David Layland's favorite for the past two seasons has been ‘Bloody Butcher'. At three to four ounces, the tomatoes are relatively small but pack a lot of rich flavor. Best of all, they mature in about 55 days and are still producing up to the first frost.
Jill Rae enjoys many of the cherry tomato varieties. She likes to combine ‘Black Cherry', ‘Miller's Cove Currant', ‘Snow White' and ‘Sungold' cherry tomatoes in a salad with basil. The combination of colors makes for an attractive dish and the flavors mix well. Jill also likes to grow ‘Big Mama' for tomato sauce. Jane Callier counts ‘Big Mama' as a favorite also. Her bush was prolific last year and the tomatoes were sweet.
Pat Hitchcock enjoys growing tomatoes of different colors. In addition to ‘Sungold', her favorites include ‘Amana Orange'. In her experience, this tomato is sweet, late maturing, of good size and relatively resistant to disease. Steve Rae says that ‘Marvel Stripe' is not only great tasting but colorful. Orange and yellow outside, this large tomato displays internal streaks of red, yellow and orange.
Several Master Gardeners sing the praises of ‘Cherokee Purple'. One of the so-called “black” varieties, this heirloom has a deep purplish-red hue. It produces relatively late in the season, but it has such a rich, complex taste that it is worth the wait. Others say that if they could only grow one tomato, it would be ‘Early Girl', an early-to-ripen tomato that is great for salads and sandwiches. It produces until the first frost and is disease resistant.
If you are looking for new tomato varieties to try in your garden, ask yourself a few questions. Do you want tomatoes for cooking and preserving, or primarily for eating fresh? Do you have a large garden, a small one or just enough space on a patio to grow your plants in containers?
Depending on how you answered these questions, you might want to know whether a tomato variety is determinate or indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes grow to a certain size, generally between three and five feet, and bear most of their fruit within a four- to six-week period. Determinate tomatoes are often chosen for canning since the yield comes within a shorter time period.
Indeterminate tomatoes grow and bear fruit all summer, until the arrival of frost. These types need support, such as trellises, stakes or cages, to keep them from sprawling on the ground, where the fruit tends to rot.
Also consider the plant's susceptibility to disease. Many hybrid varieties have been bred to resist diseases that often plague tomatoes. Look on plant labels or in catalog descriptions for the letters V,F,N,Tand A. If present, these letters indicate that the variety is resistant to verticilliumwilt, fusariumwilt, nematodes, tobacco mosaic virus or alternaria stem canker.
The popular heirloom tomatoes offer a wide spectrum of choices in taste, color, texture and shape, and they are expensive at the grocery store. While heirlooms are sometimes not as productive as hybrids and tend to be more susceptible to disease, many home gardeners appreciate their unique characteristics. What's more, their seed can be saved for replanting next year. In contrast, saved hybrid seeds will not produce identical plants the following year.
Whichever varieties you choose, be sure to wait until the danger of frost is past and the soil is sufficiently warm to plant your tomatoes. Soil temperatures below 57ºF delay growth and leave the plants more susceptible to insect damage and disease. Tomatoes planted later usually catch up with those planted in cold soil. I am waiting until May 1 to plant mine.
Tomato Plant Sale: Napa County Master Gardeners will hold their second annual “Tomato Plant Sale and Education Day” on Saturday, April 19, in the South Oxbow parking lot on First Street in Napa. The sale will be held from 9:00 a.m. until sold out. All the seedlings have been started from seed and grown by Napa County Master Gardeners. More than 50 varieties of heirloom and hybrid tomato plants will be available. Master Gardeners will staff information tables on tomato support structures, common tomato pests and diseases, composting, good bug/bad bug displays and a mobile help desk. For a list of available tomato varieties, visit http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa or call the Help Desk (hours below).
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will conduct a workshop on “The Small Home Vineyard” on Saturday, March 29, from 9:30 am to 11:30 am, and from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm. at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. The morning session will focus on bud break to harvest. Learn the basics of managing a small vineyard including grape physiology, canopy management, vine nutrition, fertilization, irrigation and cover crop. The afternoon session will focus on identifying and managing the most common vineyard pests, especially powdery mildew. To register,call the Parks & Recreation Department at 707-944-8712 or visit its web site.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Napa County Master Gardeners welcome the public to visit their demonstration garden at Connolly Ranch on Thursdays, from 10:00 a.m. until noon, except the last Thursday of the month. Connolly Ranch is at 3141 Browns Valley Road at Thompson Avenue in Napa. Enter on Thompson Avenue.