Knowing Varieties Eases Tomato Picks 5/18/01

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The brave start tomatoes from seed indoors. Or, they set out tiny transplants in early spring –fully prepared to run outdoors and cover them with every temperature drop.

Tips for Top Tomatoes

1. Choose sturdy, dark green transplants.

2. Avoid plants with signs of disease or insect damage.

3. Look for good balance between plant and pot. The tallest isn’t always the best.

4. Set the plant in the soil slightly deeper than it was in the pot.

5. Firm the soil to get rid of any air pockets.

6. Immediately water with a starter solution.

7. Black plastic mulch can help, but don’t surround with organic mulch for 2-3 weeks.

8. Consult gardening books or your local county Extension office on long-term care. Or, check out the publications posted on the Web at www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/hort2/ .

Most Kansans, however, plant the state’s favorite home-grown vegetable in May or early June.

By then, Kansas’ bedding plant suppliers have a bewildering bounty of choices on display. So, knowing a bit about tomato varieties can be a real help, said Chuck Marr, horticulturist at Kansas State University.

* If particular varieties’ characteristics match with how the family plans to use tomatoes.

* Whether those varieties can survive and perform in the kind of home the buyer has to offer a growing vegetable plant.

"Fortunately, most tomatoes are easy to grow, so long as they have well-drained and fairly fertile soil, enough water, and at least a half-day of sunlight. Growing Kansas-tested varieties is just a kind of insurance that you get tomatoes, as well as vine," said Marr, who is K-State Research and Extension’s specialist in vegetable crops.

For example, two standard-size tomato varieties have just emerged from field trials, having proved they’re even better than the midseason varieties K-State recommended in the past. Mountain Fresh and Empire produce larger and very meaty fruit on smaller vines, Marr said. Their tomatoes will be good eaten fresh in salads and on sandwiches.

Unless they include "dwarf" in name or description, however, most standard varieties are more suited for growing in the garden than in a patio pot. And, if used for making salsa, tomato sauce or tomato paste, standards probably will be watery enough to require a long cooking time, to become rich and thick enough.

Mid- to late-season standard varieties also on K-State’s "recommended" list now include Mocross Surprise, Show Me, Jet Star, Celebrity, Sunny, Merced and Burpee’s VF.

"Romas are the variety to grow if you want canned tomato products. They’re smaller and rather pear-shaped. But they have a high solids level," Marr said. "Of course, that means they won’t be as juicy when eaten raw."

Romas produce a compact vine, he added. So, they do well in the garden, but also can make their home on a patio, if given a large enough pot and some vine support.

"You had to build a huge contraption to hold them up," the horticulturist said. "In recent years, however, breeders have come up with varieties that are less rangy. The plants are still big and still require support. But you get a lot of bite-sized tomatoes from 4- to 5-feet-long vines."

Large Red Cherry and Small Fry cherry tomato varieties have both done well in K-State trials.

Fairly new in gardens and stores alike are especially small cherry tomatoes that are oval-shaped. Last year some supermarkets started selling these newcomers under the name "grape tomato."

The vine that produces these small, oval tomatoes tends to be shorter and more compact than the vine for hybrid (but round) cherry tomatoes. Thus, it may be the only cherry tomato candidate for container gardening.

"We’re still testing this type. So far, though, the Juliet and Sweet Olive varieties seem to have most promise," he said.

Ketchup remains a popular item on grocers’ shelves. But salsa started outstripping it in sales during the 1990s. In fact, more salsa leaves the store in food buyers’ sacks than all other tomato-based sauces.

"How-to" information on how to preserve tomatoes safely – as well as cook homemade chile salsa, tomato salsa and tomatillo green salsa – is available at every county’s K-State Research and Extension office. It’s also published on the Web (www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/fntr2/samplers/mf1185.htm).

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.