GROWING TOMATOES  The following information is from Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, Denver County By Judy Sedbrook, master gardener. If purchasing tomato plants from a nursery or garden center, be sure to get high quality, semi-hardened transplants. Avoid tall, spindly plants. A good transplant should be as wide as it is tall, have a stem that is as thick as a pencil, and dark green foliage. It is preferable to get plants without blossoms or fruit. If blossoms or fruit are present, pinch them off to prevent a delay in vegetative growth and flowering. Planting Location: Chose your garden site carefully. Avoid microclimates that may be too cold at night or too hot during the day. The ideal garden for tomatoes receives full sun most of the day, is protected from the wind, has well-amended soil and is near a convenient water source. Tomatoes need rich, well-drained soil. The soil should be amended with organic matter, compost or a tilled-in cover crop such as rye, wheat, oats, or hairy vetch before planting season. A complete fertilizer that is not too high in nitrogen should also be added prior to planting. Too much nitrogen will produce large plants but few tomatoes. Move your seedlings outdoors for a few hours each afternoon to get them acclimated, or hardened-off, before actually planting them in the garden. When to plant: After the danger of frost is past and temperatures are consistently above 50° F at night and 65°F during the day, transplant your tomatoes into the garden. You can get a head start on the season by planting outdoors earlier and using Wall O'Water or other such season extenders. Plant each tomato deeper than it was growing in its pot, burying it up to within three or four branches from its top. Firm the soil around the plant and water lightly. Planting within a shallow collar made from tin cans or toilet paper rolls will discourage cutworms. After plants are well established, continue to provide additional fertilization every week to 10 days. Discontinue fertilizing after the first part of August because it will induce vine growth at the expense of ripening the fruit. After the soil warms up completely, mulch your plants with commercial plastic or fabric, bark, straw or dried grass clippings. The mulch should be several inches deep and close to the plants. Mulch will help to control weeds, keep soil temperature constant, reduce water loss, and keep the fruit clean. Tomato Terminology: Determinate: Plants that produce one crop all at once. Indeterminate: Plants that produce tomatoes throughout the growing season. V/F/T/N: Initials that indicate a plant is a hybrid that is resistant to the problem represented by the initial. V – Verticillium wilt, F – Fusarium wilt, T – Tobacco mosaic, N – Nematodes. Heirlooms are tomatoes that are handed down from generation to generation and typically do not have the disease resistance that the hybrids have had bred into them. Because heirloom tomatoes have not been bred out of their original form, they often have superior flavor and unique qualities that hybrids lack.  An heirloom tomato is an antique variety that has stayed the same for over 50 years with no cross breeding or hybridizing so the size, flavor, texture and color are identical to the tomatoes grown from that plant more than 50 years ago