The tomato seedlings have sprouted!

I was discussing seed starting with some students and was asked what tomato varieties I planned to grow this year.

I love fresh tomatoes, and also preserve them by drying and by making homegrown salsa, tomato and chili sauce. My husband and daughter can’t eat fresh tomatoes, but luckily I have neighbors who help with that! I usually grow six to twelve plants each year, one or two of each variety, some varieties selected for eating and some for preserving.

This year, I’ve started a few of each of these varieties:

Early Girl – I always grow one or two of these. The fruits are smallish, but early to mature and disease resistant. I can’t wait to start picking the Early Girls around the first of July!

Mr. Stripey – This heirloom variety wins the neighborhood taste test every year. Mr. Stripey has a mild, low-acid flavor and  medium sized, bicolor fruits with yellow flesh and a pink center.

Sun Gold – A prolific cherry tomato that ripens to a golden orange, with a very sweet flavor. The fruit matures quickly and produces non-stop ’till frost.

True Black Brandywine – I got a free packet of these seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. A deeply-colored heirloom variety that I’m looking forward to trying.

Pantano Romanesco – Also from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. An Italian heirloom variety with large, deep red fruits, “very rich, flavorful and juicy”.

I’m getting sample plants of these varieties to test this year, from C. Raker & Sons:

Tomaccio is a very vigorously growing, early fruiting cherry tomato “bred to dry naturally into a natural, portable snack”. Sounds interesting!

Black Krim has “a rich, dark mahogany fruit with a distinctive, complex flavor”.

Heirloom vs. Hybrid – what’s the differemce?

Several of my choices each year are heirloom varieties. Heirlooms are open-pollinated cultivars that have been saved for generations, maintained and handed down. Heirlooms are often not as productive as hybrids, but they typically taste better, and you can save their seeds from one season to the next.

Hybrids, on the other hand, are tomatoes which have been bred for specific reasons. For example, they often have disease-resistance that heirlooms lack. In fact hybrid tomato varieties have many advantages compared to open-pollinated varieties. Hybrids usually produce higher yields, they generally mature earlier and more uniformly, and many hybrids have better fruit quality. But some would say they lack the great flavor found in some of the heirloom varieties.

It’s up to you which type you choose to grow. I like to plant some of each. That way, I can continue to discover varieties with the best flavor, but I also have some disease resistant types, just in case. Last year was a bad year for late blight and other tomato diseases, and my heirloom varieties were wiped out half way through the season!

Here are some tips that might help to avoid disease in the tomato patch:

• Plant in a location with plenty of sun, good air movement, and rich, loose soil.
• Bury tomato plants deeper than they come in the pot, all the way up to a few top leaves. Tomatoes are able to develop roots all along their stems, so this makes a stronger plant.
• Remove all weeds from around the plants, especially tomato seedlings that may be volunteers from last year’s dropped fruit.
• Encourage light and air movement by open spacing and by staking plants.
• Mulch after the ground has had a chance to warm up. Mulching conserves water and prevents the soil and soil born diseases from splashing up on the plants.
• Once the tomato plants are about 3′ tall, remove the leaves from the bottom foot or so of stem. These are usually the first leaves to develop fungus problems. They get the least amount of sun and soil borne pathogens can be unintentionally splashed up onto them.
• Water deeply and regularly while the plants are developing. Irregular watering stresses the plants, and also leads to blossom end rot and cracking.
• Avoid overhead watering or handling the plants when they are wet, since both practices can help transmit any diseases in the area.

Good luck with your tomatoes this year, and Happy Gardening!