SYNONYMS: Solanum lycopersicum, Lycopersicon esculentum
LATIN NAME: Solanum lycopersicum
COMMON NAMES: Roma Tomato, Plum Tomato, Paste Tomato
Roma tomato is a high‑yield warm‑season annual
vegetable valued heavily for sauce‑making and canning. Compact bushy plants carry medium‑green foliage and produce abundant oval‑shaped meaty fruits with low juice and
seed content. Firm thick flesh delivers rich concentrated flavour well suited for culinary processing as well as fresh table use. This crop adapts nicely to garden rows, raised beds and large‑size container cultivation. Seed‑raised stock provides gardeners with vigorous, productive plants for seasonal edible garden arrangements.
Propagation from seed brings solid practical advantages for Roma tomato production. Seed‑grown specimens develop extensive fibrous root systems that draw nutrients efficiently from fertile garden loam. Early indoor sowing extends the growing cycle and brings earlier fruit set. Natural variation within seed lots creates minor pleasant differences in fruit shape and plant branching pattern across seedling groups.
Seed material comes from fully mature over‑ripe fruits. Squeeze pulp and seed mass from ripe tomatoes, separate small flat seeds from gel‑like fruit tissue and dry seeds completely. Clean dried seed stores reliably under cool dry conditions. Cold stratification is not required for this warm‑season solanaceous crop.
Sow cleaned seeds into nutrient‑rich, freely draining vegetable seed‑starting substrate. Cover seeds with a thin layer of fine growing soil. Bright filtered light supports healthy early‑stage seedling growth. Keep growing medium evenly moist, avoid stagnant water saturation. Under consistent warm temperatures, energetic seedlings emerge steadily.
Young seedlings expand typical tomato foliage and build sturdy upright growth. Careful thinning reduces competition and gives each seedling sufficient root room. After all frost risk passes, hardened‑off seedlings transplant easily into garden beds or deep containers. Full‑sun positions encourage heavy fruit production. These seed‑raised plants set numerous plum‑shaped Roma tomatoes throughout summer. Firm meaty fruits supply consistent harvests for cooking, preserving and fresh eating, bringing rewarding output to home vegetable garden spaces.
The Roma tomato is a paste tomato. A small and plum shaped, bright red fruit, that is thick walled with a meaty flesh with few seeds. It is excellent for paste, sauce, canning or freezing whole. Roma is very prolific tomato plant.
Tomatoes contain lycopene – a powerful antioxidant. Lycopene has been found to help protect the body from many types of cancer, such as breast, colon, prostate cancer, and much more. Tomatoes are also an excellent source of vitamins C and vitamin A.
Growing directions:
Start indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost date. Prefers full sun, rich, moist, well-draining soil. Water well and keep the soil moist but not soggy. Transplant to garden after danger of frost has past. Sow 1 cm/1/2” deep. Space plants 45cm/18” apart.
75 days to maturity.
