The Greater Tomater, Part I

I could write for a month about the tomato. I could tell you its traveled history as a migrant from South America, where it was a neglected native, then as it traveled up into Central America, where it was domesticated. I could tell you that it can still be found growing wild in the tropics, and how it made it to Spain and Italy long before it made it to North America.

I could tell you that it’s the most popular vegetable in American gardens—but it’s really a fruit. And I could tell you my childhood memories of the beefsteaks my father would grow that had a flavor and texture that’s little more than a memory today.

But I won’t. All I’m going to tell you this week, and next, is how to grow them, and the nitty-gritty details that will make you a successful tomato grower. Or not.

First, though, some realities of tomato culture that we all have to live with.

There are good years and bad years for tomatoes. More often than not, it’s not your fault. When there’s an early or late blight of tomatoes, nearly everyone gets it. When it’s a rainy summer, tomatoes and their growers suffer. And if you don’t experiment and try at least one new type of tomato every year, you’re missing out on some really interesting eating.

There are some basic things that you need to know, though, if you want the best chances at success. And, yes, you can dramatically increase those chances of success if you do just one simple thing: Keep your tomato foliage dry. But more on that later.

All tomatoes fall into one of two groups that describe their growing habits. Tomatoes either have a determinate or indeterminate type of growth. Most tomatoes also fall into one of three timing regimes; these are early, mid-season and later season tomatoes, and this refers to the time during the growing season when they mature and peak at fruit production.

Tomatoes also tend to fall into “purpose” groups; that is, what that variety is intended to be used for. Is it for salads, for slicing, for saucing, or possibly stuffing? And will it fit perfectly on that grilled burger? And, yes, there are multi-personality tomatoes that can serve multiple purposes.

There also are tomatoes that are resistant to several diseases or totally free of them. There is also size: The smallest tomatoes are usually referred to as the currants, as the fruits are the size of currants, and from there size increases until you get to the large slicers, like the beefsteaks and Mortgage Lifters, which can weigh several pounds.

But where is all this information? Certainly, it’s not on that tiny label that comes with the plant if it’s in a cell pack. But you might get more information on the larger labels that come with plants in the larger and, yes, more expensive potted types. But it’s really the seed catalogs or the internet that will give you the best information.

So if you’re going out shopping at local garden centers, take along your catalog(s), cellphone or tablet. You really need to have all the above information and understand it, or you’ll make the same tomato mistakes year after year after year. One thing you’ll discover is that if you want a very specific tomato from the 2,000 varieties that can be grown, you’ll have to grow it yourself.

Determinate or indeterminate? A determinate tomato will grow to a certain height, where it will flower and fruit for a few weeks and then stop. These are the more compact plants that will generally grow to about 3 feet tall, and they will have strong and thick stems or stalks.

If you grow only determinate types, you’ll get a deluge of tomatoes all at once, and then none. But there are still different maturity times for the different types, so with some experience you can still grow just determinates but extend your tomato season, somewhat. Determinates do well in cages, and the fruits tend to occur singly as opposed to in clusters.

The indeterminate tomatoes grow and grow and grow. As the vines grow, they flower, fruit and continue to do this as the vine continues to grow, only to be done in by the end of the growing season. These tomatoes tend to grow in clusters and, unlike the determinates, they will easily grow out of a cage and do best when staked or trellised.

Most of the cherry-type tomatoes fit into this group, and if you’ve ever grown them you know that they are prolific producers. Most of our heirloom tomatoes (those developed prior to 1940) fit into the indeterminate group.

And this is where we run into the grafted tomatoes. These hit the scene about five years ago, and there have been mixed reviews. Only the heirlooms can be grafted, and therefore they fit into the indeterminate group.

Grafted tomatoes are said to be incredibly prolific, producing 50 percent or more fruits than their ungrafted relatives, but they tend to bear fruit later in the season. Some grafted varieties may show more disease resistance that ungrafted heirlooms.

So, now is the time to plant. This weekend! Tomatoes hate cold soil, and if you plant them too early in soil that goes below 50 degrees, they’ll languish for weeks.

There are those who think they can get a jump on their ’maters, using all kinds of shelters to protect them from the cold. There are hot caps, walls of water and other devices. Their effectiveness is questionable, except for smaller plants that get hot caps. This can be as simple as a piece of newspaper supported by some sticks, or a coated cap with a wire. These devices not only capture and retain some heat into the night hours but they also shield the young plants from drying winds until they can be safely removed a few days after planting.

But what size plant should you be planting? Garden centers sell them in tiny cells and in pots from 4 inches in diameter up to several gallons in volume. If you are planting early, like this weekend, you’ll do just fine with smaller plants, as long as you care for them. In fact, you’ll probably find that, in the long run, a $1, well-grown tomato plant will do as well or better than a $15 plant that’s got green fruit on it if they are planted at the same time.

But choose your plants wisely and keep in mind that it’s not the size, it’s your knowledge of what kind of tomato plant it is, what kind of fruit it will bear, what its growth habit will be, and what kind of disease resistance it will have.

And, speaking of disease resistance, heirlooms have little disease resistance. That’s one of the prime reasons why they fell out of favor for generations. Seed breeders have been able to develop tomato varieties that can resist or be immune to a wide range of diseases, but as you may have noticed, there’s a compromise. It seems that you can grow a healthy, disease-resistant tomato, but there is a striking taste trade-off.

And that’s the challenge—to find a tomato that tastes great, has disease resistance and doesn’t take over the neighborhood. That takes experience. And as any tomato grower will tell you, it may work this year, but that’s no guarantee that it’ll work next year.

Welcome to the challenge of gardening. Hug a farmer.

Next week: To stake or cage? How deep is too deep? When and how to feed, and an easy-to-use key to what’s ailing your tomato.

Keep growing!