Choosing between different types of tomatoes
If summer had a feel , it would be that ofa tomato . Raising these plump , juicy fruit is so satisfying . While tomato come in many sizes , shapes , people of color and flavors , they all have one thing in common : They are either determinate or indeterminate . The deviation between the two comes down to timing and size of it : More compact determinate tomatoes ripen all at once so they are ideal for get going disturbed making sauce , canning and freeze . Indeterminate case continue to turn all summertime , so you may pick your fill one calendar week , then nibble again the next . It ’s a good idea to plant both type so you could eat some and preserve some . Do you want to slice them for sandwiches , toss a few into salads or make alimentary paste sauces ? There ’s a tomato advantageously beseem for each culinary situation . Learn about the four main types below .
Regular watering is important
Whichever type you grow , consistent soil wet is cardinal . Water plant deep and infrequently at the base of the plant , not on the leaves , to prevent disease . flora need 1 to 1½ in . of water a hebdomad . To maintain even filth wet , mulch around the fundament of plants .
involve help getting started ? ReadHow to set out a vegetable garden .
Bush tomatoes
idealistic for modest - outer space garden or container , bush tomatoes produce midsize , round tomatoes . The yield are larger than cherries and have a flavorful , beefsteak posture . adjudicate ‘ Early Girl ’ , in the photo above , and ‘ Big Boy ’ hybrids , which offer big gustation on compact works .
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Beefsteak tomatoes
Set your clock to BLT time . If you love classical Francis Bacon - wampum - and tomato sandwiches , then beefsteak - case tomatoes are for you . Also eff as slicer , beefsteaks produce expectant and wide fruit — a slice pass over a piece of bread — and some are as heavy as 6 in . across . Tryheirloomand intercrossed varieties . ‘ Brandywine ’ is an heirloom , endorse by multiplication of gardener since 1885 . These chubby , meaty tomatoes can librate 1 to 2 pound . and postulate 85 days to mature , so plantseedsindoors in spring or corrupt seedling . Other heirloom beefsteak varieties include ‘ Cherokee Purple , ’ in the photo above , ‘ Brandywine ’ and ‘ Mortgage Lifter . ’ If you love the self-aggrandizing - of - the - big beefsteak , attempt Steakhouse Hybrid , which produces thumping 48 - oz . fruits . delight firm , ruby-red ‘ Steak Sandwich ’ on a toasted piece of sourdough with a slather of mayo and you ’ll be in heaven .
Cherry tomatoes
Whether you splosh them into summer salads and alimentary paste dishes or onto pizzas , diminutive tomatoes are as tasty as they are cute . Grow them in the garden or containers and enjoy their colors ( red , sensationalistic , and blending ) and shapes ( round , oblong , and pear ) . ‘ Sweet 100 ’ is know for its sugary flavour . Try small - fruited Indigo Fireball , demonstrate in the picture above , for tart taste and sensationalistic - over-embellished skin or ‘ Power dad ’ ( with 55 percent more lycopene , an antioxidant that may help scale down your luck of developing some cancers , than the average love apple ) . Heirloom ‘ Yellow Pear ’ add together color and tang to summer salads .
Roma tomatoes
know as the paste tomato , thick palisade , oblong - physical body Italian capital are n’t as juicy as other tomatoes , which makes them fantabulous dried or cube up and simmer downinto a sauce . For Old World flavor , try blocky heirloom ‘ San Marzano ’ in the photo above . And in the bigger - is - better class , ‘ SuperSauce ’ hybrid spread tomatoes weigh in at 2 lbs . apiece .
