Beautiful Bounty
Growing tomatoes used to be simple. With some hard work and the weather's cooperation, you could count on a great crop.
Over the past 10 years tomato gardening has become much more complicated. We now have more plant and seed choices and more problems that affect the tomato harvest.
Another choice is whether to plant hybrid or heirloom tomatoes. Many generations of growers claim that heirlooms have the best flavor.
However, given recent problems with blight, hybrids offer a more predictable outcome.
So what is the difference?
A hybrid, from the Latin hybrida, is the offspring of two plants within the same species purposefully cross-bred to take advantage of the parents' desirable traits. Hybridizing is not new; Rice Seeds in New York introduced one of the first hybrid tomatoes in 1880.
An heirloom tomato is from a species that has been grown without crossbreeding for 40 or more years.
To create hybrids, two true species are crossed by growing and carefully hand pollinating plants in greenhouses. The crossed species produce fruit and seeds.
These seeds are sold as F-1 hybrids and grow F-1 hybrid plants. The fruit of an F-1 hybrid produces F-2 hybrid seeds.
If you plant F-2 hybrid seeds, the outcome will be unpredictable because the plant may revert to the traits of one of the original parents.
Hybrid tomatoes offer a higher level of disease resistance, longer shelf life, and higher yields. They have the same nutrition and antioxidant values as heirlooms.
The drawback is that if you're growing from seed, you must purchase new seeds each year.
When choosing hybrid seeds or plants, you will see letters after the name of the cultivar. These indicate the problem this plant was bred to resist.
A few examples are: (V) Verticillum Wilt, (St) Stemphylium Gray leaf spot, (TSWV) Tomato spotted wilt virus, and (N) Nematodes. Consider the problems you may have had in your garden last growing season and purchase accordingly.
Since hybrids are specifically cross-bred to resist identified problems, blight-resistant hybrids are the best choice for gardeners who have had problems with blight.Early blight is caused by the fungal pathogen Alternaria solani. The letter (A) after the name of the cultivar indicates a hybrid that has been bred for resistance to early blight.Late blight, Phytophthora infestans, is caused by a fungus-like pathogen. According to Margaret Tuttle McGrath, Ph.D., from Cornell University, hybrids that have proven highly resistant to late blight include Iron Lady, Defiant PHR, Mountain Merit, Matt's Wild Cherry, Jasper and Mountain Magic.Heirloom tomatoes have a certain nostalgia about them and have gained great popularity in the last decade. Some growers have even been referred to as “heirloom snobs.”There are heirlooms dating back 100 years. These seeds were passed down through generations and offer a large variety of unique looking tomatoes with some quirky names like Hillbilly, Mr. Stripey, Vintage Wine and Beefsteak.These plants are open pollinated and have stayed true for generations. The Beefsteak tomatoes that I produce today look and taste much like those my father grew 50 years ago.Some of the benefits of heirloom tomatoes are better taste, beautiful color, and the diversity and the charm of having a garden with the same plants that were grown by our parents and grandparents.Heirloom seeds can be collected each year for the next year's crop. The downside is that the plants are not as blight- and disease-resistant and have later and smaller yields.Soon many of us will be planting our vegetable gardens. This is a great opportunity to try something new or maybe try both hybrid and heirloom tomatoes and see which works best in your garden.Diane Walczak has gardened since childhood and has been a Butler County master gardener since 2010. She shares her Prospect farm with her husband, daughter, son-in-law, grandson, a horse, a few hens, swans and dogs. Her favorite garden is her pollinator garden, but she also enjoys vegetable, shade and rock gardening.
