Totally Tomatoes
by Cliff Sharples (chief cultivator)
Nothing compares to the juicy, sun-sweetened goodness of vine-ripened tomatoes. These succulent fruits signal summer's arrival with their red, rich hues.
In the world of the tomato, there's much more than the traditional red slicers. There are bicolored beauties with sweet flavor, green, tender globes bursting with tart-sweet taste, and tiny golden jewels, just right for picking and popping into your mouth. Expand your tomato repertoire with a sampling of my gallery of home-grown goodness.
Juliet Hybrid (Lycopersicon x 'Juliet')
1999 All-America Selection. Holds the vine longer with less cracking than any other cherry tomato. Unusual elongated 1 ounce glossy red fruits are produced in grape-like clusters on long, high-yielding, indeterminate vines. Sweet flavor and high quality make this a favorite. Days to maturity: 60 days.
Green Zebra (Lycopersicon x 'Green Zebra')
'Green Zebra' gets its name from the dark green stripes that streak its greenish-yellow skin. Its deep green flesh is both tart and sweet. Two inch diameter fruits are very delicious. Produces fruit until first frost.
Lemon Boy (Lycopersicon x 'Lemon Boy')
An eye-catching tomato, lemon-yellow throughout, with delicious flavor, Deep globe-shaped fruits average 6 to 7 ounces. Adds color spice to salads and tomato plates. Disease-resistant indeterminant plants.
Marvel Stripe (Lycopersicon x 'Marvel Striped')
These heirloom tomatoes have a marvelously sweet taste, yellow skin dappled with orange streaks, and golden yellow flesh flecked with pinkish streaks. They make a stunning display in salads.
Red Brandywine (Lycopersicon lycopersicum 'Red Brandywine')
A red-skinned selection of Brandywine. Has the luscious gourmet tomato flavor and meaty red flesh of regular Brandywine. Indeterminate potato leaf plants are very productive, bearing long harvests of 10 to 16-oz. fruits.
Yellow Pear (Lycopersicon 'Yellow Pear')
These miniature 1 3/4 to 2-inch pear-shaped yellow tomatoes are delightful in salads, for preserving, or for eating fresh right out of the garden. So delightfully sweet they are considered 'garden candy' by many. Tall, vigorous indeterminate vines bear profusely.
Tags
Tomatoes, Seed starting, salads, harvest, vegetables
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