Tomatoes - Solanum Lycopersicum originated in western South America and Central America.  There are 100's of varieties and these can be grown outdoors or in glasshouses and greenhouses.  In their native habitat they are perennials but we tend to grow them as annuals.   Technically the tomato is a fruit as it is a berry - we've classed it under vegetables as the majority of uses for it in cooking are as a 'vegetable'.  So apologies if anyone gets snippy about this, we admit it's just to make our life easier! (and hopefully yours too) They are a vine growing above ground.  They are dicots producing branching stems with a bud at the tip that grows.  At some point it gets to the end of it's growing length or you can tip the ends - this then starts growth on the laterals.

How to Grow Tomatoes

Tomatoes grow in a wide range of soils and like a fertiliser (often sold as tomato fertiliser) NPK ration of 5-10-10.   Alternative you can dig into the soil manure and compost.  Make sure you work this in well to a good depth as they can be deep rooting. You start seeds off in small pots.  When replanting make sure the night temperatures are higher than 10 degrees celsius.  In the Southern Hemisphere in NZ plant late October Tip - cover ground with black weed mat or plastic to increase ground temperature. Some plants will need staking.  The aim is to grow one main strong stem so remove laterals to keep the one main stem integrity/  

Culinary Uses for the Tomato

Incredibly versatile fruit/vegetable.  Numerous uses including raw in salads to cooked in stews, soups and sauces.   Avoid the leaves as this plant is from the nightshade family and contains small amounts of solanine - a toxic alkaloid.