If you have been lucky enough to taste a tomato fresh from the vine you will agree with the lyrics of Guy Clark, “There’s only two things money can’t buy. That’s true love and homegrown tomatoes”. Tomatoes not only taste wonderful, they provide many vitamins and nutrients as well, such as

Vitamin C (essential for a healthy immune system, keeps gums healthy, has antioxidant properties, and is partially responsible for producing collagen found in muscle and bone).

Vitamin A ( allows your eyes to better adjust to dramatic changes in light, wonderful antioxidant, keeps all mucous membranes well hydrated).

Lycopene-Tomatoes are the richest source of lycopene in the US diet (shown to be beneficial in reducing the risk of prostate cancer, ongoing research suggests that lycopene may be heart protective and may aid in blood pressure and bone health).

Studies have shown that the more tomatoes people ate, the lower their risks of many different kinds of cancer. Your tomato garden will produce much more succulent tomatoes than those available at your local grocer. This is largely due to the fact that the juiciest varieties cannot be shipped without damaging the fruit.

Fruit? Botanically speaking, tomatoes are a fruit. A fruit is the mature reproductive body, or ovary, of a plant (a bloom that develops into a fruit and contains seeds). A vegetable is the edible part of a plant such as a root, stem or leaf. Therefore the tomato is technically a fruit. But in 1893, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes are a vegetable, not a fruit.

Tomatoes have a history of misinterpretation. They are perennials, but they are cultivated annually due to the fact that they cannot withstand fall frosts. They are members of the nightshade family with roots in South America. Thought to be poisonous by early pioneers, they served ornamental purposes only. Luckily Thomas Jefferson discovered the delicious possibilities, and now every person in the U.S. enjoys approximately 90 pounds of tomatoes or tomato products every year.

Since limited beginnings, tomatoes have exploded into the most popular garden inhabitant in the U.S. They are easy to grow, excellent source of vitamins and delicious, tomatoes are a splendid addition to any garden.

With roughly 40 years of tomato gardening under his belt, Michael McAfee composes articles about Homegrown Tomatoes in your very own Tomato Garden. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service