America’s Favorite Tomatoes
(Page 6 of 7)
February/March 2008
By Barbara Pleasant
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Go With A Mix
Most major seed companies offer seeds for many of the varieties named here — they are favorites after all — or you can find them through companies that specialize in tomatoes. For example, Tomato Growers Supply Co., offers about 15 of the 20 varieties we’ve recommended.
If you’re on a tight budget but want to try several varieties, check out the seed collections such as those sold by Renee’s Garden, John Scheeper’s Kitchen Garden Seeds, Cook’s Garden and Park Seeds.
Your best buy is probably the “Rainbow’s End Heirloom Mix” from Renee’s Garden, which includes 20 seeds each of ‘Brandywine,’ ‘Green Zebra’ and ‘Marvel Stripe’ that have been dyed with food coloring so you can tell which is which — a deal at $2.69. For the same price, you can expand into the “Summer Feast” collection that includes color-coded seeds of ‘Black Krim,’ ‘Sweet Persimmon’ and ‘Italian Costoluto’ — a lumpy, pleated Italian tomato that’s great in salads.
The “Essential Tomato Garden” collection from Kitchen Garden Seeds ($14.85) includes three disease-resistant hybrids that mature early (‘Sungold,’ ‘Milano’ and ‘Jelly Bean’). The main season selection is a pretty French hybrid, ‘Carmello,’ with an improved strain of ‘San Marzano’ for cooking. Late-season thrills are provided by ‘Brandywine’ and ‘Persimmon’ — a big, orange heirloom with bold yet fruity flavor. The “Heirloom Tomato Garden” collection ($13.65) also is a great lineup that includes ‘Black Russian,’ ‘Green Zebra,’ ‘Costoluto Genovese,’ plus ‘Brandywine’ and ‘Persimmon.’
15 Tasty Hybrid Varieties
Tomatoes are more frequently weakened by diseases than by insects, but several diseases are easily prevented by growing resistant varieties. The disease-resistant hybrids named below are famous for good flavor and represent a range of forms and colors. The letters indicate disease resistance:
V — Verticillium wilt is caused by a soil-borne fungus that causes plants to wilt and die while they are still green, usually when they begin loading up with fruit.
F — Fusarium wilt fungi enter through roots and cause plants to turn yellow as they slowly wilt to death, often while holding green fruit. Two Fs indicate resistance to two different strains of fusarium.
N — Nematodes are a concern mostly in warm, sandy soils. These microscopic pests cannot attack the roots of resistant varieties.
T — Tobacco mosaic virus is seldom a serious disease in gardens, though sometimes it occurs in serious regional outbreaks.
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