Tomato Selection Tomato varieties are as vast and many as there are stars in the sky. Your nursery should sell those plants which perform best in your area. Be sure to select the dark green plants which are shorter with the thickest stems, with no holes in the leaves. Stay away from plants that are tall and thin. Tomato plants come in a vast array of sizes, shapes and colors. Selecting the best plants to grow is vital to a healthy tomato garden.
Determinate (bush) vs. Indeterminate (vine) Determinate tomato plants are short and bushy. They are bred for their small size, and to ripen the majority or their fruit all at once. Most determinates do not need caging or staking, but some plants called vigorous determinates, could possibly need help keeping themselves off the soil. Dwarfs, however, do not need support and are idea for growing in containers. Miniatures are tiny plants with short stems and marble-size fruits that are usually grown for decoration rather than for consumption. In contrast, indeterminate tomatoes continue to grow until they are killed by frost. They do require support, and will produce earlier and greater fruit yields than determinates. Some say the taste better too. As long as the conditions are favorable, indeterminate plants will remain productive.
Resistance Tomatoes are susceptible to numerous diseases. Some of which are: botytis, rot, bacterial spot, wilt, canker, mosaic, fusarium wilt, tobacco mosaic , septoria leaf spot, curly top, and blight. Selection of resistant plants is important due to the fact that many of these diseases are unable to be treated. Where humidity and excessively warm temperatures exist, this is especially true. These conditions are ideal for the majority of tomato plant disease.
Disease resistance is noted by the following abbreviations: As, alternaria stem canker; A, alternaria (early) blight; L, gray leaf spot; T, tobacco mosaic virus; V, verticillium wilt; N, nematodes; F, fusarium wilt, race 1; F2, fusarium wilt race 2.
Below are some of the tomato options and their respective resistance:
Beefsteak- Indeterminate, red, meaty and ribbed one pound fruits.
Better Boy- (VFNAs) red hybrid with large yields of 12 ounce fruit, nice leaf cover.
Big Beef- Indeterminate; hybrid red beef-steak with good-flavored, meaty 10-ounce fruits; exceptional disease resistance; All-America Selections Winner; (VFF2AsLNT)
Brandywine- Widely perceived as the best tasting tomato available; no resistance; pink heirloom with 10 ounce fruit.
Caro Rich- Determinate: orange with high vitamin A content, low-acid, 5-ounce fruits; thrives in cooler climates.
Celebrity- Red hybrid with large production of seven ounce fruit, AAS winner, exceptional disease resistance; (VFF2AsNLT).
Early Girl- Indeterminate; red hybrid with high yields of rich-flavored 4-ounce fruits; early fruit production; garden favorite; (V).
Jetstar- Must be staked or pruned, yields large production of red eight ounce fruit; lower in acid.
Marglobe- (F); cracks easily, produces sweet 7 ounce red fruit.
Rutgers- (F); red hybrid with enormous yield of 9 ounce mildly flavored fruit. - 30241
Determinate (bush) vs. Indeterminate (vine) Determinate tomato plants are short and bushy. They are bred for their small size, and to ripen the majority or their fruit all at once. Most determinates do not need caging or staking, but some plants called vigorous determinates, could possibly need help keeping themselves off the soil. Dwarfs, however, do not need support and are idea for growing in containers. Miniatures are tiny plants with short stems and marble-size fruits that are usually grown for decoration rather than for consumption. In contrast, indeterminate tomatoes continue to grow until they are killed by frost. They do require support, and will produce earlier and greater fruit yields than determinates. Some say the taste better too. As long as the conditions are favorable, indeterminate plants will remain productive.
Resistance Tomatoes are susceptible to numerous diseases. Some of which are: botytis, rot, bacterial spot, wilt, canker, mosaic, fusarium wilt, tobacco mosaic , septoria leaf spot, curly top, and blight. Selection of resistant plants is important due to the fact that many of these diseases are unable to be treated. Where humidity and excessively warm temperatures exist, this is especially true. These conditions are ideal for the majority of tomato plant disease.
Disease resistance is noted by the following abbreviations: As, alternaria stem canker; A, alternaria (early) blight; L, gray leaf spot; T, tobacco mosaic virus; V, verticillium wilt; N, nematodes; F, fusarium wilt, race 1; F2, fusarium wilt race 2.
Below are some of the tomato options and their respective resistance:
Beefsteak- Indeterminate, red, meaty and ribbed one pound fruits.
Better Boy- (VFNAs) red hybrid with large yields of 12 ounce fruit, nice leaf cover.
Big Beef- Indeterminate; hybrid red beef-steak with good-flavored, meaty 10-ounce fruits; exceptional disease resistance; All-America Selections Winner; (VFF2AsLNT)
Brandywine- Widely perceived as the best tasting tomato available; no resistance; pink heirloom with 10 ounce fruit.
Caro Rich- Determinate: orange with high vitamin A content, low-acid, 5-ounce fruits; thrives in cooler climates.
Celebrity- Red hybrid with large production of seven ounce fruit, AAS winner, exceptional disease resistance; (VFF2AsNLT).
Early Girl- Indeterminate; red hybrid with high yields of rich-flavored 4-ounce fruits; early fruit production; garden favorite; (V).
Jetstar- Must be staked or pruned, yields large production of red eight ounce fruit; lower in acid.
Marglobe- (F); cracks easily, produces sweet 7 ounce red fruit.
Rutgers- (F); red hybrid with enormous yield of 9 ounce mildly flavored fruit. - 30241
About the Author:
Michael McAfee has almost forty years of gardening experience, and has written a very practicle guide to growing tomatoes. For a short time you can get a free copy by visiting Your Tomato Garden.
