If you're in search of the perfect tomato for a delicious sandwich, this TikTok will leave your mouth watering — and it might even inspire you to start your own garden.
The scoop
Grace Walk Farm (@grace.walk.farm) recently shared some secrets to growing great 'maters.
The video — set to 1962's jaunty "Green Onions" by Booker T. and The M.G.'s — started with a shot of a deep red, juicy tomato and then a glimpse into the rewarding process of growing food from seed to harvest.
"This is how we grow good tomatoes," the 16-second clip stated. "Keep those vines off the ground! Prune heavily at the bottom. Harvest ripe fruit so it doesn't attract bugs."
@grace.walk.farm #gardentipsandtricks #tomatoesoftiktok #homegrown #gardenharvest #summergarden #selfsufficientliving #growfood #growfoodnotlawns #gardeningisfun #zone7b #ncgardening #familygarden #preparedness #victorygarden #countryliving #backyardgardening #foodforest #permaculturefarm #raisedbedgarden ♬ Green Onions - Booker T & The MGs
In the comments, the creator noted they got the seeds — named "classic beefsteak" — for their tomatoes from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, which is in Missouri. They started their seeds in February and sowed the plants about two feet apart.
How it's helping
The farm also touted sustainable practices for keeping grass and weeds away from the tomatoes.
"We lay down two layers of cardboard and then pile on compost for the garden beds and woodchips for the aisles," the creator wrote in the comments.
Grace Walk Farm is an enterprise, but even individuals can reap the many benefits of gardening, which include saving money on produce, improving mental and physical health, and reducing environmental impact by decreasing the demand for mass-produced, store-bought, and globally shipped produce.
If you grow your own food, you also know what went into it and what didn't, as you can avoid pesticides. A neurotoxic insecticide, for example, was present on 6% of green bean samples taken by the Environmental Working Group for its 2023 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce even though it was banned from use on the vegetables in 2011.
For those who want to start growing tomatoes, there are countless tips available, from using companion plants to cloning.
What everyone's saying
"Haven't seen a tomato like that in a long time," one user said.
Another wrote: "Oh man, the color of that sliced tomato is perfect! That's summer in a slice right there!"
"Wow that's what tomatoes looked like while I was growing up!" someone else stated. "Can't [buy] them like that."
Other comments included "My mouth is watering!" and "I can taste the tomato sandwich."
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