Growing tomatoes is not only done for their great taste, but tomatoes are believed to benefit the heart among other things. Lycopene, one of nature's most powerful antioxidants, is present in tomatoes, and, especially when tomatoes are cooked, has been found beneficial in preventing prostate cancer. However, other research contradicts this claim.

Tomato extract branded as Lycomato is now also being promoted for treatment of high blood pressure.

The tomato is a perennial, often grown outdoors in temperate climates as an annual, typically reaching to 1–3 m (3 to 10 ft) in height, with a weak, woody stem that often vines over other plants. The leaves are 10–25 cm long, pinnate, with 5–9 leaflets, each leaflet up to 8 cm long, with a serrated margin; both the stem and leaves are densely glandular-hairy.

When growing tomatoes make sure to water them regularly. Growing tomatoes can be accomplished in a green house, container or even indoors.  When growing tomatoes you will need some organic fertilizer and water. The trick to growing tomatoes is not to fuss too much about them because the more you fiddle around with them the slower they seem to grow. It’s best if you just worry about watering them and apart from that leave them alone. Don’t make growing tomatoes more complicated than it has to be. Growing tomatoes is made easy through the practice of organic gardening by enriching the soil.

Tomatoes are often picked unripe (and thus green) and ripened in storage with ethylene. Ethylene is a hydrocarbon gas produced by many fruits that acts as the molecular cue to begin the ripening process. Tomato plants ripened in this way tend to keep longer but have poorer flavor and a mealier, starchier texture than tomatoes ripened on the plant. They may be recognized by their color, which is more pink or orange than the other ripe tomatoes' deep red

Storage - Most tomatoes are picked before fully ripe. They are bred to continue ripening, but the enzyme that ripens tomatoes stops working when it reaches temperatures below 12.5 °C (54.5 °F). Once an unripe tomato drops below that temperature, it will not continue to ripen. Once fully ripe, tomatoes can be stored in the refrigerator but are best kept and eaten at room temperature. Tomatoes stored in the refrigerator tend to lose flavor, but will still be edible; for this reason the "Never Refrigerate" stickers sometimes placed on tomatoes in supermarkets.

Fruit or vegetable? - Botanically, a tomato is the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant: a fruit or, more precisely, a berry. However, the tomato is not as sweet as those foodstuffs usually called fruits and, from a culinary standpoint, it is typically served as part of a salad or main course of a meal, as are vegetables, rather than at dessert, as are fruits.

Tomato records

• The heaviest tomato ever was one of 3.51 kg (7 lb 12 oz), grown by Gordon Graham of Edmond, Oklahoma in 1986. The largest tomato plant grown was  19.8 m (65 ft) length, grown by Nutriculture Ltd (UK) of Mawdesley, Lancashire, UK, in 2000.

• The massive "tomato tree" growing inside the Walt Disney World Resort's experimental greenhouses in Lake Buena Vista, Florida may be the largest single tomato plant in the world. The plant has been recognized as a Guinness World Record Holder, with a harvest of more than 32,000 tomatoes and a total weight of 1,151.84 pounds.
   
• This one-of-a-kind plant yields thousands of tomatoes at one time from a single vine. Yong Huang, Epcot's manager of agricultural science discovered the unique plant in Beijing, China. Huang brought its seeds to Epcot and created the specialized greenhouse for the fruit to grow. The vine grows golf ball-sized tomatoes which are served at Walt Disney World restaurants. The world record-setting tomato tree can be seen by guests along the Living with the Land boat ride at Epcot