Tomatoes are my favorites

By Rennie Phillips

When it comes down to picking my favorite garden vegetable or fruit, tomatoes come in hands down. I really like cucumbers, but if I had to choose between the two, it would be tomatoes and I'm not picky about the color. I like black ones, purple ones, red ones, yellow ones, orange ones and everything in between. I like tomatoes.

I like a good sweet juicy tomato, but it also has to have a good taste. If it doesn't taste good, then why even grow it.

Most tomatoes belong to one of two classes if you will. There are hybrids which are a cross between two different kinds of tomatoes and then there are tomatoes that are a pure strain which in some cases can trace their existence back for a lot of years. Now within each of these groups there are two different growing habits which are called determinates and indeterminates. Determinates only grow so long and they only get so tall. Determinates also put most of their fruit on in a short period of time and then they are through for the season. Indeterminates will grow from planting in the spring till frost in the fall and they will bear fruit that whole time frame. Determinates get up to about four feet tall while indeterminates may get 8 or 10 or 12 foot tall.

Most of the tomatoes I plant will be Stupice, Big Beef, Jet Star and Celebrity. Big Beef and Jet Star are indeterminates so they will produce all summer if fungus or disease or bugs don't kill the vine. Celebrity is a determinate so it will produce a crop of tomatoes in a couple three weeks and then it will be done. All the tomatoes from a Celebrity tomato vine will come together in a short period of time. Stupice, however, is between a determinate and an indeterminate. Stupice only gets about 4 foot tall but it will produce all summer long. These four are old time tomatoes with a good taste. All four of them are red tomatoes that will weigh 10 to 16 ounces, except Stupice. Stupice will produce lots of 1 to 2 inch fruits.

For yellow tomatoes I'll grow BHN 871s, which are an indeterminate and a hybrid. The tomatoes on this plant are 10 to 12 ounces and are a pretty good tasting tomato. Dr. Wyche is a similar tomato, but it tends to have an orange tint to it. It is an indeterminate as well but a bit larger. Dr. Wyche's tomatoes were developed in Missouri to handle the heat and the humidity. They do pretty good. Dad's Sunset tomato is kind of a yellow orange tomato -- about the same size and also an indeterminate.

Kellog's is a big orange tomato that I always plant. It bears from spring to fall with most of the tomatoes being pound size or so. Very few will be under a pound. It seems to handle the heat and the diseases and it has enough foliage to keep the tomatoes from sun burning. The vines get fairly large so they will need a good trellis.

One that we grow every year is Plum Regal. This is an indeterminate Roma style tomato that has very few seeds. Last year we planted probably 45 plants and sold a few but most of the tomatoes we turned into tomato soup and ketchup and salsa. Plum Regal is a great tomato being from 2 to 3 inches long and about 1.5 inches in diameter. I'm guessing but each plant will produce 30 to 40 nice tomatoes.

Kind of a strange tomato that we are going to grow is Lucid Gem. It is a yellow orange red mix tomato that is reported to have an awesome taste. It is smaller with most of the fruit weighing 8 to 10 ounces or so. Now we grow it and see how it does. I got the seed from Bakers Rare Seeds so pull it up on the internet and check it out.

Some that I haven't grown that we are planning on growing this summer are Pineapple, Watermelon beefsteak, German Johnson and Striped German. These are fairly big tomatoes with the average size being a pound or bigger. It will be interesting seeing how they turn out and how they taste. All the books say to rotate your crops and not plant tomatoes back where you had them last year. For some of us we don't have an option so we plant back again and again. If I had the room I'd probably rotate them. Be sure to clean up the garden before you plant again. Also be sure to put some type of weed barrier down. I put paper and then cover the paper with straw. You might have to spray with a fungicide as well.

When you plant your tomatoes, water them in with a mix of water and fertilizer. The fertilizer should have a high middle number, which will promote root growth. Once planted then begin a regular program of adding fertilizer at least every other week or even weekly. You can add fertilizer to water and then water the plants individually. I believe it helps to prune your tomatoes. I try to cut most of the suckers out of my tomatoes. This allows better air circulation and helps with diseases. When tomatoes are putting on fruit, each tomato vine can use from two quarts to three quarts of water daily. From the time you transplant a good healthy plant into the garden you will have about 8 to 10 weeks to wait before you will be picking that first tomato.

Happy gardening.

Just me,

Rennie