Homegrown Tomatoes

Posts Tagged ‘hybrid’

I have a tomato I am calling Red Bush, for lack of a better name.  I bought a pack of White Bush seeds from a major seed-seller (Johnny’s).  I planted some of the seeds, and got a surprise.

Red Bush – Who Are You?

When it comes to tomato colors, red is dominant over white.  So my red tomato has to be a cross from White Bush and an unknown red tomato.  Yes, it’s a hybrid tomato - the result of two different parents.

Now there’s no telling what variety the red plant was, especially since these seeds are from an old packet.  But it’s an excellent chance to experiment!  You see, when I save the seeds and plant  them, I should get several different kinds of tomato plants, with different kinds of tomatoes.  Some should be red, some white, some who knows what — depends on who the red parent was and if it was a hybrid!

(As an aside, I have another tomato plant growing from the same packet, and it is indeed the variety White Bush.)

Saving Tomato Seeds

Now I’m torn — do I eat that first red tomato off that plant, or do I save the seeds?  The answer is – both!  Since I have one ripe and one almost ripe, I can start the seed-saving process with some from the first tomato.  Then some more from the second.

Since I’m saving these seeds for my own use, I’ll save them on a paper towel.  But if I was saving  tomato seeds to give to another person, I’d use the normal process that gets rid of any unwanted pathogens.

Having an obvious cross like this tomato makes it quite interesting to see what grows out.  And while it’s fairly unusual to get an obviously crossed tomato in a commercial seed packet, it’s fun when you do!

Tomato Red Bush – who are you, really?  I may never know, but I sure will have fun with its “children”!

SuperSweet 100 cherry tomatoes are fun to grow. And what’s really nice is that the cherry tomatoes they produce are nice and true to their name – sweet!

A Little About SuperSweet 100

This particular tomato is an improved variety over Sweet 100.  And supposedly a relative of Sweet Million.  It’s a hybrid tomato, so plants grown from the seeds won’t necessarily breed true.  Although I do believe I will try it anyway!  I’m curious to see what I’ll get next season.

The plant in the photo (and you can click the photo for a larger picture) has the cherry tomatoes just starting to turn red.  It will be interesting to look at when more of the fruits start ripening.

This particular plant is a survivor!  It’s made it through nights in the 30’s, being nibbled on by rabbits and being blown down in high winds.  It’s also not growing in the best part of the garden, so it’s got a lot going against it.  But it doesn’t seem to matter; it keeps putting out flowers, and nearly every blossom sets fruit.

SuperSweet 100 is an indeterminate plant with regular leaves.

Growing Cherry Tomatoes

One nice thing about the SuperSweet 100 is that it’s a cherry tomato of a perfect size for your mouth, at about 3/4″ to about 1″ in size.  I have mine growing in the ground, but I think they’d grow fine in a large container on the patio.  For a true bounty, I’d use a 10-gallon container.

You will need to stake this plant.  Mine is on a 5.5′ stake, which would probably also be OK for a container.  If it was in the good part of the garden, I’d rather use a 7′ stake.

SuperSweet 100 is a fantastic “garden candy” — great for popping in your mouth while working in the garden.  Actually, so far this season, none of the ripe fruits have made it to the table — I’ve munched them while out in the yard.  Soon enough, though, there will be plenty to eat outside and bring into the house for salads.