Has all this talk about salmonella got you down? Grow your own tomatoes and protect your family from the salmonella infected tomatoes. It is really not difficult to do. You will not need a huge garden spot. In fact, you can grow tomatoes almost anywhere! I have a nice crop growing on my small apartment patio right now!

The current salmonella scare began in April, 2008 when a few cases of tainted tomatoes were thought to cause salmonella. As of late June 34 states are reporting over 650 cases of salmonella poisoning. The Center for Disease Control says the signs and symptoms of salmonella will show up within 72 hours of eating the tainted tomatoes. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and severe abdominal cramps. While the symptoms will usually go away on their own within 4 to 7 days, some cases are severe enough to warrant hospital stays and treatment.

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) warns that three types of tomatoes are the most likely culprits. Red plum, red roma and round red tomatoes. They go on to advise that one way to avoid the salmonella infected tomatoes is to grow your own. Here are a few tips if you would like to try your hand at raising tomatoes.

It is really easy to start growing your own tomatoes. While June and July is a little late to plant seeds, you can still purchase tomato plants at any green house or garden center. Get plants without blooms and plant them in an area where they will get plenty of sunshine. Tomatoes love heat, so planting now will be okay. Plant them up to the first set of leaves and be sure they get plenty of water. I throw in a handful of crushed egg shells to make sure the ground has plenty of calcium. By mid August you will have a pretty good crop of your own home grown tomatoes.

If you live in an apartment or area without garden space, don't despair. You can grow tomatoes in five gallon buckets or hanging baskets on a deck or patio. Be sure to punch a few holes in the bottom of the bucket before adding your soil mix to allow for water drainage. You may want to buy a hybrid variety of tomato for planting on your deck. Hybrids vines will not grow as tall, but will produce plenty of tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes, or salad tomatoes, are best suited for the hanging baskets.

There is nothing quite like a good old home grown tomato! Never had one? Man, oh man. are you going to be glad you read this article!