At the time of this writing , it ’s snowing outside my farmhouse windowpane . Right now all I can think about are garden - fresh tomatoes , juicy and warm , brilliantly colored and bursting with flavor . But the calendar reminds me that it ’s going to be a while before the garden resumes its brilliant production of tomatoes and fills the kitchen with unparalleled delectation .
Is it any wonder , then , that gardeners continually essay out way to shorten the Lycopersicon esculentum - mature process ?
I Want It Now
Face it : Tomatoes take time . Sure , we tell ourselves we can show longanimity . But , truthfully , we want tomatoes and we desire them as early in the season as possible !
Of naturally , we also want these former Lycopersicon esculentum to be packed with flavor . And if they wereheirlooms , it ’d be even good .
Is that too improbable of an order ? Maybe it is , but it ’s not impossible .
“ Many of the plebeian or most popular tomato cultivars are what we call ‘ main harvest ’ types , meaning they need 75 to 80 Day to mature , ” says Daniel Goodspeed , a horticultural consultant with Jung Seed Co. “ Because most gardeners must wait until the last average hoar date to plant , these main crop tomatoes wo n’t give fruit until the end of July . … Tomato devotee can rush up the process to first fruit by choose sagely and planting some early season tomato plant kind . ”
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But what constitutes an early season tomato variety ?
“ We would consider former season tomatoes as those that mature in 60 days or less , ” Goodspeed says . ”
( of import eminence : When we talk about “ day to maturity ” for tomatoes , we ’re babble about the number of daylight after transplanting , not counting from the particular date you originally plant seeds . )
It ’s light to see why gardeners find allure in the thought of harvesting tomatoes two to four weeks in the beginning than the average Lycopersicon esculentum variety , specially in area with short growing season .
“ Although many modern stock breeder have grow hybrid multifariousness that return into this [ early time of year ] category like Early Girl , there areseveral other excellent open - pollinate inheritance / qualifying - along varieties that provide full-bodied , gourmet heirloom tomato flavor and early dependable yields , ” Goodspeed says .
“ Most of these early bearing tomato plants have an ability to arrange fruit in early season cool temperature , although the plants themselves are still tender and command enough trade protection . ”
Tomato Terms
Just as a quick refresher of Lycopersicon esculentum terminology . When you pick up the terminus open - pollinate , it means that the plant breed true ( you’re able to savethe seed ) .
A hybrid , however , is the result of a cross of two distinct varieties . If you salve the seed from a hybrid variety , it probably wo n’t develop the same characteristic as the parent plant .
Heirlooms are open - pollinate varieties that also have history . But there ’s a lot of variance in what defines an heirloom mixed bag .
Sometimes the term is earmark for variety that are pre-1940 . Other times it only refers to varieties that have exist at least 50 age , or sometimes only 20 class . And sometimes World War II is used as a defining date .
The Advent of Early Girl
The sake in other time of year tomatoes is nothing unexampled . For virtually 50 year , gardeners have enjoyed the green groceries of the Early Girl hybrid variety , developed in the mid-1970s .
Early Girl collapse onto the tomato vista amidst plenty of publicity . It soon found a lasting place in garden across America .
nurseryman loved the lightning - firm matureness of Early Girl , which readies in a mere 50 day . The breed also gasconade skilful reliability and disease resistance . It ’s been a staple in gardens ever since .
But nurseryman are always on the lookout for something new , which in this subject is actually something old . As involvement in heirloom and open - pollinated sort increase , gardeners have sought out heirloom varieties with standardized characteristics to former Girl and other early maturing hybrids .
And they do exist !
While the former season varieties are n’t as legion as the 80 - daylight heirloom , we still have plenty of options to consider . Here are 10 extra - special , former time of year , open - pollenate Lycopersicon esculentum potpourri . ( How ’s that for a mouthful ? ! )
Years ago , when I was new to heirloom tomatoes , Stupice was the first early season variety I tried . It was a unspoiled pick . This very nice undetermined variety create yield in as fiddling as 52 to 55 daylight after graft .
I did n’t find it to be hugely flavorful , but flavor is obviously subjective . And many hoi polloi love the taste of Stupice .
It grow well and is a nice accession to the garden . The variety initiate in the former Czechoslovakia and has been in the United States since the seventies .
“ These 2 - ounce saladette - type tomato have a cherubic flavor and plants can concede plenty of fruits to falsify with and apportion , ” Goodspeed allege .
( OK , so you ’re all wonder : How do you pronounce “ Stupice ” ? Answer : It ’s not like you ’d remember . There does n’t seem to be a determinate consensus on the exact orthoepy , but my inquiry indicates it ’s something likestoo - peet - say . )
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If you think that any tomato name “ nanus ” is credibly small , you ’d be ripe . But you probably are n’t envisioning just how diminished Mexico Midget tomatoes are .
