- Editors Corner
- Greetings my Friends!
- Dr Tomato on Tomatoes:
- What Tomato to Buy?
- Tomato Varieties
- News & Events
- Newmarket Farmers Market
- Northwood Farmers Market
- Mycoangelo?
- Dr Tomato Availability
Editors Corner
Greetings my Friends!
For any of you who doubt the ages old farming wisdom that tells us NOT to plant tender crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, squash, cukes etc. before Memorial Day weekend – think about last Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights. We got all the way down to 25 degrees at the greenhouses on Monday night! That’s COOOLD. Because of the unusually warm weather early in the season that caused plants to emerge 2-3 weeks ahead of time, there was actually some damage to perennials that were in our gardens. Not plants we had put in this season but field-grown perennials that had wintered over!
Every year I spend a LOT of time urging people NOT to plant tender crops earlier than the end of May – and every year I sell many of them a second set of plants to replace the ones they lost due to early planting. Even though the AIR temperature is quite warm during the day, the night time temperature is still quite cold until the end of May. In addition, historically, frost is still a VERY real danger until the end of May. Tender crops will NOT survive a frost. In addition, even more important to your plant’s health and development is the SOIL TEMPERATURE. The tender crops in particular don’t like cold feet. Remember how often I talk about genetic switches in plants and humans? If soil temperatures are too cold, certain “switches” in the plant are not turned on until the temperature rises. So, even if the AIR temperature is nice and warm during the day, if the SOIL temperature is low (take 50 to 55 degrees as a good guide) the plant will not commence healthy growth. In fact, it will pretty much just sit there. Even if we don’t get a frost at night that kills the plants, sitting there dormant, with their feet in cold soil on nights that are cold and damp is a formula for disaster! Fungal diseases, viral problems and the classic “damping off” syndrome are all quite happy in those cold, damp conditions and are more than happy to attack a plant that is sitting there dormant. A dormant plant is also a plant with a weak immune system.
So WAIT until the end of May. I have planted as late as the first or even second weekend of June and the plants will catch up. We have a lot of plants and will gladly sell you a second set of them, but our goal is to help you have the best garden possible with the least amount of work for the lowest cost. Not even considering our poor babies that we have grown from seed sitting out there all alone on a cold night being killed by frost or disease. Any parent would feel that way – right!?!
Dr Tomato on Tomatoes
At this time of the year, I am usually at one of our retail outlets helping people assemble all the plants and materials they need to get their garden going. When people are buying plants, the plant that generates the most interest and questions is obviously the tomato. Which one do I buy, how do I grow them etc. I have written a couple of flyers to try to answer some of the most common questions. Here they are. I hope they answer some of YOUR questions about my favorite plant.
What Tomato to Buy?
Many people feel overwhelmed when it comes time to choose the “right” tomato for their garden! The are hundreds of different varieties! Where does one begin?! Actually, there are just a few things to understand about tomatoes before you can easily and confidently choose the “right” one for you.
FIRST: Tomatoes are categorized into EARLY – MID SEASON –LATE varieties. A basic fact about tomatoes is that the longer the fruit stays on the vine the sweeter the tomato will be. This has to do with the plant chemistry and sugar content of the tomato. BUT, since the season is relatively short here in New Hampshire some of the late season tomatoes will be just coming into their fruit bearing period just about at first frost time. So most growers will recommend that you do put some of the wonderful tasting late season varieties like BRANDYWINE in your garden. But make the bulk of your crop Mid Season varieties to assure plenty of tomatoes for you and your family. Most people like to have that first tomato as early as possible so they look for EARLY varieties. We all do this and it is recommended. But, since we told you that the sweetness and flavor of tomatoes improves with increased ripening time, the early varieties are generally not quite as good tasting as later ripening tomatoes. The varieties we offer – EARLY GIRL, BUSH EARLY GIRL and STUPICE– are recognized as some of the best tasting and most disease resistant of the EARLY varieties. So we say again: make the majority of your tomato crop MID SEASON varieties. You will find them to offer both wonderful taste and a long production season.
TOMATOES WE OFFER YOU:
Early season – EARLY GIRL, BUSH EARLY GIRL, STUPICE
Mid Season – CELEBRITY, JET STAR, BIG BEEF,
SUPER SWEET 100, SUN GOLD,
BIG BOY, HUSKY RED, LEMON BOY,
JULIET, ROMA
Late season - BRANDYWINE
SECOND: You will see the terms DETERMINATE and INDETERMINATE used when describing a tomato variety. These may have caused you nothing but confusion in the past but take heart, they are easy to understand.
