August 6. Picked the last sweetcorn.
Aug. 9. Harvested last cucumber and planted sugar peas. Tomatoes are coming on like gangbusters.
Better Boy
68 days - the smooth, juicy, globe-shaped fruit weigh 12 oz. or more. Productivity is excellent. An improved version of "Big Boy”. A single Better Boy plant grown by Charles Wilber set a Guinness World Record in 1987 by producing 342 pounds of tomatoes. Partial credit for Better Boy's development over a half century ago is given to John Peto.
Ripe fruit from 65 - 67 days. A 1994 All-American Selections winner, Big Beef is considered by many experts to be the ultimate tomato. The smooth, red, uniformly globe-shaped fruits will mature at 8 to 12 oz. Big Beef was bred for consistent pollination under various climate conditions. Expect excellent production 'early and until frost.
BIG BOY WWII food shortages and the government's victory-garden effort motivated Burpee to focus on improving home garden vegetables. In 1945 Burpee introduced the Fordhook Hybrid Tomato. It was the best tomato developed to date but no match for what was to come next. Oved Shifriss was born in Israel and came to the United States in 1936 where he earned a doctorate in genetics at Cornell University. He was employed as director of vegetable research for Burpee in Warminster, PA, where after experimenting with thousands of tomato hybrid crosses, he revolutionize tomato gardening in 1949 by introducing Burpee's "Big Boy" hybrid tomato. Although Big Boy's genetic heritage is a well protected trade secret, it's suspected that its parentage may include some great flavored Russian cultivars well known to Dr. Shifriss's father who immigrated from Odessa to Israel. Compared to other tomatoes gardeners were growing at the time, Big Boys were less straggly, more resistant to disease, and reliably produced more fruit. Its 78 day maturity out-paced most non-hybrids by a week or more. Burpee's new tomato, my Dad’s favorite, became an instant success when introduced and its popularity lingers on even today.
Bloody Butcher
56 days - open pollinated, Bloody Butcher is believed to have originated in Germany and was introduced into commerce by Sahin Seeds of Holland in 1998. Rich flavor and ready in only 8 weeks, the fruits have a deep red color, inside and out. Plants will yield five to nine 3-4 oz. fruits per cluster and will produce until frost. It's a multi-purpose, indeterminate, potato-leafed heirloom tomato. Its rich flavor is a favorite of many gourmands, but the skin is a bit tough. In 2015 and 2016 my Bloody Butcher plants ripened fruit earlier than all other varieties except Cherry Falls. I picked my first ripe Bloody Butcher tomato on June 12 in 2017 - 2 days after my first Cherry Falls.
Celebrity - 70 days - 1984 AAS winner, Celebrity is highly disease resistant and the bushy plants are tolerant to blight, but be aware they grow poorly in cooler temperatures. I transplant mine outside at least a full week later than other tomato plants. The smooth, firm, dark red, oblate 7 to 8 ounce fruit grow on stocky vines perfect for caging. Although a true determinate plant that should not be pruned, Celebrity is often considered to be a semi-determinate variety because it does not grow tall or scraggly and it continues to produce fruit until frost.
Celebrity's strength is its reliably high productivity. Its weakness is that some heirloom lovers might think its flavor ordinary and bland. But I think the flavor as good as most hybrids - just be careful of the seed vendor you buy from so you can be certain that the Celebrity seeds you are sowing are really Celebrity. Assurance of quality is a major concern with all vegetable seed purchases. I recommend not bargain hunting and sticking to the time proven major players.
Celebrity was developed by noted plant breeder Colen Wyatt for PetoSeed.
Early Girl - 57 days - For good reason Early Girl is the most purchased six-pack tomato plants at retail stores every spring. Indeterminate 4 to 6 ounce, globe shaped, meaty, smooth, reliable, and heavy yielding with crimson red, blemish-free skin. Somewhat resistant to wilt, large leaves protect against sun scald. Early Girl's unique, rich flavor compares favorably to many heirlooms. It has enough juice and thick enough walls to be an ideal canner. Early Girl does not sprawl, and responds well to caging. Considered the earliest true slicing-size tomato, it starts producing quickly and keeps on until frost. Early Girl matures quickly (advertised at 54 days; good luck with that) and continues growing with temperatures even as low as 40 F. Early Girl has been the standard by which all other early tomatoes are compared, and in my opinion, still the best. Early Girls developer, a hybridizer in France, considered his new creation a failure because it bruised too easily to be trucked by commercial growers, but Joe Howland, a member of the Board of Directors at PetoSeed Co., had been on the lookout for just such a hardy tomato; one that could be reliably grown under the variable climate conditions of his high desert home where he gardened in Reno. Burpee bargained with PetoSeed for exclusive rights to market the seed and featured the tomato on the cover of its 1975 spring catalog.
