America’s Favorite Tomatoes
(Page 2 of 7)
February/March 2008
By Barbara Pleasant
Among early reds, the favorites for both flavor and productivity are Swedish-bred ‘Glacier’ (58 days) and ‘Stupice’ (62 days), from Czechoslovakia. Both are open-pollinated varieties. ‘Glacier’ is often described as determinate or semi-indeterminate, which means it loads up with fruit all at once, then declines. In comparison, indeterminate ‘Stupice’ continues to bloom and produce tomatoes long after the first fruits have ripened.
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A couple of early tomatoes are enough for most gardeners, but in short summer climates you should round out your planting list with some early hybrids. In a 2004 field trial at Colorado State University, a cool spring followed by a hailstorm in early August led to so many problems with heirlooms that early hybrids such as ‘New Girl’ (62 days), a smaller-fruited, more flavorful rendition of ‘Early Girl,’ made the difference between having tomatoes and having none. Data collected by master gardeners in Green Bay, Wis., tell a similar story: Except for ‘Stupice,’ all of the successful tomatoes in their trial garden were fast-maturing hybrids like ‘Crimson Fancy’ (75 days), and ‘Beefy Boy’ (70 days), a naturally stocky producer of sandwich-worthy red beefsteaks.
Four Perfect Pastes
The color parade continues as we venture into tomato varieties used to make sauces, or for drying into tidbits to jazz up pizzas or pasta all year long. Paste varieties have thick flesh with few seeds and little gel, so they cook into sauce quickly. You also can chop them into a chunky salsa. ‘Orange Banana’ (85 days) ranks highest for flavor among orange and gold paste tomatoes at Fedco Seeds in Maine, where dozens of paste tomato varieties are evaluated after they’re stewed with a little garlic and olive oil.
If you want really red tomato sauce, or need resistance to verticillium or fusarium wilts (two common soil-borne fungal diseases), try sturdy, dependable ‘Roma’ (75 days), which Cricket Rakita of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange says is the most reliable paste tomato he’s ever grown. Personally, I like the way ‘Roma’ bears its crop over a three to four week period, making it easier to can big batches of sauce and salsa that smell and taste like summer.
If you’re on a flavor quest, look at Polish heirlooms with pepper-shaped fruits such as ‘Opalka’ (85 days). This variety was discovered by Male and is quickly becoming a favorite among gardeners who have canning and drying on their minds.
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