As mid-May comes up on us, the one thing on most gardeners mind is tomatoes.
It is estimated 95 percent of the people who grow a garden grow tomatoes. Green beans are a close second. Both of these crops can't be beat fresh out of the garden. And peas, who doesn't like fresh garden peas?
This list could go on for a while, but let's get back to tomatoes.
As usual, it is wise to pick varieties well suited for our area. When selecting varieties, consider their productivity and disease resistance. Fusarium wilt and verticillium wilt are two common problems we incur that can be overcome by selecting wilt-resistant varieties and rotating the planting so that these organisms are not able to build up in the soil. Susceptibility to fruit splitting or cracking should also be considered for our area.
Resistance to various diseases is indicated by the letters that follow the name of the variety, such as the popular variety Celebrity VFNT would be resistant to: V=Verticillium wilt, F=Fusarium wilt, N=Nematodes (a growing problem in Mid-Missouri) and T=Tobacco mosaic.
It is a good idea to pick a variety that has at least a VF rating for our area. Here are a few varieties that do well in Mid-Missouri:
Better Boy (VFN),
Celebrity (VFNT),
Early Girl (VF),
Jet Star (VF),
Lemon Boy (VFN),
Mountain Fresh Plus (VFN), and
Supersweet 100 (VF)
Of course, there are others, but this is a start. The best practice is to try different varieties and see which works best for you.
I have a few favorites that I grow, but I like to try a new variety every year, and this year I am going to try Mountain Merit. This variety almost has an alphabet after it's name, including Lb, which means it is resistant to late blight, a problem that plagues Mid-Missouri tomato growers. But what caught my eye is that it was a 2014 All-American Selections Winner (AASW), which means it did not sacrifice taste and quality for disease resistance, a common trade off.
I know a lot of people are partial to the old heirloom varieties, but I am not one of them nor am I a tomato connoisseur. Most homegrown tomatoes taste good to me, no matter the variety. I was given a couple of Mr. Stripy plants one time and it turned out to be one of the prettiest tomatoes I have ever seen. It was a darkish yellow with faded red streaks running through it. It just looked wonderful and had a nice flavor too.
But the plant itself was enormous, and the yield was low. I haven't grown it since; I usually lean toward yield and taste rather than looks.
But that's my style; you'll have yours.
Out of the paste tomatoes, I really have not found any variety that did any better than the Roma tomatoes I have always grown. Paste tomato varieties do make a difference when making spaghetti sauce, so if this is your goal, be sure and plant some. As for me, I will stick with the Roma variety.
There are "heat set" varieties, which have been bred for high day and night temperatures common in Mid-Missouri summers. Arkansas Traveler and Florida 91 are a couple of the more popular ones in our area, but they are not the only heat tolerant tomatoes. I have not tried any of these, but probably will in the near future.
Most cherry tomatoes naturally perform well in hot weather. I grew several varieties of small cherry type tomatoes a couple of years ago, both red and yellow, pear and round. I did not see a lot of difference in them except the Sweet 100 was quite a bit sweeter than the rest.
What did I learn about cherry tomatoes? The same thing I have learned before, that cherry tomato plants are high yielding! One plant, of any variety, is enough for me.
I hope I can remember that.
Whatever favorite variety you grow this year, I hope you will also try a new one, then email me and let me know what you thought about it.
Peter Sutter is a lifelong gardening enthusiast and a participant in the MU Extension's Callaway County Master Gardener program. Gardening questions can be sent to [email protected].