Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 14, 1991 TAG: 9103190111
SECTION: LAWN & GARDEN PAGE: LG-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By CHARLES STEBBINS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Nearly all gardeners grow them and even people who don't garden are likely to set out a couple of tomato plants in a flower bed.
A primary reason for this interest is that the tomato is versatile - each plant is a heavy producer of nutritious fruit that can be eaten raw or cooked in many dishes.
It can be made into juice for a tasty breakfast or snack time beverage. It can become ketchup to enhance hot dogs, french fries or other foods. It is made into a paste to become a sauce for spaghetti and other pastas.
It is a main ingredient of raw salads and, sliced, it enhances sandwiches.
And it can be preserved either by canning or freezing.
Tomatoes traditionally come in red, pink and yellow. But now some plant houses carry unusual types such as white and green.
The white is really cream colored, mild and medium sized.
The green tomato is green even when ripe. It is medium sized with a rich flavor. It is used mostly in making green sauces or to add contrast to red or yellow tomatoes.
For the gardener there are many varieties of tomatoes that come in sizes all the way from the big Beefsteak down to the marble-sized midget tomato.
They come on large running vines and on small bush-type vines that can be grown in pots.
Among those general types gardeners have numerous varieites to choose from and nearly all of the standard varieties do well in Western Virginia. Among those are Big Boy, Beefsteak, Early Girl and Better Boy.
But there are others. Virginia Tech Extension Service offices in every county can supply gardeners with varieties especially suited for particular areas.
One of the many tomato growers in the Roanoke area is Dr. Melvin Maxey who said his favorite varieties are Heinz and Roma.
Heinz is good for making juice, he said, but also is a good all-purpose tomato for eating raw or cooked. Roma is a canning type.
Maxey, who lives on Moran Avenue in Salem, has gained some local fame for producing early crops and his secret is to start seeds indoors not long after midwinter. In this way he sets out huge plants in the spring.
Tomatoes usually are started from seed in a greenhouse or some other warm place. Seedlings 6 to 8 inches high are set out in May or after all threat of frost has passed. The tomato is tender and cannot stand frost.
In the spring tomato seedlings are available everywhere.
Tomatoes are easy to grow but they may fall victim to diseases and insects. However, plant breeders have developed types that are resistant to most of the common afflictions.
Verticillum wilt and fusarium wilt are the two most troublesome diseases of tomatoes. But many varieties have been bred to resist these afflictions.
When buying seeds or plants look for a VF along with the variety name. The V stands for verticillum and F stands for fusarium. VF along with the variety name means that variety has been bred to resist verticillum and fusarium wilts.
Tomatoes also are subject to nematodes and tobacco mosiac but most of the standard varieties have been bred to be resistant to those also. An N with the VF means that variety is resistant to nematodes.
Overall, tomatoes are easy to grow and insects and diseases are not much of a problem in most places and most seasons.
The tastiness and versitility of the tomato makes it well worth putting up with what little difficulties might be encountered growing them. Any tomato grower will agree.
Tomatoes come in several major types - midget, cherry, beefsteak and paste. The Extension Service says there also is a newer type, the winter storage. These plants are set out later in the summer and the fruits are picked only half ripe in the fall.
Midget tomatoes have compact vines and can be grown in pots. The fruit is small and the plants short-lived. These also are sometimes called patio or dwarf.
Cherry tomatoes also produce small fruit but the vines may range from dwarf to 7 feet high. Also they produce abundantly.
Beefsteak are large tomatoes. A well-developed fruit might weigh up to two pounds and one slice can take care of a whole sandwich.
Paste tomatoes are pear-shaped fruits with few seeds. They are less juicy than most of the other types and are used for making sauces. They are a favorite for canning.
Tomatoes also come in what is known as determinate and indeterminate plants.
Determinate plants grow to a certain size and stop growing. They produce fruit all at one time and then stop. Most of the early ripening varieties are of this type.
Indeterminite plants are the opposite of determinates. These grow and produce fruit throughout the summer.
by CNB