Fantastico - 50 days - My great granddaughter’s favorite tomato is an All America winner, determinate bush tomato with rich flavored half-ounce grape shaped fruit. High yielding plants produce up to 12 pounds of ripe fruit. Advertised as best grown in a cage to provide some plant support, but I’ve had good luck with large containers and just letting the vines sprawl over the sides. Fantastico was developed by Pro-Veg Seeds, based south of Cambridge, UK. Since 1989 they have invested in breeding varieties suitable for the home gardener, with a speciality in patio tomato varieties.
Juliet - 60 days - 1999 AAS Winner famous for yielding the first elongated, grape-like fruits that don't crack! Clusters of unusual, sweet-flavored fruits cling to the vine longer than any other cherry tomato. Glossy, red-skinned fruits weigh 1 oz. each. Absolutely great for halving and oven drying. These 1 oz elongated, grape tomatoes grow in clusters of 12 to 18 fruit on indeterminate plants. The ripe fruit hold longer on the vine or in storage better than most cherry tomatoes. Before frost in the fall even the hardest, greenest, Juliets can be picked and stored in a cool place. Most will gradually ripen giving you healthy garden tomatoes until Christmas. The vigorous vines need support, but can be grown in large containers, and I’ve had success growing Juliet in the greenhouse.
Grape shaped tomatoes are a relatively new introduction. In 1996 a Taiwanese friend of Manatee County, Florida, vegetable grower Andrew Chu, suggested that grape tomatoes, already in much demand on the China mainland, might appeal to Chu's ethnic customers in the states. Chu decided to try them out as a specialty product. He called them "grape tomatoes." The variety he grew was 'Santa,' a hybrid developed by Known-You Seed Company, LTD, Taiwan. The tomatoes were a hit and their popularity began to spread like wildfire.
Known-You trademarked the term grape tomato, but to Chu's consternation, a competitor, Philadelphia based Procacci Bros., wisely bought the exclusive rights for Santa. Chu still grows the variety, but must purchase his seed from a mainland China source.
Thompson & Morgan Seed Company was allowed to market Santa seed to home gardeners for several years, but no longer can. Juliet, available to the home gardener, is a larger grape variety developed by Known-You. It has a superb, sweet flavor - yet less sugary and more tomato taste than its sister, 'Santa'.
Kellogg’s Breakfast - 93 days - Look for 1 pound plus, meaty, orange fruit, with few seeds. The juice of a fully ripe tomato could be mistaken in color for Florida orange juice. The fruit grow in clusters of 2 or 3 on strong vines that resist disease better than most non-potato leaf cultivars. Many fans swear its complex, sweet - but not too sweet - flavor is the best they've ever tasted. Expect huge fruit but moderate yields from this determinate. The vines need strong support.
MARGARET BEST YELLOW TOMMY TOE
Marianna’s Peace - 85 days - indeterminate. The plants of Marianna's Peace have potato leaf foliage and produce fruit that are a deep, reddish-pink color, weigh one pound on average, and deliver a good, balanced, sweet-acid flavor. Peace is often compared to Pink Brandywine, but Peace is earlier and more productive during hot spells. Often its size and remarkably good flavor are judged to exceed Pink Brandywine. Marianna's Peace was introduced in 2001 by Gary Isben of Tomatofest and named in honor of his mother-in-law, Marianne Worschech Tibbetts (1927-2013) who as a schoolgirl in Czechoslovakia escaped being taken by the Russians to a labor camp by jumping from a moving truck, and then though shot in the leg while crossing the Czech border, she managed to cross the Austrian Alps to freedom in Vienna. The seeds were given to Gary by Marianna's sister.
Mountain Princess 63 - 68 days. As a potted plant, Mountain Princess twice beat Early Girl for the first ripe fruit in my garden. In 2011 I had ripe tomatoes by the end of June. But unlike indeterminate Early Girl that continues production until frost, determinate Mountain Princess vines often quit production by mid-August. If conditions are favorable though, Princess will set more blossoms and produce an additional late crop.
Patio Choice Yellow
50 days - an 18-inch tall compact determinate tomato plant. The 2017 All-America Winner cascading plants are prolific yielders of delicious 2 oz., cherry-sized fruits. Great for snacking, salads or for adding a pop of color to your favorite recipes. Perfect for containers. Patio Choice Yellow was developed by Seeds by Design’s, located in Willows CA. Seeds by Design’s product line consists largely of proprietary and specialty products that are only available from them.
