It seems everyone loves tomatoes –probably because there are so many varieties, colors, and flavors. Your favorite may be table tomatoes (I personally love the Black Krim.), but the popularity probably comes from how we use them in a wide variety of dishes. Varieties that you purchase from a market store are highly limited and usually lack the deep flavor that tomato lovers love. Catalogs provide an amazing variety of tomatoes to choose from. Catalogs are where the choice of tomato varieties is endless. You can choose from a wide variety of new hybrids, but you can also revel in the delicious taste of the heirloom varieties. When selecting varieties you should consider productivity, freedom from fruit splitting,  and disease resistance.

Climate plays an important role. The tomato varieties you pick should be a good fit for your climate. Many big, healthy plants produce better-tasting tomatoes, but if you live in relatively cold region, you may not have sufficient growing season. Heirloom varieties are famous for their flavors. Our Living Garden series includes one video which shows nearly 20 different tomato varieties in one garden. Remember, however, that heirloom varieties are equally notorious for growing well in some areas, but not in others. Your catalogs may give you some of that information. And, of course, your own experience may help as well.

With any tomato, foliage leads to lots of flavor , but be careful not to over-fertilisze as this will produce lots of foliage and little fruit. Remember that fertilizer tends to have three major nutrients. N (Nitrogen), P (phosphorus), and K (potassium). As a rule of thumb, think N goes up, P goes down, and K goes all around. More helpful, N builds beautiful green branches and leave. P tends to build the root structure, and K tends to produce strong stem and fruit.

Beyond the fertilizer, lush foliage is due to both nature (variety) and nurture (how the plants are grown). Some plants just naturally grow more bushy . (See our related article on determinate versus indeterminate tomatoes.) The maturing of tomatoes rrange over a wide vartiation to time spans  , commonly from 75 days for early cherry types to 85 days for early full size fruit types, 100 days for medium, and 110 days for later, full season varieties from direct seeded plantings. Transplanted plantings would be about 25 days less. Research indicates that a temperature of 68-70 degrees F (20-25 degrees C) is ideal for optimal growth. Tomatoes are described according to size, shape and the use of the fruit, the stage of the season that the fruit appears; and the growth habit of the plant.

• Cherry tomatoes are the size of cherries or smaller.
• Beefsteak varieties have large symmetrical fruit.
• Oxhearts are pointed at the base and lobed at the top, similar to a heart.
• Paste tomatoes have physical characteristics that make them suitable for sauces and chutneys.Drying varieties tend to be cherry types, which have a minimum of moisture that dries rapidly.

Tomato varieties are classified as early, mid, or late season, which refers to how long it is before the fruit appears after transplanting.

Early will be 55-70 days, mid will be around 75-90 days, and late-season tomatoes produce fruit from around 100-120 days. In regions with mild summers, selecting late-season varieties may limit the quantity of fruit produced before the end of the season. Once fruiting commences, many will continue to produce until frosts kill the plant. 

You can learn more about tomato varieties and all parts of growing an expert garden from our Living Garden Series on Pazumpa.com/garden