My yearly order from Tomato Growers Supply Co came yesterday. I like to get my seeds started by the first of April so the timing is perfect.
This year I am going with two favorites (Big Beef and Florida Basket) and two varieties I’ve never tried (Applause and Tumbling Tom). As a bonus TGS sent a packet of Giant Belgium. I don’t know anything about that one so it will be a surprise. I will also pick up a grape tom at the local garden center when the weather warms.
From the TGS site here are the specs on this year’s toms:
Big Beef – VFFNTA – 1994 ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS AWARD. One of the finest ever hybrids yet for home gardeners. Impressive yields of extra-large, 10 to 12 oz. smooth tomatoes with real old-time flavor. Its virtues include great disease resistance, early harvests and fruit that stays enormous even at the end of a long season. Indeterminate. 73 days
Florida Basket– Perfect for growing in hanging baskets, this low-growing plant creeps 4 to 6 inches over a container’s edge. Delicious, 1 inch diameter fruit. Resistant to gray leaf spot. Determinate. 70 days
Applause – VFFA -Early maturity, compact plant size and large, beautiful tomatoes are tops on most gardeners’ wish list, and these attributes are just what Applause delivers. Perfectly smooth, large fruit are 8 to 12 ozs. with a fresh, delicious flavor. These plants stay smaller so they fit tighter growing spaces while still providing exceptional yields. Maybe the name of this tomato comes from the appreciation felt for such a great choice in an early variety. Determinate. 66 days
Tumbling Tom – NEW FOR 2009. Perfect for hanging baskets and containers, this plant cascades 18 inches over the container’s edge, bearing lots of bright red 1 to 2-inch cherry tomatoes that are deliciously sweet. Plants grow about 6 inches wide, so you can place several in a 10 or 12-inch pot for a very attractive display. This is a great variety for gardeners with limited space. Determinate. 70 days.
Giant Belgium – Developed in Ohio, this variety is distinctive for its fruit that averages 2 lbs., but has been known to grow to an enormous 5 lbs. Tomatoes are dark pink and solid meat with smooth blossom ends and a delicious sweet flavor. Some folks make wine from these very sweet tomatoes. Indeterminate. 90 days.
Tomato wine? I had heard of it but had never tried it. That might just be a late season experiment.
I like to grow a mix of determinate and indeterminate for several reasons. Indeterminate toms tend to bear over a longer period of time while determinate toms generally start bearing earlier and have their crop in a shorter amt of time which is good for preserving. I tend to favor the older tangy tomato flavor for fresh eating but do like a sweeter tom every so often. Also, we have disease issues in this part of the country which means I am left choosing from hybrid varieties for anything grown in the ground. I gave up on the open pollinated varieties some years back as they tended to die from disease before I could get more than a couple of fruit.
hi, i saw ur website…i have ordered fm this tomato place since 1996….pepper/tomato seeds…really like it,this yeag i want to plant tomatoes in a “upside down” manner in a 5 gal’bucket)to prevent disease0,have foune several websites of gardeners trying this method(with great results)according to their website pics….any comments/suggestions…tks fm wisconsin