of a pot or sow in the ground quite close together (for example in a tight-knit row). Place on a kitchen windowsill or outside for the best results.

Sweet alyssum, celosia, cornflower or bachelor button, marigold, cosmos, zinnias, sunflowers, morning glories and nasturtiums. We planted some sunflower seeds outside but they didn’t sprout for two weeks – although we did have a couple of unexpected cold days during that time that may have delayed them.

bamboo

giant bromeliad Puya raimondii

Bamboo or Bambuseae is an evergreen, perennial and a member of the grass family. Fast growing, they take up very little lateral space and yet they can reach fabulous heights extremely quickly, making bamboo a very cost effective choice when you need screening fast!

Removing the top of bamboo will not result in cane regrowth, but rather in new leaves growing from the cut. Therefore, cutting a stand of bamboo down to the ground won’t eradicate it — stalks eventually regrow, but from the base rather than from cut canes.