Beyond Beefsteak Tomatoes: In Search of the Unusual

Everyone loves beefsteaks, but they don’t do all that well for me, so I usually opt for small and midsize offerings.

Launch Gallery

Tomatoes are the crown jewel of the garden . They are easy to grow , and the taste is just rattling . Everyone loves beefsteak , but they do n’t do all that well for me , so I normally prefer for small and midsize offerings . And there ’s always the impulse to branch out and sample ones I ’ve never grow before .

Small tomatoes are nice because they mature apace and they make great snacks . Sun Gold ( I sleep with this orange cherry red tomato ! ) is usually the first to produce , followed tight by Juliet ( a red grape type ) and Principe Borghese ( just for drying ) . This twelvemonth , as I pored through the come catalog , Wapsipinicon Peachcaptured my fancy . I was intrigue by the name , of class , and also the strange color . Who would n’t go for a “ heavy manufacturer of 2 - in peach - shaped fuzzy yellow fruit ” with “ sweet excellent tone , ” asSeed Savers Exchangeputs it . The heirloon sort takes its name from the Wapsipinicon River , which flows through northeastern Iowa into the Mississippi .

Paste Lycopersicon esculentum are something of an anchor crop for me ; it ’s a wonderful matter to stock the freezer with stewed tomato plant for wintertime sauces and soups . latterly I ’ve relied on Amish Paste , Opalka , and Linguisa ; this year I ’m addingSpeckled Romanto the mixture . Seed Savers Exchange pronounce Speckled Roman make “ gorgeous 3 - inch - wide by 5 - column inch - foresightful fruits with jagged orange tree and yellow-bellied chevron . ”

If you are tempted to try something new this twelvemonth , check out the colorful heirloom offering on theSeed Savers Exchange Lycopersicon esculentum pageboy . Fortunately , no special expertise is demand for develop these beauty . Just do what you do for “ ordinary ” tomato , and you should be fine .

Are you growing any unusual Lycopersicon esculentum varieties this year ? Please post a comment below . We ’re always on the observation post for young and interesting cum to examine .

Fine Gardening Recommended Products

A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo

Fine Gardening receives a charge for items buy through links on this site , admit Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertizing programs .

Chapin International 10509 Upside - Down Trigger Sprayer

Razor - Back Potato / Refuse Hook

Get our latest tips , how - to clause , and instructional videos send to your inbox .

Signing you up …

Gardeners, Start Your Seed Search!

Garden Planning for Cooks and Foodies

Garden Planning

Growing Tomatoes in Containers: Dangerously Delicious

Join Fine Gardening for a free engage springy webinar sport Dr. Janna Beckerman , a notable plant diagnostician as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical manager …

When I spotted a particular sand dollar mark cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few calendar month ago , I acknowledge I was in trouble . With a delicious color traffic pattern …

When we only prioritize plants we desire over plants our landscape pauperism , each time of year is fill with a never - cease list of task : pruning , squeeze , watering , treating , amending , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be thrifty when you record the backyard of garden designer Jeff Epping — not because you ’re likely to travel on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a duet …