Tomato

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Provide the best tomatoes at your roadside stand or farmers’ market. We offer many different types of tomatoes: large fruited hybrid tomatoes, cherry and grape tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, tomatoes for cooking, heirloom and open pollinated tomatoes, and even tomatoes for hanging baskets.

Growing tips: The “King” of the home garden, the tomato is grown by almost everyone who grows vegetables. Even those who do not have a vegetable garden will grow tomatoes, planting in containers or along a fence or in any sunny spot on a deck or patio. It is important to have a container that has a 5 gallon soil capacity for proper root development, and staking is most often necessary.

Fresh Market Grower Tips:
There are few species that say “locally grown produce” and “fresh picked quality” any louder than tomatoes in a pick-your-own, roadside or farmers’ market situation. We’re very proud to be able to offer you the wide assortment of types bred specifically to help in your business.

Culture:
As with peppers and eggplants, tomatoes are best started in a greenhouse and transplanted 2-3 weeks after the last average frost. With soil temperatures at 75° F., they germinate in 1-2 weeks. Another 4-5 weeks at that air temperature plus a few days of hardening at 60-65° F. prepares them for field setting. Tomatoes also prefer well-drained, fertile gravelly or sandy loams at pH 6.0-6.8. Black plastic mulch is beneficial in maintaining soil temperatures and moisture as well as controlling weeds.

Maturity Dates listed are from transplanting and are only a guide in comparing varieties.

Tomato Disease Code:
AL - Alternaria Stem Canker
F1 - Fusarium Wilt (race 1)
F2 - Fusarium Wilt (race 2)
Vt - Verticillium Wilt
TMV - Tobacco Mosaic Virus
St - Stemphylium (gray leaf spot)
RN - Root Knot Nematode

Average Seed Count: 40 per packet; 600-800 per 1/16 Oz.; 10,900/Oz.; 175,000/Lb.

Late Blight Information from Cornell University