Homegrown Tomatoes

Posts Tagged ‘Early Girl’

Hybrid tomatoes sometimes get a bad rap.  While I will agree that most heirloom tomatoes have a better overall taste, let’s face it – any homegrown tomato will taste better than one from the grocery store!

So why are hybrid tomatoes looked down upon at times?  Are they truly worth growing?  And what makes a hybrid different from an open-pollinated tomato?

What Are Hybrid Tomatoes?

As you probably know, a hybrid is a cross.   The hybrid tomatoes are simply crosses between two different varieties to create a third.

So why make these crosses?  Here’s one reason — a particular tomato variety may have superior disease resistance, but the tomatoes produced aren’t very tasty.  Since disease resistance can be crucial for some growers, a cross is made to a tomato with great taste.  The resulting cross will include better disease resistance combined with better tasting tomatoes.

Another reason for a cross might be to create a tomato specifically for a very warm or very cool climate.

Here’s something important to note; if you plan to save seeds from your crop, don’t bother with a hybrid.  This is because the seeds can resemble the “grandparents” more than the parent plant — in other words, they might be great or they might be tasteless.  The magic only happens when the two varieties are combined.

(On the other hand, an open-pollinated tomato is a stable cross over many generations and reproduces itself.)

Hybrids and Taste

I’ll be the first to admit that most hybrids aren’t as sweet as most heirlooms.  But if all you’ve ever had are the plastic-tasting tomatoes from the grocery store, a homegrown hybrid tomato will taste like heaven!

A lot of hybrids are bred for disease resistance or for being early or something like that.  Not many hybrids are bred for taste alone, but they are out there!  I have the tomato Glory on my list of tomatoes to try this summer, when I grow most of my hybrids.

Why Grow Hybrids?

I live in South Florida, and our summers are brutal here — strong sunlight, very hot and very humid.  The combination isn’t great for setting tomato fruits, but is just right for bacterial and fungal diseases.  When I grow tomatoes in the summer here, I need the extra properties of the hybrids to keep me in tomatoes!

But if you live in a cool, short-summer climate, you’ll likely be wanting a hybrid that is bred for a cooler climate.  An early-season tomato variety bred for cooler weather, like Early Girl.  Most heirlooms are later-season plants, and won’t grow fast enough in a short-summer climate.

A good percentage of determinate tomatoes are hybrids, and if you want most of your tomatoes ripe at the same time (like for preserving), then determinates are what you need.

If you plan on growing tomatoes, I suggest that you grow hybrids and heirlooms.   Try them both and see what you prefer and what grows best in your particular climate.  Like me, you may end up growing both!

Here’s to homegrown tomatoes, no matter what variety!

Are you thinking about planting a tomato garden?  It’s just before Christmas as I write this, but no matter where you live, it’s time to think tomatoes! 

Tomato Variety "Patio"

If you live in the Deep South, it’s time to plant seeds for a Spring crop.  If you live in the frigid North, it’s time to buy those seeds for starting in just a few short months.

Yep, it’s time to think tomatoes.

Planting a Tomato Garden in the South

If you live in the really southern part of the US (like I do), you can plant your seeds right now, or even find tomato plants at your local garden center.  I planted a bunch of seeds yesterday, in preparation of a Spring crop of ripe tomatoes.  But since it still can get chilly and I can even have a touch of frost where I live, I plant my tomatoes in containers.  This way, if frost is forecasted, I can move the plants into the garage for the night.

Right now I have three tomato plants of three different varieties  in 5-gallon pots, one having blossoms.  Seeing as it’s Winter, I have them in a spot where they can get full sunlight from about 11 am to 4 pm.  I also have six more tomato seed varieties that I planted yesterday.  Right now, my well-grown plants are:

• A determinate red medium-sized tomato (the one with flowers) called Patio – photo above.
• An indeterminate bicolor tomato called Mr. Stripey.
• An indeterminate really big red beefsteak tomato called Park’s Whopper.
  

So, if you live in the Deep South, it’s time to start your tomato seeds indoors between now and the end of January (depending on how far north on the Deep South you live).  The seedlings can then be transplanted outside as soon as all danger of frost is past.  You can find tomato seeds in local garden centers as well as online.

A special note to anyone like me who lives in Florida; as you well know, our summers are hot & humid and the sunshine very strong.  Summer in Florida really isn’t the best time of year to grow tomatoes, but you can if you grow them in dappled shade.  I’ll cover more about tomato-growing in the summer in Florida in a different post.

Tomato Gardens in the North

Time to get those seeds!  Since you won’t be planting them right away, you have a little time to peruse your tomato variety options a bit more.  You probably don’t have seeds available in garden centers yet, but you can browse and order them online.

So what seeds do you buy?  It really depends on your climate, and how long and warm your summers.  For example, in the Pacific Northwest, I’d choose a tomato that sets fruit early.  The cooler Summer climate means it will take longer than average to grow those tomatoes until they are ripe on the vine, which is why you need an early-producing tomato.  A good variety to try would be Early Girl Hybrid.

If you live in a climate with a pretty warm and sunny late Spring and Summer,  you can grow both early and mid-season varieties.  You can try a later-season beefsteak if you can grow your tomatoes in a greenhouse or indoors under grow lights and have good-sized plants ready to go outside as soon as the last frost is past.  In addition to the Early Girl mentioned above, a nice mid-season tomato variety to try is Park’s Whopper Cr Improved.

So those are some ideas for your tomato garden.  It’s time to either plant seeds or buy seeds, so you can have luscious, vine ripe tomatoes as soon as possible!