Let's talk tomatoes. It's time to plant the most popular fruit in the world. Yup, that's right tomatoes are the most popular fruit, and yes, they are botanically fruit, followed distantly by bananas and then apples. China produces the most worldwide, California produces the most in the states and Ohio runs a close second. In Ohio, tomato juice is the official state beverage.

They are easy to grow, adaptable to most soil and climatic conditions, produce loads of fruit for just a little bit of work and the flavor of a vine ripened tomato is absolutely blissful. Here are a few tips for growing great tomatoes.

Since we are beyond the seed starting stage I'll skip right to planting starts. Choose healthy green plants that aren't overgrown or showing any signs of disease. Here's the great part, you can plant them anywhere as long they get at least 7 hours of sun. They will grow in all kinds of soil, but of course will do best in rich well composted soil. Tomatoes work well in containers also, and you can get a respectable harvest from a tomato in a simple 5 gallon bucket, but be sure to drill drainage holes before filling it with soil. Add a generous handful of homemade compost or the recommended amount of a good organic all purpose fertilizer to the hole when you plant. Nothing too high in nitrogen though or you will get lots of lush foliage and not many tomatoes. Plant the tomato deep, leaving just the top few inches above ground. The entire stem below ground will develop roots, it's all about the roots, and so the bigger they are, the better overall plant growth and productivity will be.

Watering is the next critical issue. Tomatoes prefer to be consistently moist and respond badly when they experience extremes in moisture. Watering deeply and using mulch helps keep soil moisture stable. Once they have started flowering a second application of all purpose fertilizer can be made, then a third application is made once they begin to set fruit. That's all there is to it. Now sit back with a cool glass of Ohio's official state beverage and enjoy the summer. That's the tip from the potting bench this week, see you again next time!