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Tomatoes are the most popular crop among American home gardeners.
番茄是美国家庭园丁最喜欢种植的作物。
Garden writer Jessica Damiano says there are many good reasons to grow your own tomatoes.
园艺作家杰西卡·达米亚诺说，自己种番茄有很多好的理由。
Just the smell of homegrown tomatoes, Damiano says, will remind you of summer.
达米亚诺说，只要闻到自家种的番茄的味道就会让你想起夏天。
A major benefit of growing your own tomatoes is variety.
自己种番茄的一个主要好处是品种多样。
If you visit a garden center, you will find seeds and small starter plants for yellow tomatoes, purple tomatoes, huge tomatoes, and even very small tomatoes.
如果你去参观园艺中心，你会发现黄色番茄、紫色番茄、巨大的番茄，甚至非常小的番茄的种子和幼苗。
There are kinds you simply cannot find at a local food store.
有些品种是你在当地食品店找不到的。
Damiano loves tomatoes.
达米亚诺喜欢番茄。
In fact, she created and hosted The Great Long Island Tomato Challenge while working for a local newspaper in the state of New York.
事实上，她在纽约州的一家当地报社工作时创办并主持了“大长岛番茄挑战赛”。
The gatherings of people who love tomatoes, or "tomatophiles," continued for 13 years.
番茄爱好者的聚会持续了13年。
One tomato that was entered into the challenge weighed more than 2.3 kilos.
参加挑战赛的一个番茄重达2.3公斤以上。
Damiano also got to meet and speak with the competitive tomato growers who raised the winning fruits.
达米亚诺同种植获胜番茄的有竞争力的番茄种植者见面，并与他们交谈。
It did not take long for her to notice some common practices among them.
没过多久，她就注意到了他们的一些常见做法。
Tomatoes are not difficult to grow.
番茄并不难种植。
The most important things are to give the plants plenty of water, well-draining soil, heat and light.
最重要的是给番茄植株充足的水、排水良好的土壤、温度和光。
It is best to grow tomatoes in a place that receives at least six hours of sunlight each day.
最好是在每天至少有6小时日照的地方种植番茄。
Removing weeds will keep pests and diseases away while giving the plants enough nutrients to produce fruit.
清除杂草可以防止病虫害，同时为番茄植株提供足够的营养来结出果实。
Tomatoes grow best in soil with a pH level between 6.0 and 6.8.
番茄在pH值为6.0到6.8之间的土壤中生长得最好。
If the pH reading is lower than 6.0, you can add about 2 cups of dolomitic lime into the soil for each plant.
如果pH值低于6.0，你可以在每株植物的土壤中添加大约2杯白云石灰。
Make sure to mix it deep into the soil -- down to around 30 centimeters.
一定要把它混入土壤深处——大约30厘米深。
If you want to grow really big tomatoes, try following these seven tips from expert growers:
如果你想种非常大的番茄，试着遵循专家种植者给出的以下七个建议：
1.Select tomato seeds with names like Big Zac, Porterhouse, Rhode Island Giant or Bull's Heart.
1.选择带有Big Zac，Porterhouse，Rhode Island Giant或Bull's Heart等名字的番茄种子。
They are all genetically designed to produce large fruit.
它们的基因已被改良，可以结出大番茄。
2.Start seeds early indoors and re-plant them into larger containers several times before moving them outdoors.
2.尽早在室内开始播种，在将它们搬到室外之前，把它们多次移栽到更大的容器中。
Plant them deeply each time, removing leaves from the bottom one-third of plants and burying stems up to the next set of leaves.
每次都要把它们种得很深，把植株底部三分之一处的叶子去掉，把茎埋到下一组叶子处。
This will produce stronger plants.
这将使植株更强壮。
3.Remove new flowers that develop at the top of the plant when older fruits near the bottom begin to grow.
3.当靠近植株底部的番茄开始生长时，去掉植株顶部的新花。
This will force the plant to produce fewer but larger tomatoes.
这将会迫使植株产出更少但更大的番茄。
4.Pay close attention! Observe the plants daily for pests and diseases.
4.请密切关注！每天观察植株是否有病虫害。
React quickly to prevent problems.
迅速做出反应以防止出现问题。
5.Remove the small growths where the plant's stems and branches meet.
5.去掉植株茎和枝交汇处新发的芽。
This will prevent them from taking away nutrients and shading developing fruit under them.
这将会防止它们争抢营养物质，遮盖在它们下面正在生长的果实。
6.Cut back, or prune, the plants to keep only one main branch instead of letting them develop into a shorter, wider shrub.
6.修剪植株，只保留植株的一个主枝，而不是让它们长成更短、更宽的灌木。
7.Finally, water, fertilize and weed!
7.最后，浇水、施肥和除草！
I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Faith Pirlo.
吉尔·罗宾斯、费思·皮尔洛为您共同播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