DETERMINATE means that a variety is genetically programmed to
reach a predetermined size (similar to how your own genes will
determine how tall you become). Also, DETERMINATE varieties
will generally produce their fruit in one large burst over a shorter
period of time. DETERMINATE varieties are often used as patio
or container plants because they do not get as large as indeterminate
varieties. We offer you the following DETERMINATE varieties:
CELEBRITY
ROMA
BUSH EARLY GIRL
HUSKY RED
INDETERMINATE means that a variety will just keep growing
taller as long as the weather is cooperative. It will also just keep
producing fruit on the new growth. Thus the term “tomato VINE”.
Most of the varieties we offer are INDETERMINATE:
EARLY GIRL
BIG BEEF
JET STAR
SUPER SWEET 100
SUN GOLD
BIG BOY
JULIET
THIRD: What size tomato do you want? A smaller grape or cherry tomato? A firm tennis ball size tomato? Or a big, juicy sandwich size tomato? We offer all sizes:
SMALLER GRAPE/CHERRY TOMATOES
SUPERSWEET 100
SUNGOLD
PLUM SIZE TOMATO FOR SAUCE
ROMA
JULIET
TENNIS BALL SIZE, FIRM, “STORE” SIZE TOMATO
EARLYGIRL
BUSH EARLY GIRL
CELEBRITY
JET STAR
STUPICE
PATIO HYBRID
HUSKY RED
LARGE SANDWICH SIZE TOMATOES
BRANDYWINE
BIG BEEF
BIG BOY
So, choosing the “right” tomato is simple. First, do you want an early, mid season or late tomato? Then do you prefer a smaller, more controlled plant for a patio container or do you want a larger plant with continual production in the garden? Third, what size tomato do you want? Small, medium or large?
Mix it up. Put in a few early tomatoes for that first tomato of the season. Then, put in some mid season varieties. ALL the varieties we offer you are strong, disease resistant, great tasting varieties. You will be happy with any of them! And don’t forget to put in a few late season plants like the wonderful Brandywine. Relax, experiment and ENJOY!!
Tomato Varieties
Dr. Tomato’s choices for 2010
Early Season:
EARLY GIRL – One of the earliest at 57 days. Tasty, full sized fruit that are meaty and red. High yields on hearty plants. Indeterminate.
STUPICE - A tomato from Czechoslovakia. It is extremely early and very cold tolerant. Stupice produces an abundance of 2 oz fruit that are sweet and flavorful. 52 days. Indeterminate.
Mid Season (Main crop)
JET STAR – A great, firm, tennis ball size tomato. Low Acid. High yielding plants. 72 days. Indeterminate.
CELEBRITY – A long standing favorite. 8 oz fruit with high yields. Known for its disease resistance. This is a determinate variety.
BUSH EARLY GIRL – Early Girl’s “little sister”. Huge yields on compact plant. Larger fruit than Early Girl at 6 to 7 ounces. Good flavor and disease resistance. Early
At 54 days. Compact determinate.
BIG BEEF – The best beefsteak. Considered by many to be the best hybrid tomato ever developed. Large fruit on high yielding plants. Disease resistant. indeterminate.
BIG BOY – Perhaps the best known tomato hybrid in the country. Large, smooth, meaty tomatoes with great flavor. These heavy yielding tomatoes peak their production in mid summer but continue to produce until frost. 78 days. Indeterminate.
LEMON BOY – This was the first truly yellow (not golden!) variety and still recognized by most as the best. Large yields of beautiful 8 oz. tomatoes on extremely vigorous vines. Outstanding mild, sweet but tangy flavor. EASY TO GROW! 72 days. Indeterminate.
ROMA – THE plum tomato for making tomato paste! Vigorous plants with high yields. 78 days. Determinate.
SUPERSWEET 100 – A very prolific and sweet tasting cherry tomato. Multiple branches with long clusters of 1 inch tomatoes. High vitamin C. This is our favorite red cherry tomato variety. 70 days. Indeterminate.
SUN GOLD – Exceptionally sweet, bright tangerine orange cherry tomatoes. Very high yields start early and go through the whole season. You will LOVE this one! Dr. Tomato’s favorite cherry tomato! At 57 days, this one could easily go into the EARLY VARIETY category. Indeterminate.
