Before there was a vegetable garden in my life there were tomatoes. I first grew tomatoes in 10-inch plastic pots in the first apartment I lived in after college. The pots weren’t big enough and the squirrels grabbed every fruit the moment it appeared.
When I moved to my next apartment, I tried to grow a tomato in a north-facing window box. I have always been an optimistic gardener. After we came home from living in New Zealand, I covered a patio with tomatoes in containers along with all kinds of flowers. I think the gardening prowess in New Zealand must have rubbed off on me because I came back a much better gardener, despite not doing any gardening there.
I’ve been growing tomatoes for 20 years now and I have never started one from seed.
That’s about to change. This year I’m going to be starting most of my tomatoes from seed (I’m allowing myself an out to buy a couple plants that might catch my eye).
It’s not that I’m afraid to start tomatoes from seed. It’s quite the opposite: I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop starting tomatoes from seeds.
I have room for about eight tomato plants in my garden and various containers and that’s probably pushing it. Every packet of seeds has about 25 seeds in it. And yes, I can give away excess plants. But will I?
I’ve struggled more than a little with making my selections as well. Depending on the source you consult, there are between 3,000 and 10,000 types of tomatoes. I need eight or fewer.
I picked up Craig LeHoullier’s book Epic Tomatoes, which had information on several interesting sounding varieties as well as everything else you need to know about growing tomatoes. (The most interesting thing I learned is that not all suckers are bad and you don’t need to get rid of them all.
My personal priorities for tomatoes are:
- They have to grow and produce reasonably well in our short growing season.
- Taste. (Although I’ve never met a homegrown tomato that wasn’t 1,000 times better than a tomato from the store.)
- Disease resistance.
I usually look for varieties that are quick to reach maturity, and that can come at the expense of taste. I also like to get a wide variety of tomatoes in terms of color, use and size.
Given all that, here are the varieties I’ve ordered seed for so far (I’m linking to the places I bought them but obviously many places carry the same varieties):
MEXICO MIDGET
LeHoullier said his wife would never forgive him (or maybe divorce him) if he didn’t grow this tomato every year. This very small cherry tomato grows on large trusses and provides amazing flavor. If this one is as good as LeHoullier says it is, I don’t expect many of these to make it in the house.
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CHEROKEE PURPLE
This may be my favorite of all tomatoes and I can’t imagine not growing it (or substituting Black Krim) every year. It’s sweet and dark and meaty and everything I want a tomato to be.
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SHEBOYGAN
This is a paste and canning tomato, which is a bit of a change for me as I rarely grow that variety. What drew me to it is that supposedly this heirloom was grown in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, (Mr. Much More Patient’s hometown and a mere 20 miles from our house) where it thrived. I want a tomato that thrives and gives me more fruit than I can possibly figure out what to do with.
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This was developed at my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, so it must be good, right? I was drawn to this tomato for the same reason as I was drawn to Sheboygan: It stands a good chance of doing well in my area.
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I’m a sucker for an interesting tomato and this one is intriguing to me. Descriptions of the flavor range from “horrible” to “sparkling.” Apparently if you pick these when they are anything but ripe the flavor is not great. I’m willing to give it a shot.
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This is described as a pinkish brown tomato with green stripes. It matures quickly and the flavor is said to be outstanding. I’ll classify this one as an experiment.
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I will also probably add in a Kellogg’s Breakfast tomato, as that has been one of my best producers for several years and I love the orange-yellow tomatoes that taste more like a red fruit than a yellow.
Now comes the waiting.
Do you know what kind of tomatoes you’ll grow this year? Do you plan it out ahead of time or just grab what strikes your fancy?
