Texas Tomato Lover's Handbook

5. Tomato Varieties

t e X A s t o M A t o L o V e R ’ s H A n D B o o K 80 Tomato Varieties The numbers in parentheses in the following lists refer to sources in the Tomato Source List near the end of the book. HYBRID VARIETIES—MEDIUM TO LARGE FRUIT This list usually begins and sometimes ends with the 1984 All-America Selection (aas) variety Celebrity. The author is not a big fan of Celebrity at the table, but it sure beats most grocery store tomatoes hands down, and if you love Celebrity, that’s fine. Everyone is looking for something a little different in a favorite tomato. Beyond this most famous of hybrid tomatoes, there is a bewildering array of established varieties and a yearly plethora of new ones to try. It’s a bit frustrating, and some gardeners find one they like that’s also easy to grow with good pest resistance, so they settle on perfecting their tomato crop with one or, at most, two or three varieties. That’s a sure formula for success, but like Sirens in the garden, the new and old varieties beckon to most of us, and we are continually experimenting while keeping a core of favorites in the garden each year. 81 t o M A t o V A R I e t I e s Thirty-one years as a county extension agent with volunteers who tested different varieties in their gardens, including twenty years with a Harris County demonstration garden and an army of Master Gardeners to make it work, has given the author a special opportunity to evaluate a number of tomato varieties. Since my retirement in 2001 and move to a rural area (between Houston and Austin), we have developed a large kitchen garden with room for far more tomatoes than we can consume. We sell a few at farmers’ markets, but mostly we share them with our friends. The following list highlights some of the varieties grown and consumed at the Adams household. Varieties listed as “for trial” haven’t been tested thoroughly, or they just sound good in the catalogs. Tomatoes not billed as overly large and noted as being tasty and disease resistant get the most consideration for a place in our tomato patch. Home gardeners should expect a minimum of 30 to 40 pounds of fruit per plant, with the overachievers harvesting more than 50 pounds per plant. Eat all you can, sell some, give some away—can and freeze the rest. Tomatoes taste best at room temperature or even at field temperature—that’s why they seem so flavorful munched right out of the garden. If you must put them in the refrigerator, take them out two hours before serving to enhance the flavor. Tomato varieties are generally described as determinate or indeterminate . The indeterminate varieties continue growing until they are big enough to cover a small house. Unless stated otherwise, the varieties in this list are considered indeterminate. The determinate varieties (sometimes referred to as “bush” varieties) are supposed to stay under 36 inches; the semi-determinate varieties grow a bit taller (3 to 5 feet in theory), but they won’t take your house. In Texas gardens, semi-determinate tomatoes often grow out of a 6-foot cage and thus demand enough respect that at least two stakes or one metal T-post are needed to keep the cages upright with a fruit-laden plant in a windstorm. Finally, dwarf varieties can be grown in hanging baskets or small containers. They are cute, but don’t stock up on canning jars. 83 t o M A t o V A R I e t I e s (opposite) Probably the most popular hybrid tomato in Texas, Celebrity is a heavy producer with good disease resistance. There are a lot of varieties, old and new, to try. t e X A s t o M A t o L o V e R ’ s H A n D B o o K 84 Unfortunately, tomato varieties come and go. Two French hybrids are especially missed of late—Dona and Carmello. Both of these Villmorin hybrids had excellent disease resistance and superb quality. Dona was the smaller of the two—4 to 6 ounces—with a typical flattened tomato shape. It was a heavy producer of delicious tomatoes. Carmello was equally good with...