JULIET – This sweet plum cluster tomato was the 1999 ALL AMERICA SELECTIONS winner. Widely noted as one of if not THE most disease resistant tomatoes. Delicious taste, good crack resistance and long shelf life. Like Sun Gold, at 60 days this could also go into the EARLY VARIETY list. Indeterminate.
HUSKY RED – A sturdy tomato plant with unusual “potato leaf” foliage. It will produce fruit right through the whole season. Very good flavor. This is also a great choice for high yielding, vigorous, sturdy container plants. 68 days.
LATE SEASON:
BRANDYWINE – A classic heirloom tomato from the mid 1800’s. AMAZING TASTE! But, as you read in the “WHAT TOMATO TO BUY?” flyer, late season tomatoes can be a little daunting to grow. So put a couple in to enjoy the flavor but make your main crop mid season varieties. We grow “Sudduth’s strain” which most growers consider to be the best Brandywine strain available. 85 days. Indeterminate.
DON’T PLANT TOMATOES UNTIL MEMORIAL DAY!
Until Next Time,
The Healthy Home Harvest team
feedback@healthyhomeharvest.com
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News & Events
Newmarket Farmers Market
When: Saturday, May 15th & May 22nd from 9:00am until 1:00pm.
Where: The Stone Church, Newmarket NH.
On May 15th and May 22nd, Healthy Home Harvest LLC will be at the Stone Church in Newmarket for their great Farmers Market. In addition to our gourmet mushrooms, we will be bringing a full array of our SOLARGANIC vegetable plants for you garden or container. Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, lettuce, Swiss chard, eggplant, cukes, squash, melons, cabbage and more!! We will also have low tunnel hoops, Dr. Tomato’s Organic Fertilizer and Rowdy Roots. Dr. Tomato will be available as always to answer any and all of your questions. We look forward to seeing you there!
The venue is small and intimate. The vendors are diverse, enthusiastic and friendly. There is great food available and some very talented live musicians provide first class entertainment. The feeling is more like a family gathering than a trip to the local store. We look forward to seeing you at the next Newmarket Farmers Market!
For those of you not familiar with Newmarket, the Stone Church is up on the hill behind the Post Office in downtown Newmarket. This is our favorite farmers market! Good atmosphere, live music, some wonderful vendors, good food and a variety of products. See you there!
Northwood Farmers Market:
As it stands now, David, James and MYCOANGELO will be at the Northwood Farmers Market this summer. This market is Thursday afternoons at the intersection of Routes 4 and 202/9 in the parking lot beside the Masonic lodge. The market runs from 3:00pm until 6:30pm. The opening Market date is Thursday, May 27. We look forward to participating in this market and hope to see some of you there.
Mycoangelo?:
Recently, some of you have been seeing a label on our mushroom bags that says MYCOANGELO. This is the name that we are now using for the mushroom side of Healthy Home Harvest LLC. Because some of you have asked how and why we came up with this name, I will explain. To James and me it was simple. The first part of the name MYCO refers to fungi or mushrooms. A MYCOlogist is a person who studies fungi. James and I have also found that growing mushrooms is an art and a science. And who is virtually everyone’s favorite artist/scientist?? MichelAngelo of course! Thus, a marriage of the two elements gives us MYCO and ANGELO = MYCOANGELO! So when you think of our ARTISTIC, organically grown, gourmet mushrooms, think of MYCOANGELO!!! And to all you mycophagists (a mycophagist is a person who eats mushrooms) we will see you at the Newmarket Farmers Market this Saturday, April the 15th from 9:00am until 1:00pm.
Dr Tomato Availability:
This is the busiest time of the year for Healthy Home Harvest LLC and Dr. Tomato. Especially on the weekends, we may have several events going at the same time. Although Dr. Tomato tries to make every event, at times there are conflicts that make this impossible. If you are at an event or Market site and expect to see Dr. Tomato and he isn’t there, please understand that we are extremely busy in May. Our intent is not to aggravate anyone but rather to be available to as many people as possible. If Dr. Tomato isn’t there, James is a fountain of growing information. Do not hesitate to ask him any question you may have. We do apologize for any inconvenience and should be on a more predictable schedule at the end of May. In the mean time, Dr. Tomato can always be accessed at healthyhomeharvest@live.com.
About the Newsletter
The Healthy Home Harvest newsletter is a bi-weekly publication which consists of news, events, how-to and reader submitted questions.
If you have any questions or feedback, please email us at feedback@healthyhomeharvest.com