These Lycopersicon esculentum grow to approximately1⁄2inch in diameter . But do n’t be discouraged by their small size , because these teeny - petite tomatoes are top - snick in the gustatory perception department .
Mexico Midget is well known for its incredible flavor , and it ’s equally as beloved for its incredible ability to produce ( and bring about and farm ) . An undetermined form , it ’s quick to harvest between 60 and 70 24-hour interval after transplanting .
“ [ This variety ] from south of the border soma retentive corbel that will set copious amounts of small , red , true cherry tomato with a o.k. , true - balanced tomato flavor , ” Goodspeed says . “ You ’ll eat on one-half of what you find fault before you get into the kitchen doorway and have to go back for more . ”
Once upon a time , I buy a Koralik tomato plant . It ’s an early produce Russian heirloom and I thought it might feel right at plate in Zone 4a where I grow , in northern Wisconsin .
Koralik produce well all summer , coiffure slew of lovely red cherry tomato with nice flavor . All in all , I declared the mixture a definite success in my garden .
But the honest was yet to get . By the next summer , my garden bed disgorge over with voluntary Koralik plants . Where I be in the frozen northern Midwest , tomato seed are n’t supposed to be able-bodied to hold out overwinter in the garden .
But nobody enjoin that to the never-say-die Koralik plant . They prosper yr after year in my garden from the descendants of that original works .
Koralik clearly mastered the “ superhardy ” part . But it ’s also a authentic manufacturer and well deserving a spot in your garden . It matures in 55 to 60 days .
If you ’d like an early time of year variety that ’s a bit on the larger size , how about Bloody Butcher with its clusters of 3- to 4 - troy ounce fruits ? These bunch are telling , specially see that tomato are ready in just 55 days . And this undetermined multifariousness just keeps on bring forth all summer long .
It ’s an old front-runner with a pot of fans . According to Goodspeed , Bloody Butcher is an “ indeterminate that produces Campari - type , medium - sized , circular , sour - ruby , 4 - snow leopard gamy fruits for salads , low slicers , sauce or salsa . ”
In a sea of 2 - inch violent tomatoes , Glacier stand out , thanks to the light handful of orange in its otherwise - red skin . citizenry consistently report Glacier as sweet . This is gamy praise indeed , considering that former time of year tomato as a grouping are n’t noted for breaking flavor records .
In addition to its excellent flavor , Glacier is hardy , produces in less than 60 days and continues producing throughout the season .
How does a 40 - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. heirloom tomato sound ? Quedlinburger Fruhe Liebe is an indeterminate diversity that ’s memorable thanks to its typical name and its incredibly former matureness .
“ [ It ] is named for the medieval German Ithiel Town in which it ’s said to have originated . And the wordsfruhe liebetranslate to ‘ early love , ’ ” Goodspeed says . “ The 1- to 2 - inch , red , circular fruits have a plentiful , complex , slightly acidulent tomato flavor . And they countersink Campari - style on potato - leaf plant like many true heirlooms do . ”
Quedlinburger Fruhe Liebe matures so cursorily that the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers University classify it as “ very betimes . ”
I let in it : I have a easygoing spot for tomato with stripes . So it ’s no surprisal that Tigerella caught my center with its bright red coloring and lily-livered - orange tree stripes .
It ’s like in size to most of the other early diverseness ( 2 inches ) and is an indeterminate smorgasbord that maturate in approximately 65 days . A fun choice for gardener who hump Green Zebra but want to glean striped tomato plant before 80 day .
This one is n’t quite as former season as the others , but it ’s still an earlier - time of year assortment . I include it here for a few cause .
If you ’re depend for a bigger Lycopersicon esculentum that still wo n’t take all summer to produce , this indeterminate variety might be a estimable option .
Anna Russian matures anywhere from 65 to 80 days .
It ’s still snowing outdoors while I compose this . But thanks to these higher-ranking early time of year love apple , all of that glorious garden good develop closer every Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
May your flora produce extravagantly and your kitchen overspill with tomatoes . delight !
More Information: Other Varieties
summertime in Alaska are short and fleeting . So any love apple bearing the name of our 49th state is bind to be an former time of year kind .
Often described as the earlier plum tomato plant available , Alaskan Fancy fits the government note . Delicious 2 - column inch fruits ready in about 55 days !
think you could n’t have an 8 - oz. tomato in 55 days ? Think again ! Sophie ’s Choice , a Canadian kind , create great , unfermented tomatoes in less than 60 days .
A determinate variety with a works height of only 24 inches , Sophie ’s Choice is beloved for its impressive productiveness and tone .
take down : This one do good in cool climate , so gestate that in mind .
This article originally appeared in the March / April 2022 issue ofHobby Farmsmagazine .
