COMMERCIAL TOMATOES
If you grow for a produce auction or for a wholesale account, these are the varieties you plant. All tomatoes are firm.
If you like firm tomatoes, you can also grow them in your home garden.
TOMATOES Approximately 10,000 seeds per oz.
A little over 100 years ago tomatoes or Love Apples as they were called then, were grown for ornamental purpose and not for food.
They were looked upon with suspicion as the cause of various diseases & were thought to be poisonous. First used as food in Italy,
then France and England. Modern types appear to have come on the market in this country during the 19th century. The first
record of this fruit quoted on the market was in New Orleans in 1812. Seedsmen first offered tomato seeds in 1818.
PLANTING; Start seeds indoors, 5-7 weeks before transplanting outdoors. Use Jiffy 7's or flats with inserts with a good soil substitute,
like Berger BM-2. Do not use field or garden soil as it may harbor a disease. Place seeds 1/4" deep. Cover lightly. Keep moist, not
wet. Germinate at 80F until emerge. Do not start tomato seeds in a cold frame if soil temperature gets below 70F at anytime after
your seed has been sown. After emerge reduce temperature to 60-70F until transplanted outdoors after all danger of frost is past
and soil has warmed up. Place plants 18-24" apart in a row spacing of 4-6' apart. If plants are planted into plastic mulch, make sure
you have a water supply source like, a drip line under the plastic mulch. Plants can be caged or staked for support. If using the
stake method, you can use the weave method. Place a stake in between every 2nd or 3rd plant. Now start at the beginning of the
row at first stake, tie your string to 1st stake. Take string around the outside of plants on one side to next stake. Wrap string around
stake 2 or 3 times. Now continue down the row with string on the same side of row until you reach the end. Wrap string around last
stake 3 or 4 times and now go back up other side and do the same. When you are done, your tomato plants should have a string on
either side of them to give them support. Repeat this process as plant grows. Strings should be 6" apart. Tomato tying twine is found
in the supply section of this catalog. To make stringing easier, do the following; take a 3/4" PVC pipe about 3' long. From top down
and bottom up, 4", drill a 1/4" hole. Run your string in top of pipe and out top hole to bottom hole, into it and out bottom of pipe.
Now you have a handy tool and a time saver. Follow above tying instructions. This tool works as a handle. When you get to a stake,
put hand or fingers over string on outside of pipe. This works as a brake to tighten up your string. HARVEST; Pick gently when fruit
is fully developed and of a good color. Use fresh, or can for later use.
After each tomato variety, you will find a letter or a row of letters. See below for examples and what they mean.
MOUNTAIN FRESH F1 D VFF GOLDEN JUBILEE OP I A
1 2 3
1) F1 Hybrid. Greatly improved over open pollinated types. Seeds will not be true if saved from these fruits.
OP Open pollinated. Also called Heirlooms. Seeds can be saved.
PVP Plant Variety Protected. Do not save seed from this variety. It is an open pollinated variety that is protected by law
from seed saving. Not a heirloom plant.
2) D Determinate. Plant habit where vine ceases to grow once it reaches a particular size. Sets fruits at one time and
then tapers off. A good choice for short stakes.
I Indeterminate. Plant continues to grow and has fruit set in all stages, from blossom to matured. Most varieties are
bred for a home garden and have soft fruits.
3) Plants are resistance or can tolerate the following disease;
A = Alternaria F= Fusarium wilt race # 1 FF= Fusarium wilt races 1 & 2
L= Septoria leaf spot N= Nematodes V= Verticillium wilt
ST= Stemphylium T= Tobacco Mosaic virus
PKT size; F1 or hybrids, 25 seeds or 1/450 oz Rest about 100 seeds or 1/70 oz.
You will need 12 to 16 plants per 25 foot row or 3,400 to 4,500 plants per acre.
|
AMELIA F1 D TWSV 80 days. Determinate red fresh market tomato. Large to extra large, firm fruit. Crack tolerant skin. Well
adapted to stake culture. Great choice for roadside stand, produce auction or home garden. Dr. Jett's choice in the MSU trials
in 2002. Treated seed.
|
|
|
|
| |
|