Tomatoes

Yesterday, my husband and I went to Bakersfield to help celebrate our grandson, Christion's, birthday. My son, Bryce, has been starting vegetable and herb plants with the seeds from his huge collection. He plans to sell most of them as his garden is quite small for what he really wants to plant! I always get re-energized when we talk plants, and I got to thinking about tomatoes.

I was looking at a seed catalog this morning and saw these pink tomatoes (they were REALLY pink in the catalog). Maybe I'm too old-fashioned, or in a rut, but these pink tomatoes didn't look very enticing. These are called "Big Pink" tomato.

These are "Razzle Dazzle Hybrid" tomatoes, they are a deeper pink (the catalog tomatoes were pinker), but they still didn't tempt me.

These "Italian Ice Hybrid" tomatoes look anemic and flavorless (to me). Although, I do try tomatoes of other colors, I generally go back to my more favorite reds.

I grew some "Black Krim" tomatoes (above), an heirloom from Russia. I found the taste to be OK, but the looks aren't too appetizing. I've grown the famous "Brandywine" tomatoes and wasn't impressed with the taste.

A few years ago I was working at the Garden of the Sun (the Master Gardener's demonstration garden) and they had extra tomato plants left over from their tomato festival and sale, so I took home a couple of them. I was quite surprised by this heirloom tomato, "Juane Flamme". Of course, this picture doesn't capture the real color of those I grew, which was a deep golden color, but I was impressed that this one flowered and produced all through our hot summers (average high 110' f. that could go for weeks. Tomatoes generally stop blooming when the temperatures reach 90' or higher). Besides that, it tastes really good! So, I was hooked and have been growing them ever since.

I generally don't grow hybrids because I prefer the heirloom (grown for at least 50 years) and open pollinated varieties--from these plants you can save seeds and they will grow to reproduce tomatoes like the parent plants. Saving seeds from your hybrid plants will grow plants like the grandparent plants, not like the parent plants, which is not what you are wanting.

I suppose if you were to take a mix of these unusual-color tomatoes (red, white, yellow, pink, but not the brown colored called black) that would make an interesting colored salsa. Put some peppers and onions in it and the whole thing would taste good! Can you imagine having red, white, yellow and pink tomatoes, along with red, green, purple, and yellow peppers?! It might be too pretty to eat!

Now is a good time to start your tomatoes and peppers indoors; or outside using the Winter Sown method. Planting time will be around April, earlier if you cover them. They do better when the soil warms up a bit.

If you are interested, there is a class at the Garden of the Sun, March 17, that will tell you all about tomatoes and how to grow them. The cost is $15, and runs from 9:30 to 12:00.