How to Identify and Care for an Abraham Lincoln Tomato
The Abraham Lincoln tomato (lycopersicon esculentum) reaches maturity in about 80 days. Though it is best grown in Midwestern climates, it will grow just about anywhere the growing season is not too short. The cultivar is Abraham Lincoln and the plant family is solanaceae. The hardiness zone as well as the AHS heat zone is undefined for this plant. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Identify the Abraham Lincoln tomato by its medium leaves, which are green, red and sometimes burgundy. It produces white and yellow flowers and the fruit is round and firm. The fruit grows in clusters on this particular tomato plant. It can grow as high as six feet. It blooms from early spring to late summer.
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Plant the Abraham Lincoln tomato in a mostly sand to loamy soil mix. The pH should be 5.5 to 7, and it needs to be in full sun–more than six hours of continuous sunlight per day.
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Keep this tomato watered well. The soil should be moist, but not be boggy. Be sure to pick an area that drains well. Water the Abraham Lincoln tomato at least an inch per week. Watering deeply is much better for the plant than watering a little bit each day. If the soil starts to dry out prior to the next week’s watering time, water again, deeply.
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Fertilize with a water-soluble quick release fertilizer made for tomatoes. You can also use an organic fertilizer, such as fish emulsion. Follow the instructions on the package for fertilizing this plant. If you plan on eating the food, you should use an organic fertilizer if at all possible.
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Keep the Abraham Lincoln from contacting disease or harboring pests. This plant is prone to verticillium or fusarium wilt. To help prevent this, do not use fertilizers heavy in nitrogen. Also, keep pests, such as tomato hornworms and spider mites, at bay by rotating the tomato’s location each year and deeply tilling the soil to expose pupae.
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Tips & Warnings
The Abraham Lincoln tomato tolerates heat and humidity, so this is a good tomato to plant in Southern gardens.
The Abraham Lincoln tomato is prone to blossom-end rot. It you notices this, the plant is not getting enough calcium–either the plant does not have the ability to use the calcium in the soil, or else the soil does not have enough calcium. Water deep and only enough to keep the soil moist.
Resources
- Photo Credit http://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/vegetable_seeds_and_plants/vegetable_seeds/tomato_seed_abraham_lincoln/
