If you are looking to grow the perfect tomato in your garden this year to make delicious salsa or pasta sauce – then you need to try your hand at growing Amish Paste tomatoes!
Amish Paste tomatoes are a beloved heirloom variety of tomato that are chock full of meaty tomato flavor. Known for their rich, robust taste and versatility, these tomatoes are particularly prized for making sauces and salsas.
The meaty flesh and small seed core make Amish Paste ideal for cooking, as they produce a smooth, thick texture without the excess wateriness found in other varieties. Even better, as an indeterminate type, Amish Paste plants will continue producing fruit all season long, offering a consistent harvest to keep that salsa coming on!
Growing Amish Paste Tomatoes
Amish Paste tomatoes are medium size fruits typically weighing between 8 to 12 ounces. Their shape varies slightly, but they usually form into a plum or long slender shape as they mature. The flavor profile is the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity, making them equally enjoyable fresh or cooked.
To grow Amish Paste tomatoes, starting from seed is the easiest choice, especially since it is a variety that not all major suppliers carry. The good news is that as an heirloom, you can continue to save seeds each year from your tomato crop. Affiliate Seed Mix: Survival Garden Seeds – Amish Paste Tomato Seeds
Begin by sowing seeds indoors about six to eight weeks before your area’s last expected frost date. Use seed-starting trays filled with a high-quality seed-starting mix to ensure good drainage and reduce the risk of young seedlings damping off.
Plant the seeds about ¼ inch deep and water them lightly. Place the trays in a warm location, ideally around 70-75°F, to encourage germination.
Once the seeds sprout, it’s time to move your seedlings to the light. For tomato plants, sunny windows are not the answer. It’s far better to put your plants under grow lights to provide ten to twelve hours of strong, bright light per day.
There is no need here for expensive or fancy grow lights with special light spectrums. Vegetable and flower plants will grow just fine with ordinary LED or even fluorescent shop lights. See our article: The Best Grow Lights To Use To Grow Tomato Seedlings – Grow With Ease, For Less!
Maintaining Seedlings – The Secrets To Growing Amish Paste Tomatoes
As your seedlings grow, it’s important to keep the soil consistently moist but not soggy. Be sure to thin seedlings to give the strongest seedling in each growing cell plenty of space to grow.
About one to two weeks before you plan to transplant the seedlings outdoors, it’s important to harden them off. This process helps the young plants adjust to outdoor conditions and reduces transplant shock. Begin by placing the seedlings in a sheltered outdoor location for a few hours a day, gradually increasing their time outside and exposing them to more sunlight and wind.
Be mindful of extreme weather conditions such as heavy rain or cold temperatures, these can stress the plants during the transition period, damaging them in the process. When the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed, it’s time to transplant your seedlings into the garden!
Planting – The Secrets To Growing Amish Paste Tomatoes
When planting, choose a location with full sun and well-draining, nutrient-rich soil. Adding compost, worm castings and egg shell powder to the planting hole will provide a healthy boost of nutrients. Space the plants about 18 to 24 inches apart to allow for adequate airflow and growth.
Dig a hole deep enough to bury the plant’s stem up to the first set of leaves. This will encourage a strong root system. Add a thick four to six layer of straw or grass clippings around the base to help retain soil moisture and suppress weeds.
As indeterminate tomatoes, Amish Paste plants will continue to grow and produce fruit throughout the season. Because of that, providing support is a must, and it’s best to do it right as you first plant. Use stakes, cages, or trellises to keep the plants upright and prevent the fruit from touching the ground.
As for fertilizing Amish Paste tomato plants, it’s best to give them a slightly diluted liquid fertilizer every two weeks. Simply mix the fertilizer at half strength and apply. Affiliate Product Link: Farmer’s Secret Tomato Booster Fertilizer (32oz) – Super Concentrated
This lower but consistent dose keeps the plant supplied with the energy it needs to grow and produce without overwhelming the plant. Giving too much fertilizer all at once can often trick the plant into only growing bigger, and not producing more blooms.
Harvesting – The Secrets To Growing Amish Paste Tomatoes
Amish Paste tomatoes will ripen to a deep, rich red color. Gently twist or cut the fruit from the vine to avoid damaging the plant. You can also pick as soon as they begin to blush and ripen off the vine to keep the plant from becoming overloaded.
Since these tomatoes produce throughout the growing season, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy their rich flavor in sauces, salsas, or fresh in salads and sandwiches. They really are a multi-purpose tomato!
One of the joys of growing Amish Paste tomatoes is the ability to save seeds for future planting. As an open-pollinated heirloom variety, their seeds will produce plants true to type, ensuring that you can continue growing the same tomato year after year.
To save seeds, select a few of your best, healthiest fruits and allow them to ripen fully on the vine. Properly stored seeds can remain viable for several years.
Here is to growing Amish Paste tomatoes in your garden this year. And to having delicious salsa and sauces for the whole year round!
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