Red Robin - 51 days - Fresh homegrown winter tomatoes for the North? Although Red Robin dates back to the 1800's, it is still one of the best compact tomato plants for container growing indoors. A south window and an eight inch container filled with fertile potting soil is all you need to successfully grow this dwarf determinate with rich tasting, 1inch, bright red fruit.
Rio Grande - 77 days - paste tomato developed by UC Davis from Italian paste strains and released to USDA in 1994. A 6 oz tomato and huge yields. This is a great choice for sauce but definitely not a fresh for the table slicer tomato. There is not much flavor of any kind to describe until cooked. Unusual for paste tomato, my harvest of Rio Grandes was absolutely free of blossom end rot. California farms produce 90 percent of the nation’s tomatoes. UC Davis is the leader in research in basic physiology, biochemistry, and genetics of tomatoes.
Rutgers -75 days - developed in the 1920s and still famous for its remarkable flavor and large yields of 6 to 8-oz., solid, meaty, deep-red fruits, perfect for canning. Indeterminate.
Sweet Million - 60 - 67 days - Bright red, round, 1 to1¾ oz. fruit, that grow in grapelike clusters. Very disease resistant and sweet as candy. Leave these in an open bowl on a counter and they will disappear quickly. Heavy yielding 6 ft. vines need support and will produce until frost. One plant is claimed to have produced over 1000 tomatoes grossing 32 pounds of fruit. It's a prolific variety developed by Sakata.
Traveler 76 - 78 days - The globe-shaped, meaty, dark pink, crack-free tomatoes weigh at least 6 ounces, have a great flavor, and are heat and drought resistant. Indeterminate. My wife and I swear it's the best tasting pink. While not as large as Brandywine, the slices are large enough to cover a bun. Traveler 76's are also much earlier and more dependably productive than the fickle Brandywine. Brandywine does have something Traveler 76 lacks, though, a large fan club and media hype. It's hard to find sources for Traveler 76 while Brandywine is in almost every seed catalogue.
Vinson Watts - 85 Day - Vinson Watts of Morehead, KY spent over 50 years perfecting this large flattened pink heirloom that originated from Lee County, VA. Seed was given to Vinson by Wilson Evans, his work supervisor at Berea College. The meaty 10 ounce to 1 pound highly disease resistant beefsteaks have won many taste tests for having an excellent balance of sugars and acids. Don’t expect a large crop, and 85 days is a generous estimate for harvest. Mine mature about the time the tomato season ends. But they are exceptionally good.
Yellow Pear - 71 days - Heavy sets of 2" pear-shaped tomatoes grow in clusters of seven to nine nearly seedless fruit. While historically a favorite for making preserves, its size and mildly sweet flavor make it a good tomato for salads or for fresh snacking. Yellow pear is one of the oldest known named varieties. It was recorded in Synopsis Plantarum by taxononmist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1805 and was sold byThe Hudson Bay Company as early as 1825.
Yellow Pear is prized by gourmet chefs for its bright color, distinctive shape, and subtle taste. It makes an attractive garnish whole or halved lengthwise. A very hardy plant, I find it to still be ripening a few fruit in late fall well after most other tomato vines have been added to the compost heap.
Zenzei Hybrid is an indeterminate, early-maturing, high-yielding Roma tomato developed by Bayer/Semnis in 2023, especially for gardeners in the Midwest. This regional AAS winner produces a great yield of fleshy plum, 4 to 5", meaty fruits that are uniform and weigh up to 6 1/2 oz. each that are perfect for canning and freezing. The bushy plants are very vigorous and feature good cold setting ability. Blossom End-Rot commonly associated with romas is less a problem with Zenzei, and it also has Intermediate resistance to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus, Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus, Powdery Mildew and Nematodes.
Aug. 18. It looks like a week’s reprieve from the summer heat is ahead with highs in the 70’s and overnight lows in the 50’s. I’ll deeply presoak some furrows and sow radish, spinach, and carrot seeds. Summer heat is forecast to set back in again in a week, so I’ll keep the newly planted seed bed blanked with a sunscreen. I drape it about a foot above the soil and it keeps the temperatures low enough for the fall plants to make a successful start. It has the added benefit of keeping the birds from eating the seed. I do a lot to attract birds and enjoy watching them, but they don’t always know what’s mine and what’s theirs.
Aug. 25. Tomato crop is maxing now. A lot to eat fresh. A lot to give away. And what’s left over is more than I want to jar right now. So the trick is, and it’s really a simple one, is to merely wash, put the tomatoes whole in freezer bags, and freeze. Later when the outdoor activity has settled down, the sauce and salsa making can be done at leisure. As they thaw the tomatoes will slip right out of their skins making processing that much more easy.
