Tomatoes are very well known around the world and widely
grown in open areas, greenhouses, pots, allotments and go back in history all
the way to Aztec times when the word “tomate” were introduced to Spaniards and
to the rest of the world. Mention of
tomatoes brings happy memories of sun-warmed sweet and tangy taste of summer,
with wonderful aroma as you cut into the juicy globes for sandwich, layer it
with basil and mozzarella, or just pick a cherry variety for your salad.
Little known fact: Tomato is actually a fruit, though we treat it as a vegetable, and it belongs to the
nightshade family Solanaceae.
And with the Spring finally here, that means time to plant
your tomatoes inside under the grow-lights or on a sunny south-facing window
sill that will provide them with minimum of 8 hours of direct sunlight. If you
have grow-lights then 12-14 it is even better for the plants. Of course there is a big question of what
kind of tomatoes do you plant. Tomatoes come in many forms, shapes and colors
as well as multitude of flavors. There are hundreds to choose from, and there
are many festivals and fare dedicated to the this wonderful fruit, allowing
people to learn about different flavors and even sample some of these to decide
for themselves what flavor they like best.
So how do you know what to choose to plant?
Determinate vs Indeterminate varieties
Let’s focus on two main items first – Determinate aka Bush-type, vs Indeterminate
– vine type. Why is that important you’d ask? Because it would depend on how long your plant
produces. Do you want a short bush that flowers and produces fruit all at once?
Or do you want to have it spread out production through summer until the frost?
If you’re planning to use your tomatoes for sauce for example, you would need a
bush variety like Roma or plum-type like San Marzano, an Italian heirloom –
excellent choice that’s commonly used in products such as pasta sauces, salsas
and ketchup . Bush tomatoes are also
more commonly grown in the containers on a patio or a deck for those who don’t
have a lot of space.
On another hand, if you want your tomatoes to produce enough
for picking fresh for eating, salads and sandwiches, then vining tomato may be
a better choice. Indeterminate or “vine”
tomato plants will keep growing up up to 8 feet high, and will keep producing
until the frost. It usually requires sturdy supporting cage or a stake to tie
down plant. Plant will produce few
flowers and fruit at first and will continue to produce pending no obstacles
like disease or frost. It can be trimmed and maintained as shorter plant if
needed.
Heirlooms vs Hybrids
There are hundreds of varieties of both bush and vining type
available in the market, and it’s important to know what is best for your
region and your taste buds. Many are “heirlooms”, meaning they’ve been
growing without mutation or human manipulation for many decades. It takes at
least 50 years for a variety to get tag “heirloom”. They tend to be very flavorful and great
tasting, but can be difficult to grow and require more attention from the
grower.
A “Hybrid” tomato plant means someone had it modified or
cross-pollinated with another variety to produce specific type of fruit. Most
of the market varieties are “hybrid” because producers want a shelf-stable,
uniformly round and predictably red fruit. In many hybrids, the original intent was to eliminate issues like cracked green
shoulders, or make it disease resistant to counter Blight or Blossom End Rot in
plants.
Various cultivars
You should also consider what type of tomatoes do you want
to grow, as they come in many cultivars with the most common being:
Beefsteak – Large tomatoes,
often reaching 4” in diameter and most commonly used in sandwiches. They tend
to have thinner skin and shorter shelf-life.
With heirloom beefsteaks such as Brandywine, or hybrid Big Beef one can
grow a wonderful tasting tomato.
Plum/paste/sauce – these are usually grown for low water and
thicker meat to use for sauce or canning purposes. They are mostly oblong or
“pear” shape, and also come in heirloom varieties like San Marzano and 10
Fingers of Napoli, Jersey Devil, or
hybrid Big Mama or plain old fashioned Roma tomato.
Cherry – small and round, often much
sweeter than larger varieties and great for snacking and for kids. Again many
choices are available from hybrid
Sweetie and Sungold with high sugar content, to Black Cherry heirlooms one can
have great selection to grow.
Grape – smaller and oblong
shape variation of a plum tomato but tends to be a bit sweeter. Tends to grow
in large clusters, grape like format. Some of the varieties like Juliet can be
used in both fresh eating and canning and sauces. It is also favorite with kids as they have sweeter than slicer
flavor.
Slicing aka “globe” – usually
used in growing for commercial sales and mostly available in hybrid varieties such as Early Girl and 4th
of July.
Pear – the name speaks for itself, as it
is shaped as pear and can be small like Yellow Pear, or large like San Marzano
and Japanese Trifele. These also tend to
produce large quantities of very sweet tomatoes, and favorite with children and
adults for snacking.
And also many variations of Oxheart shaped that is heavy in
meat and strong flavor, Campari and tiny
Tomberries that can be grown as novelties and for fun with kids as good
container tomato.
