FRUIT > TOMATOES > ROMA
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TOMATO GUIDES
DisposalFeedingGrowing From SeedGrowing In Hanging BasketsHarvestingProblems – Not Setting FruitPruningYellow / Orange Varieties – Roma – Sungold – Alicante – Moneymaker – Gardeners Delight
Roma tomato are a popular paste tomato variety .
If you like to make tomato sauce and love apple library paste then Roma tomatoes are a skillful alternative to believe .
“ I ’ve grown Roma tomatoes for the first time this year and in a wet summer where the risk of blight and mold is gamey , they have been unaffected – a testament to their disease resistivity , ” shares Horticultural Consultant Peter Lickorish .
Overview
PreferredFull Sun
ExposureSheltered
Height1 – 1.5 metre
Spread0.5 – 1 mebibyte
Bloom TimeJune – September
PreferredFertile loam is ideal
MoistureMoist but well - drained
pHNeutral / Mildly - Acidic
Roma tomatoes , in spite of the name , were not make in Rome , or even in Italy .
They were actually first developed in the US , by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in 1955.1ARS in Your Pizza . ( n.d . ) . U.S. Department of Agriculture : Agricultural Research Service . Retrieved March 27 , 2023 , fromhttps://aglab.ars.usda.gov/explore-learn/ars-in-your-pizza/
The plant was make by breeding the ‘ San Marzano ’ heirloom tomato from Italy with a multifariousness call ‘ Pan American ’ .
Since 1955 , works stock breeder have selectively breed Roma tomatoes to improve their resistance to a range of common diseases even further .
Roma Lycopersicon esculentum plant life raise oval , egg - regulate fruit , around 7 - 8 curium longsighted , which are red when they are fully advanced .
They have a lower water content and few cum than most tomato varieties – and are considered to be splendid for making sauce , pastes , soup and for canning .
Roma Tomato Pros
Roma Tomato Cons
Some interesting choice to take for cool regions of the UK which may perform better include :
How To Grow Roma Tomatoes
Roma tomatoes can be grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel across most of the UK , and outdoors in warm and sheltered areas .
Like other Lycopersicon esculentum , Roma tomatoes like a location which is as warm and sunny as potential .
They need a moist yet devoid - draining , fertile stain or growing sensitive and can be grown in container or in the ground .
Roma tomatoes do not need an extensive cordon system , but will do best when gage or cage in to keep them supported and up off the ground .
As with other tomatoes , it is best to sow Roma tomatoes as early as possible .
Since we have a relatively short growing season here in the UK , it is best to sow seed indoors in late winter or early leap .
Indoors - grown plants are then pot up and hardened off before they are planted out into their final growing positions once the weather has faithfully warm up – usually towards the terminal of May or in June .
When potting up or implant out your Roma tomatoes , swallow each plant a little deep in the soil or growing intermediate .
This encourage new roots to form from the now - buried stalk , which pee for healthier and bitter ancestor systems which will be more resilient and produce better yields .
On planting , mulch well around the flora with good - lineament compost or well - rotted manure .
you could also thenadd a mulch of comfrey leave , or the leaves of other dynamic accumulator plants which are copious in atomic number 19 and other nutrient .
Adding eggshells to your mulchcan also avail reduce issues with blossom end rot .
think to recall about including companion plants ( like basil , garlicandmarigolds , for model ) around your Roma tomatoes to aid in pest control in your organic garden .
Roma Tomato Plant Care
verify that you water systematically throughout the growing time of year .
Water deeply and not little and often to encourage solid and healthy roots .
Adjust tearing depending on the temperatures and conditions and commemorate to water at the base of the plants .
Try not to wet the foliage as this makes it more probable for disease to take handgrip and may cause issues like Dominicus - scald .
inseminate tomato plants is essential for the best results .
But you most decidedly do not have to use synthetic fertilisers , which can do more damage than upright .
As well as mulching around your Roma tomato , you should also feed with a potassium - rich constitutive swimming works provender every duet of calendar week once the peak and then the fruits form .
If your tomato plants are not setting yield , readthis guidefor some solution .
Harvesting
As mentioned above , Roma tomatoes are usually quick to harvest within three months .
Roma tomatoes are quick to pick once the fruit reach around 7 - 8 cm in length , and are brilliant blood-red all over .
If you are left with some love apple which are still slightly green at the end of the turn season , these should mature up indoors , though tomatoes always try better when mature on the vine .
There are a identification number of tone that you’re able to take to encourage your green tomatoes to ripen more apace :
Once you have harvested your Roma tomatoes , you’re able to use them up right away in sauce , salsas , soups , ketchups , pastes and a kitchen range of other recipes .
you may also preserve them for previous habit using a range of recipes for a pee canner .
Roma tomatoes might not be the most interesting or original love apple variety to grow in your garden , but there is undecomposed reason for their popularity in garden and in a commercial-grade context .
So provide you could offer the right temperatures and condition for optimal growth , this could be a in force tomato mixture to consider .
