Tantalizing Tomatoes: A taste of summer for the home garden

Jazz up your spring gardens and patio planters by growing your own tomatoes. Homegrown tomatoes not only promise the fresh, bold flavors of the season, but they also add extraordinary color and texture to your landscape. Their vibrant lemony, bronze, scarlet, and purplish black fruits offer intensity like none other. Most importantly, their ease of growing and harvesting provides you, the gardener, with a sense of pleasure and accomplishment—that sweet satisfaction of knowing you can harvest your own tomatoes. Line tomato plants in rows in your backyard, alongside summer crops like cucumbers and squash; plant them singly in containers on sunlit patios, or integrate your favorite varieties in culinary gardens amid bell peppers, basil, and parsley. With the proper light and environment, almost anyone can grow tomatoes.

Tomato Growing Tips for the Home Gardener

• Tomato plants, like any vegetables, need at least six hours of direct sunlight; do not try to design your garden around shade trees, because it won’t work.


• You will need a well-drained bed, raised to about four to six inches. If you prefer to grow in pots, use a light planting mix, and take care not to overcrowd containers; one transplant is sufficient for each planter.



• Design your bed near a water supply; not only will this serve as a reminder for you to water your crops, but you will also find that it’s more convenient than having to drag a hose across your yard.



 • Novice gardeners may want to purchase tomato transplants, rather than starting from seeds; transplants are a sure bet, whereas sowing seed is more of a gamble.



• To keep tomatoes from going to waste, try to plant only what you and your family can consume.

• 

When planting, leave enough space between plants not only for their growth, but also to simplify harvesting. As a general rule, space transplants about two to three feet apart; tomatoes require more space than crops like eggplant, okra, and peppers.


 • Set out any necessary stakes, cages, or trellises at the time of planting; it’s much easier to do so when the plants are young, rather than having to fight them when they are full of fruit.



• Water the bed thoroughly after planting, and continue to do so as the garden grows.


• Add two inches of mulch as a topdressing to help conserve soil moisture and to prevent weed growth.

Indeterminate vs. Determinate


 Determinate tomatoes, or bush-type varieties, have a predetermined number of stems, leaves, and flowers. Their controlled habits make them perfect for patio containers and small kitchen gardens. Unlike pole varieties, their blossoms and fruit develop on the vine at the same time, shortening the harvest time to seven to ten days. Determinate plants are self-topping and seldom need staking; support them with cages for a neat, healthy appearance.

Tasty Tomatoes for Containers and Gardens

‘Celebrity’ tomato plants, considerably smaller than ‘Beefmaster’, are determinate tomatoes that perform well in both patio planters and vegetable gardens. A premium bush-type variety, ‘Celebrity’ produces classic, nine-ounce, succulent red tomatoes, perfect for salads, burgers, or timeless BLTs. This mid to late season favorite is ready to be picked 72 days after transplanting. Consider integrating heirloom treasures like ‘Brandywine’ and ‘Cherokee Purple’ alongside ‘Celebrity’ tomatoes. ‘Brandywine’, a late season producer with excellent taste and quality, bears flat, globe-type tomatoes that are ready for harvest almost 80 days after transplanting. Their pinkish-red orbs swell up to 16 ounces in size, and promise sweet crimson cores all season long. ‘Cherokee Purple’, as its name suggests, yields dusky purple-pink tomatoes with russet-green cores.

‘Lemon Boy’ tomatoes, one of the finest yellow fruiting varieties, are vigorous growing plants that promise plentiful produce. Their attractive yellow tomatoes grow eight ounces in size, and boast mild, sweet flavors all season long. Mix ‘Lemon Boy’ with varieties like ‘Brandywine’ and ‘Tomatoberry’ for a cool summer salad. ‘Tomatoberry’, an outstanding cherry tomato, bears strawberry-shaped fruits with deep red skin. This indeterminate vine performs well in either vegetable gardens or containers, and yields an abundance of fruit from mid spring through summer. Enjoy its sharp, but sweet flavor fresh from the vine, or mix with salads or salsas for tantalizing blends. ‘Sunsugar’, another exceptional cherry tomato—and no doubt, one of my favorites—is golden orange in color, and assures some of the sweetest tasting tomatoes in exceptionally large quantities. A single plant often produces hundreds of fruit during the course of a season; each week, at least two to three pints can be harvested as tomatoes begin to ripen. ‘Sunsugar’ tomato plants are indeterminate, vigorous growing vines that reach up to seven feet in height. Stake them in gardens, or contain them on patios for fresh and sweet eating throughout the summer.


 Whichever tomatoes you include in your garden, ensure success for your crops by tending to them regularly. By following these simple steps, you might surprise not only yourself, but also your family and neighbors this spring when you harvest fresh and tasty tomatoes from your very own garden.

Tasty Tomatoes for Louisiana Gardens

Beefsteak Tomato
Ball’s Beefsteak - Indeterminate
Beefmaster - Indeterminate
Big Beef - Indeterminate

Slicer Tomato
Better Bush - Determinate
Better Boy - Indeterminate
Burpee Big Boy - Indeterminate
Bush Champion - Determinate
Celebrity - Determinate
Early Girl - Indeterminate
Lemon Boy - Indeterminate
Patio - Determinate
Super Fantastic - Indeterminate

Salad/Sauce Tomato
La Roma - Determinate

Small-Fruited Tomato
Black Cherry - Indeterminate
Red Grape - Indeterminate
Sun Gold - Indeterminate
Sunsugar - Indeterminate
Sweet 100 - Indeterminate
Sweet Baby Girl - Indeterminate
Tomatoberry - Indeterminate
Tumbling Tom Red - Determinate

Heirloom Tomato
Black Krim - Indeterminate
Brandywine Red - Indeterminate
Cherokee Purple - Indeterminate