All packets of seeds or plants already sold in marketplace
also show how early or late each variety will take to mature from time of
transplanting, and can be early in July, mid-season August and late varieties
September. Gardeners should be aware of the days listed as it will help
understand when to expect tomato harvest and not be disappointed that frost
killed them before tomato have become fully ripe.
The variety name may also be followed by several letters. These letters
indicate if that particular variety is resistant to certain diseases. The
letter V indicates resistance to Verticillium wilt, F resistance to Fusarium
wilt, N to nematodes, and T to Tobacco Mosaic Virus. It is highly recommended
to choose varieties with resistance to diseases, especially verticillium and
fusarium which may be problems in your garden.
Rutgers Recommended Varieties (Peter Nitzsche, 2003)
|
Season
|
Variety
|
Days
to Maturity
|
Vine
Type
|
Disease
Resistance
|
Fruit
Size (oz)
|
1st Early
|
Quick Pick
|
62
|
Determinate
|
V,F,N,T
|
4-6
|
2nd Early
|
Jet Star
|
70
|
Indeterminate
|
V,F
|
6-8
|
Pik-Red
|
70
|
Determinate
|
V,F
|
6-8
|
Mid
|
Floramerica
|
75
|
Semi-determinate
|
V,F
|
6-8
|
Celebrity
|
72
|
Celebrity
|
V,F,N,T
|
6-8
|
Late
|
Supersteak
|
80
|
Indeterminate
|
V,F,N
|
12-16
|
Supersonic
|
80
|
Indeterminate
|
V,F
|
8-12
|
Mountain Pride
|
80
|
Semi-determinate
|
V,F
|
8-12
|
Ramapo
|
85
|
Indeterminate
|
V,F
|
8-12
|
Disease and pests of tomato world
One very important factor for tomato growers is how
resistant one or another variety is to certain diseases, to minimize loss of
the tomatoes during growing season. All tomatoes vary very widely on this
topic, but let’s focus on the actual diseases with resources available with
Rutgers Fact Sheets:
·
{LB} Late Blight –
http://extension.psu.edu/publications/ul215
Late blight is the disease historically
associated with potatoes and the Irish potato famine of the mid-1800's. The
Late blight fungus can also infect tomato plantings. The disease will first
appear as greasy-grayish indefinite patches on older leaves and stems. These
spots enlarge in moist weather and may produce white fuzzy growth on the
underside of infected leaves. The fungus will also attack fruit causing a dark,
greasy colored lesion with a slightly sunken, rough surface on green fruit.
These lesions may enlarge turning the whole fruit brownish-black. Infected
fruit often remain firm. Severe infestations can cause the foliage to brown and
shrivel.
·
Early Blight –
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/fs547/
Early blight can infect tomato foliage
and fruit. On tomato foliage, Early blight first appears as circular irregular
black or brown spots on the older leaves of the plant. As these lesions enlarge
a series of dark concentric rings develop in the center of the spot creating a
distinct target pattern. Over time the tissue surrounding the early blight
lesions can yellow and cause the leaves to drop. Severe infestations of this
disease can cause 100% defoliation of the plant.
And don’t forget the bugs and common pests, such as:
The blossom end of the fruit blackens and becomes
leathery. The problem is caused by a lack of calcium in the fruit due to
variable soil moisture conditions. Prevention involves keeping the soil evenly
moist. Mulches are helpful in this regard. Fruit is perfectly safe to eat.
Sunscald: This appears as a white or yellowish
spot on the part of the fruit facing the sun. To minimize this problem, never
remove mature foliage from the plant.
Catfacing: Misshaped, severely deformed fruit,
more common on the large fruited or early varieties, resulting from incomplete
pollination of the tomato flower due to cold conditions when flowering. To
minimize damage plant tomatoes after weather warms, avoid using large fruited
varieties, and harden tomato transplants by limiting water, not by lowering
temperatures. Catfaced tomatoes are safe to eat.
Fruit cracking: May be expressed as either
concentric cracks around the stem end of the fruit or as radial cracks
radiating from the stem scar. Cracking usually occurs after a heavy rainfall
following dry conditions. Keep soil evenly moist and avoid fluctuating soil
moisture conditions.
All foliage, no fruit: This condition usually
results from too much nitrogen in the soil, heavy rainfalls, or air
temperatures too high (90°F) or too low (55°F) causing flower abortion. Unfortunately, you only have control over the added nitrogen. Avoid using fresh manure or fertilizer with a high nitrogen content (more than three times the level of Phosphorus or Potassium
Gardeners can get more information on growing and diagnosing
their tomatoes on Rutgers web:
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/fs547/
and
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/fs678/
So what will you choose to plant this year?
