Thursday, September 25, 2014

Roma Tomatoes (Lynseed Organics)

Today's post, Part Two, from my previous post on growing your own veggies using organic seeds from Lynseed Organics. In my previous post, I have successfully grown and harvest Arugula Rocket, the seeds courtesy from Lynseed Organics. If you have missed reading the post, you can refer to it here.

As mentioned in my previous post, Lynseed Organics is based in the sunny island of Singapore and they offer one of the largest seed collection online in Asia, with deliveries to Singapore, Malaysia and other parts of the world. They carry a variety of specially selected seeds that thrive in our warm tropical climate. Their seeds are 100% GMO-Free, 100% Non-Hybrid, Open Pollinated, Quality Seeds, Heirloom Vegetable Seeds, so you can be assured of good quality reliable seeds.
They have a wide range of seeds for herbs and vegetables that are suitable for growing in containers and pots, and for home gardeners like myself with limited ground gardening space, this is really fantastic! 


Let's grow some Roma Tomatoes!!

Lynseed Organic's Roma Tomato seeds


I sowed three Roma Tomatoes seeds back in June, and all three germinated. One of the seedlings died, and two continue to grow well, though at a slow rate. I transferred the young seedlings to individual pots when they are about 8" in height. Both seems to be growing at the same rate and looks healthy and sturdy. However one of the plants which I have placed at my backyard garden have just recently wilted. So I am left with one plant. Prepare a stake or two in the pot when transferring the seedlings, as they will need to be supported by stakes as they grow. This mature plant is about 38" in height.


The small yellow flowers started to appear in early September. At the moment, there are three tomato fruit growing with lots of new flowers, and I am expecting more fruits in the next week or so. 


The first tomato, so naturally I'm really excited.

The plant starts to bear fruit after almost four months from date of sowing. Maybe a little slow, could be because of our hot weather as when the temperature gets too high, it causes stress to the plants and thus affect their growth and fruit developement. The day when I spotted some tiny flowers starting to show, I was all smiles, as I was really waiting for that flowers!

There's an interesting article on how hot weather may affect Tomato Plants, here.

I've removed some of the suckers as the plant grows, so that the the main stems would get more nutrients, and would hopefully yield bigger fruits. And on top of using fertilizer for tomatoes, I have made my own powdered egg shell, which I've read from various gardening websites, that tomato plants needs calcium for growth development, and powdered egg shell is one of the recommended method. I do a lot of baking and cooking, so I collected those egg shells, wash them clean, dry them in the oven at 150F for 1 hour, cool them, and process them in the dry blender till they are powdery. I mixed about 2 tablespoons of the powdered egg shells into the soil. No idea whether it works, as this is the first time I'm using it!


I am feeling excited and looking forward to the harvest of plum red tomatoes! Keeping my fingers crossed that they will grow well right up to harvest time.

Roma Tomatoes are also known as Italian Plum Tomatoes, favoured for making sauces, ketchup and for canning, because of their meaty flesh with not much juice and very few seeds. Roma Tomatoes are oblong shaped, about 3" long, and while they can be eaten raw, they are at their best when cooked. The fruit is ready for picking when they have turned red from bottom to top.

I remember a couple of years ago, when Roma Tomatoes used to be really, really expensive. One kg of Roma Tomatoes costs up to RM35. I went to the supermarket with the intention to buy some Roma Tomatoes to make some pasta sauce, and I was totally shocked at how expensive they are! Ever since then, I have been on the lookout for Roma Tomato Seeds. Though the prices for Roma Tomatoes have gone down since then, it is still a little too expensive for homemade pasta sauce. 
Now that I'm growing my own, one plant is not enough. I have already sowed a few more seeds and am waiting for the little sprouts to show..


Want to grow your own Roma Tomatoes? To get the seeds, you may order online from Lynseed Organics. Good news is, Lynseed Organics has kindly offered 10% off to the readers of My Little Potted Garden. Simply enter the coupon code MPG10 at checkout to receive a 10% off across all orders. Please do stop by their online website to view their organic seeds, or their FB page here. Start your own vegetable and herb garden, no matter how small your gardening space is, you will be rewarded with the satisfaction of harvesting your own homegrown veggies from the garden pot to the kitchen pot, and be assured of the quality of veggies that you are feeding your family. 

Next post coming up : Black Beauty Zucchini (Lynseed Organics)

Though the seeds have been sponsored by Lynseed Organics, the reviews are entirely my own.




Happy Gardening !

3 comments:

  1. Wow! It is amazing to see roma tomatoes growing in your garden. Once I have the space/time again, I will definitely consider getting these seeds. Thank you again for introducing this brand :-D Happy growing edibles!!

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  2. Joyce, I love roma tomatoes! Yes, they are costly. I remember weighing them at Tesco and then putting them back hah...hah.... I noted that there are local ones at Aeon and they are quite OK. But there's nothing like growing your own!

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  3. I'm so excited for you Joyce and this series is just wonderful!!! I'm so glad you are on top of the bugs and making sure they don't ruin your plants. There are a few natural ways to keep the bugs away that work but the best way is to have really healthy plants which it looks like you do in this one!!!

    I saw your zucchini post too. They sure do look like flowers. If you can tell the difference between the ones that will fruit and those that won't, you could take the fruitless ones off to allow more strenght for the plant. Aslo, save some of those egg shells and sprinkle them around the base of the zucchini plants. They will keep the squash vine borer from attacking the plants. They look like catapillars and will wreak havoc on any squash plants!!!

    Have FUN, Joyce! I'm so happy you found a seed company you are happy with:)

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