It's Tomato Season

From Laura; We all are enjoying our seed catalogs. They are great references, but their seed descriptions are designed to sell seeds.  Here’s great information about tomatoes straight from objective experts to help you decide which varieties to grow this year. PSU extension officer, Steve Bogash has overseen the growing hundreds of varieties of tomatoes under tightly controlled trial conditions including the Landisville Research Farm in PA.

Yes, it’s a catchy title. While we are several months away from tomato growing season, it is tomato catalog season. Now is the time to make those all important variety selections as we anticipate an end to winters’ icy grip. For the last 9 years, we at the Franklin County Cooperative Extension office in Chambersburg have been testing tomato varieties. During that period we’ve grown, examined and tasted over 300 varieties of heirloom, red slicer, yellow slicer, heritage, cherry and grape tomatoes. With so many varieties under our belt along with hundreds of guests coming to our tomato tasting annually, we have developed strong opinions as to which ones belong in your gardens.

Photo/Laura Mathews

BrandyBoy: Brandy Boy is part of a relatively new yet fast growing class of tomatoes known as Heritage types. Tomatoes in this group are hybrids between heirlooms and modern hybrids, so have the disease resistance and high yields that come through modern plant breeding, but have retained the flavor that is more commonly associated with heirloom types. Brandy Boy was #1 in the 2006 & 2008 programs. This is the tomato that should be in everyone’s garden. Exclusive to Burpee Seeds.

Mortgage Lifter (aka. Radiator Charlie): This is a great heirloom tomato that always produces lots of great tasting, large, pink fruit. In past years, this has placed 3rd or 4th, but the weather and conditions of 2008 placed it tied for first in the flavor category. Real tomato flavor in a fruit that produces great slices for sandwiches. Widely available.

Arkansas Traveler: This heirloom tomato produces amazing yields of smaller (4-8 oz.) fruit that our tasters consider to be “real tomato flavor.” It’s been around gardens as long as I can remember due to the great yields, acceptable disease resistance and excellent flavor. Widely available.

Mariannas’ Peace: This variety surprised us a lot in the 2007 trial program (it was a free pack of seeds with our order), however, in 2008 it came in 6th overall. These extremely vigorous, disease resistant plants produced moderate numbers of very large pink fruit. One caution: these plants are huge, so trellis them accordingly. Tomato Growers Supply.

Favorita: This Red Cherry type has scored at the very top for flavor, texture and yield year after year. Like SunGold, we no longer place it into the scoring as it has earned its’ place as a great tomato.  Johnny’s Selected Seeds.

Sun Gold on the vine. Photo/Laura Mathews

Sun Gold: Every time we trial another yellow / orange cherry tomato our tasters go back to their love of Sun Gold. This variety produces huge numbers of incredibly sweet fruit over a very long season. We keep looking for a replacement because Sungold splits badly as the fruit nears maturity or it rains or the soil calcium levels are low. Growers and tasters agree that this variety has problems, but they look great and taste even better. We don’t even bother rating it against others anymore. At the end of our tasting line, we put a big bowl out and watch them disappear. Widely available.

Grandma’s Garden: This big pink tomato is very flavorful and juicy, is very meaty with a tangy real tomato flavor, has nice texture, and is very attractive. Everyone that has tasted this tomato puts it at the top of big pink tomato varieties.

Cabernet: With so many great red grape tomatoes on the market and in our trial program, it takes a lot to stand out. This variety is very sweet with great color and rich, balanced flavor. Territorial Seed Company and Totally Tomatoes.

Super Bush: Over the last 2 years, we’ve been testing tomato varieties that work well in pots. Super Bush not only produces loads of large red slicing tomatoes, but the flavor was loved by our tasting panel. They appreciated its’ “real tomato flavor.” Widely available.

Pineapple: This has long been our program favorite in a large, juicy, brightly colored, yellow/orange/red, sweet fruit. Although the yields aren’t great and the fruit can vary widely in shape and size, these plants belong in every tomato patch. Good for slicing, but great for making tomato juices. Widely available.

Cherry tomatoes. Photo/Laura Mathews

Sweet Seedless: While not the best looking tomato we’ve ever trialed, this nearly seedless tomato is juicy, sweet and good, with a little tomato tang, has a very thin skin, and excellent  texture. Exclusive to Burpee Seeds.

Orange Strawberry: We’re always looking for a yellow tomato that has a lot of flavor to replace the long standard, Carolina Gold. This is the first variety that meets all of our criteria. It has a wonderful full flavor, is juicy and  sweet, with a meaty texture and almost no seeds. Tomato Growers Supply.

Ramapo: My colleagues at Rutgers University have been working hard to resurrect the Jersey Tomato. They’ve been successful in recreating a slightly sweet, medium sized, juicy, slicing tomato with good texture that is nice looking, slices well, and has good overall tomato taste. Their other release Moreton is very similar. Widely available.

Maglia Rosa tomato/ Courtesy Seeds of Change

Ceylon: After so many years of trialing and tasting tomatoes, we needed something really different. Ceylon has big tomato taste in a small package. The fruit come on relatively early in the season and look like miniature heirloom tomatoes. While the fruit are a little large for the cherry / grape tomato category, our tasters placed it 6th  (2008) in a very crowded field.  The single downside was that the fruit were soft with only a 3-5 day shelf-life when picked ripe. Tomato Growers Supply.

Maglia Rosa: This is one of those tomatoes that defies classification. In size, it is a saladette, but elongated, red with pink stripes. Our tasting panel described it as very juicy, very good and the best of all of those I put in front of them. With 72 varieties of tomatoes in the 2009 trial, ‘best of all’ is a pretty good thing. Seeds of Change.

The purpose of our trial program is to get gardeners and commercial growers to look beyond the varieties that they’ve always grown because those are all that they know. With many hundreds (probably more) of tomato varieties on the market and many more sets of taste buds eating tomatoes, we work to introduce growers to varieties that may better meet their needs. If you love Big Beef or another of the standard varieties, that’s OK, but you may find that one of our trial champions becomes your next garden standard. Join us at the Franklin County Cooperative Extension office this August for our annual public open house tomato tasting. It is usually on the 3rd or 4th Wednesday.

Sources of Seeds:

Burpee Seeds: www.burpee.com

Johnny’s Seeds: 800-854-2580 www.johnnyseeds.com

Seeds of Change: 888-762-7333 www.seedsofchange.com

Territorial Seed Company: 800-626-0866 www.territorialseed.com

Tomato Growers Supply: 888-478-7333: www.tomatogrowers.com

Totally Tomatoes: www.totallytomato.com/

Plus, check your local garden center seed racks. More and more garden centers are getting back into vegetable seeds as demand has increased.