Well Established, New and Heirloom Tomato Varieties

11 Aug

Tomatoes have been around for centuries even though they have really only been a popular foodstuff since the late 19^th century. And it is only really since the mid 1950s that growers have concentrated on new strains that grow in every conceivable climate.

Of course the introduction of new – perfect – strains has not been without criticism, particularly those that are known to be genetically modified.

Commercially Grown Tomatoes

One factor that is commonly discussed is that commercially grown tomatoes have tough skins and they are pretty tasteless. The reason for growers developing tough skins is that they ripen more slowly, which in turn increases their shelf life.

When we grow tomatoes at home, there is no need to extend their shelf life. In fact there is nothing much better than a tomato picked and eaten on the same day. If you seem to have too many tomatoes, there are dozens of things you go do with the crop, from making homemade salsa, tomato sauces and chutneys, to crushing them for juice, or pulping them for future cooking needs.

Home Grown Tomatoes

For this reason you should be planting the most flavoursome tomatoes in your vegetable garden, rather than those that look like the perfect specimens you can scoop off your supermarket shelves. Of course there are also secrets of cultivation that will increase flavour.

When you investigate the seeds available for planting in your area of the world, you will find that most tomatoes are described according to shape and colour, sometimes size, and quite often according to the use of the fruit. For example:

Cherry tomatoes are cherry-sized, cherry-shaped and red, like cherries.
Oxheart, a so-called pink variety of tomato, is vaguely heart-shaped and lobed like a heart. It is a large type of tomato and particular “meaty” in texture.
Homestead tomatoes are a well-known American cultivar that produces good yields.
Moneymaker tomatoes are smaller than the Homestead cultivar, but also produce a “heavy” flavoursome crop.

While none of these tomatoes are “new”, they are all popular in the home garden.

Heirlooms, which have been handed down from generation to generation, are usually found in isolated areas, and most are not widely available. Tomatoes self-sow easily, and will also cross-pollinate. So what develops in one garden is often totally different to what develops naturally in another. Some distinctive, unique types have been reported, some of which are shaped more like peppers, and others that have strange colours and some even with stripes.

The true original heirloom tomatoes were not produced commercially, although today plant breeders have developed what are known as “heirlooms”.

In addition, there are “new” cultivars and hybrids that make an appearance on the market from time to time. Some exciting heirlooms and “new” hybrids making an appearance in 2011 include:

a rare “creamy white” (yellowish) rounded heirloom tomato with a low acid content,
a striped tomato described as a strain of Cherokee Purple, that looks like a slightly flattened beefsteak tomato,
a gorgeous little pea-sized “currant-cherry” tomato that is said to be an ancient heirloom variety out of Mexico.

So why not go on a search for seed and see what you can find? You are sure to add instant interest to your tomato beds at home.