Another Year, Another
Garden, More Decisions!
Can it
possibly be time to start the tomato seedlings? Why does it seem as though
Christmas was just a few weeks away? The view out of my window at work tells me
that spring is indeed just around the corner. It is the second week of March,
and the ornamental cherry trees are in full bloom. I just received my seed potatoes from Ronniger’s, the Seed Saver
Exchange seed requests are arriving each day, and I think that I finally
decided what to grow this year. As you read in the last issue of OTV, 1996 was full of the challenges of
nature, from hungry critters to destructive storms. Hopefully, 1997 will be
delightfully uneventful. Soon, my arsenal of deer repellents will arrive, and I
will continue my ongoing and annual battle with the ever increasing population
of hungry Bambi look-alikes.
In 1994 and
1995, my tomato choices were mostly historical commercial varieties liberated
by Carolyn and I from the USDA collection. Last year saw a return to heirlooms,
most of which were grown in my garden for the first time. This year will be
less ambitious both in the number of plants as well as new varieties. I decided
that it was high time to eat and enjoy my tomato crop, and will therefore focus
upon those types that I love and, even more important, seem to grow well in
North Carolina. There are also a few new additions to my collection, and some
that I have had for years and now feel compelled to try.
My red
tomatoes will be Bisignano #2, Lillian’s Red, Abraham Lincoln, Red
Brandywine, Rasp Red, Livingston’s Favorite, Buckbee’s New Fifty Day, Maule’s Success, King Humbert, Nepal, Dinner Plate B, Reif Red Heart, Niemeyer,
and Turkey Chomp. Pink tomatoes
include Big Junn, Brandywine, Tappy’s Finest, Tap regular leaf, Tap potato leaf, Anna
Russian, Ukrainian Heart, Wins All, Sandul Moldovan, Middle Tennessee Low Acid, Eva Purple Ball, Big Junn, German Johnson,
and Geswein’s Purple Bonny Best.
Bicolored tomatoes will consist of Regina’s
Yellow and Selwin Yellow. Yellow
and Gold tomatoes include Sun Gold
hybrid, Yellow Brandywine, Potato Leaf Yellow, Simpson’s Big Yellow, Azoychka,
Dr. Carolyn,
Many of the
above tomatoes were described in past issues of OTV. Here is some information on those that may be new to you. Bisignano #2 was one of the first
tomatoes ordered when I joined SSE, and I first grew it in 1988. It is unusual
in that it is not uniform in shape, with oblate, round, and long tomatoes all
appearing on the same plant. It is originally from Italy, being obtained from a
Mr. Bisignano by a SSE member in the mid 1980’s. Mr. Bisignano won the Victory Garden award some years back, and
this tomato was one he grew in his garden that year. Lillian’s Red was sent to me by Robert Richardson of New York in
1989, and has been a favorite of mine ever since. It is not very easy to grow
due to the plant’s relatively low vigor. The medium sized oval tomatoes are
outstanding in flavor, however, and the plant is very productive. Mr.
Richardson obtained it, as well as one of my all time favorites, Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom, from a
Tennessee woman named Lillian Bruce. Dinner Plate B was in a collection of
tomatoes sent to me in 1990 by a New York gardener named Roger Bennett. I grew
it once, in 1991, and was surprised to find that such a spindly, weak plant
could produce such delicious, elongated medium sized tomatoes. It is time to
try it again to see how well my memory serves me, and to see how well it does
in my sultry climate. By the way, Dinner
Plate A, an oblate slicer, was just as fine flavored, but it will have to
wait until next year to be tried again. Turkey
Chomp is one of numerous tomatoes sent to me in 1990 by the elusive and
mysterious tomato collecting former SSE member, Don Branscomb, of California
when last he was heard from. I grew out a number of that set in 1991, and Turkey Chomp stood well apart from the
rest, giving me delicious smooth large fruit. Tappy’s Finest, obtained from the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
in 1989, was a star performer in my garden that year, yielding uniform, smooth,
large pink slicers with outstanding flavor. King Humbert is one of the tomatoes that was obtained from the USDA
collection. It is an old, Italian sauce tomato that I will finally get to
testing this year. I tried to grow Niemeyer
last year, but the plant died from wilt before I harvested any tomatoes from
it. The same goes for Middle Tennessee
Low Acid and Big Junn.
Hopefully, this year will be more successful for these three varieties.
I am trying
the microwave/potassium nitrate soak rescue program on some old seed that I
have yet to grow out. These are York,
German Johnson, Brown’s Large Yellow, West
Virginia, Russian Sweet #2, and Sterling Old German, as well as a
stubborn sample of Dr. Carolyn (the
seed is stubborn, not Carolyn)! Some new
seeds recently sent to me, and to be grown this summer, are Maria Dondero Early, D’Amato, Bronze Leaf Abraham Lincoln, Heart’s
Delite, and Simpson’s Big Yellow.
If my rescue program does not work, I have already decided on my back up
tomatoes. This list includes OTV
Brandywine, Magnus, Old Virginia, Nicky Crain, Bridge Mike’s,
Paragon, Trophy, Beauty, Royal Purple, Cream City, Redfield Beauty,
Orange Strawberry, and German Red Strawberry. So, if all goes
well, the next issue will include my first look at the 50 or so varieties of
tomatoes that I have chosen to grace my table this year. I can hardly wait!