It’s that time again. I am now in the greenhouse starting my summer plants. Right now the greenhouse is full of cool season crops such as peas, lettuce, kale, cilantro, snapdragon and sweet peas. I will be moving them out of the large greenhouse to a mini greenhouse to harden them off before planting.
I am crazy about growing tomatoes, mostly heirlooms with a couple of hybrids thrown in because I love their flavour. So far I have twenty-three types of tomatoes sown and placed on heat mats. It won’t take them long to grow so its time to think about making room for the four-inch pots that they will grow into.
Here is my list of tomatoes for 2016. Why do I grow so many? I hold an annual plant sale in late spring. Between you and me, it will probably be on April 30 this year. I keep lots of plants for myself as I have a half-acre to grow on. I am excited to try some of the dwarf tomato project plants this year.
Peacevine- This is a very prolific red cherry tomato on indeterminate vines with a regular leaf. It is an open pollinated version of Sweet 100 F1, from the 1970’s. I love this cherry tomato and almost cried when I realized I hadn’t grown it last year.
Gold Nugget-This is a determinate plant bearing small golden-yellow cherry tomatoes. It has a mild sweet flavour and is suitable for containers. Early fruit is seedless. It sets fruit well in cool weather so it’s often one of the first to ripen.
Dwarf Arctic Rose-Is an early to mid-season determinate plant with pink fruit. It stays dwarf and compact . It has smooth shoulders and good flavour.
Dwarf Orange Cream-New! 2015 release from the Dwarf Tomato Project. This is an indeterminate, vigorous dwarf plant with potato leaves. It produces heavy yields of orange fruit with a matte finish weighing about 12 ounces. This tomato has an intense flavour with a bit of tang.
Early Annie-This compact determinate tomato plant bears medium size fruit 2-4 ounces in size. It has high yields and good flavour.
Green Zebra-This tomato is 80 days to harvest. It has a regular leaf, medium-sized green fruit with exceptional flavour. Striping on fruit is usually a bit of yellow and green. I love this tomato!
Kellogg’s Breakfast-Indeterminate plant bearing very large 16-32 ounce orange fruit. It was recently named one of the best heirloom tomatoes. It was originally bred by a farmer by the name of Kellogg in Michigan. The fruit can be very large and it is usually 80 days until harvest.
Red Pear-This is an indeterminate plant with a regular leaf. It produces high yields of red pear-shaped fruit. Mild flavour at first pick but deepens with summer heat. This tomato dates back to the 1700’s.
Sophie’s Choice-This plant is an early determinate plant with 3-10 ounce red fruit. It has good acidic flavour and meaty flesh. This tomato is excellent for containers. It likes wet damp soil and will not produce well in dry soil.
Sungold F1-This lovely sweet tomato is 55-60 days until harvest. It is a large indeterminate, regular leaf plant with sweet orange cherry fruit.
Victoria Dwarf #1-Very compact determinate plants with small to medium-sized fruit with a beefsteak appearance. It’s not an actual dwarf but suited to containers. Do not prune this plant. It is a heavy producer.
Dwarf Wild Fred-Indeterminate regular leaf dwarf plants bearing 6-12 ounce fruit with good flavour. Plant was named after the father of author Craig LeHoullier of “Epic Tomatoes”. It grows just under 4′ tall with dark reddish-black fruit. This is good in a small gardens or in five gallon containers.
Sweetie-This red cherry tomato has good flavour and is crack resistant. It bears its fruit in clusters and is 75-80 days until harvest.
Stupice-One of the best early tomatoes. This one produces red fruit that are just slightly bigger than a cherry. It’s great for cooler climates. I grew this last year and its now a must every year.
San Marzano-This tomato almost doesn’t need an introduction. This tear drop shaped red plum tomato is favoured by chefs all over the world. It’s a vigorous indeterminate plant that will need staking. The plant is a heavy producer and is used for making tomato sauce, canning, roasting or eaten fresh. It needs at least a 10 gallon container to grow in.
Amish Paste-One of the best plum tomatoes for canning, sauce or fresh eating. It produces red 12 ounce fruit on an indeterminate plant.
Black Cherry-This is a great tasting cherry tomato with a brownish-red skin and dark flesh. I only grew two plants last year but could hardly keep up with harvesting as it fruited so heavily.
Jagodka-These small determinate plants produce loads of red cherry sized fruit. This tomato is suitable for containers and tolerates cool weather.
Wapsipinicon Peach-This is my all time favourite tomato. Its one inch yellow tomatoes are so sweet! This indeterminate plant produces yellow fruit with a slight fuzz on the skin, hence the name ‘peach’. It is not noticeable when eating. It is best eaten fresh in salads if it makes it inside.
Mortgage Lifter-The man who produced this seed paid off his mortgage from the money he made selling his plants. This is a large red beefsteak with amazing flavour and lots of ribbing along the top. It is an indeterminate plant.
Okay, that’s only twenty types listed as a few are tomatoes I am growing out for a seed bank. It looks like I will have lots of potting up in a few weeks but it will be worth it.
