The Coastal Gardener:

The H.J. Heinz Co. uses more tomatoes than any other company in the world — more than 4 billion pounds a year.

Last year, Heinz paid about 4 cents a pound to its network of growers.

Just a few days ago, Newsweek reported that the H.J. Heinz Co. may be able to negotiate a 10% decrease in the four-penny price. If they can do it, this will get Heinz tomato costs down to about 3.6 cents per pound, significantly raising its profit margins. Wow!

Shares of the H.J. Heinz Co. on the NYSE closed at $45.85 Thursday.

Right now I’d say Heinz is a “buy” recommendation — the stock that is, not the tomatoes.

Tomatoes at the supermarket deserve all the negative comments they get; they’re awful. The skins are as tough as a plastic soda bottle. They taste like wet Styrofoam, and wedges in a salad from a store-bought tomato need to be cut with a steak knife.

These tomato impostors line the shelves because commercially grown tomatoes are bred to withstand rough treatment, produce their fruit all at once and are picked way before they ripen. Just compare a store-bought tomato with a home-grown, vine-ripened tomato. You can taste, smell and feel the difference.

What would life be without homegrown tomatoes? A long, sizzling summer devoid of fresh-off-the-vine tomatoes would be pretty bland, and while traditional hybrid favorites satisfy some tastes, heirloom tomatoes seem to be what most home tomato gardeners prefer.

Heirloom means a tomato that has been grown from the seed of a plant that was pollinated the old-fashioned way: via birds, bees and wind. Unlike hybrids, heirlooms produce in a way that is true to type, meaning there is little variation in the fruit from one generation to the next.

There’s no absolute rule, but most experts say that an heirloom variety should date back at least 50 years. Most heirlooms have remained popular because they are prolific producers, resist disease and boast superior flavor.

The origins of these heirlooms are varied: the red brandywine is of Amish descent, dating to the late 1800s; Jaune Flamme is a French descendant; Cherokee Purple, is rumored to have been grown by the Cherokee Indians of North Carolina, stupice has Czechoslovakian roots.

Heirloom tomatoes run the gamut of sizes, shapes, colors and flavors. Green grape and black cherry are bite-sized. Huge Aunt Ruby’s German green, one of my personal favorites, is an all-green tomato with great flavor. Garden peach has peach-type fuzz on the skin and a sweet, citrus-like flavor.

If you’ve been growing tomatoes for a few years, you probably already have a favorite. Nonetheless, it’s always fun to try something new. Early April is a perfect time to choose your tomatoes and get them in the ground.

Choose a sunny spot and prepare the soil. Add a healthy amount of home compost — a good organic, blended soil amendment will suffice — and blend it thoroughly with the soil. Harvest Supreme is a good brand to look for. Add a little granular organic fertilizer into the same mix and blend it together to a depth of about 12 to 15 inches and at least as wide.

Set the tomato into the soil with only about 4 or 5 inches showing. That’s right, bury your tomato, leaves and all, and you will have a healthier, more vigorous and well-rooted plant.

If not immediately, quickly surround the little plant with a large, sturdy tomato cage. Please don’t waste your time or money on the cheap $5 tomato cages that are everywhere.

In 10 weeks, when your little 4-inch tomato is 6-feet tall and laden with big, heavy, plump tomatoes, you will know why. Trust me on this one.

Now, just keep it watered and add another shot of fertilizer in about six weeks.

As the plant grows and tries to escape its cage, occasionally push the tips of the plant back inside.

If you’re growing a medium-size 6-ounce tomato you should expect about 20 to 40 tomatoes per plant, but sometimes many more. That’s a total of about 11 pounds of delicious, flavorful tomatoes. Most families need two or three plants.

Or, you could contact the H. J. Heinz Co. and cash in on your 40 cents, less 10% or so, worth of tomatoes.

Ask Ron

Question: Where do I find out more about the rebates on the new water-saving sprinkler heads?

Bruce

Costa Mesa

Answer: For most citizens in Orange County, including those in Costa Mesa, you can find out more about all the water efficiency landscape rebates, including sprinklers and irrigation timers at www.socalwatersmart.com. You can even download the rebate form from there.

ASK RON your toughest gardening questions, and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail stumpthegardener@ rogersgardens.com, or write to Plant Talk at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.

RON VANDERHOFF is the Nursery Manager at Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar.