Fresh look: Tomato

The growth of the local food movement, the spike in healthy eating, consumer desire to try something new and the ever-increasing availability of varieties have boosted the tomato's popularity. As Craig LeHoullier said in his interview (page 15), "The choice (of tomatoes) has never been wider." Below are some of the new tomato offerings from a bevy of companies.
 

Think Pink

Think Pink is a large, globe-shaped tomato with raspberry pink color and a smooth, well-balanced taste. Think Pink is indeterminate, disease resistant and highly productive. Think Pink weighs in at about 8 ounces and has a smooth globe shape. Growers should expect maturity about 70 days from transplant.

For more: www.sakatavegetables.com

Indigo Fireball

Indigo hybrid tomatoes offer unique health benefits and delicious flavor, while offering high-performing seed and a reliable supply. The new Indigo Fireball small-fruited tomato is bold with a mid-yellow globe fruit and purple cap. This purple pigment makes Fireball high in anthocyanin. It has a nice balance of acids and sugars for a pleasant, aromatic flavor. Great for fresh eating or cooking. It’s available as seed, plugs and Bumper Crop grafted tomatoes.

For more: www.burpeehomegardensbrand.com

Kakao (F1) Tomato Seed

Kakao has the black tomato look in a smaller package. Uniform, round fruits are mostly between 4½-5½ ounces. The flesh is soft with a savory flavor, almost like it has been sea salted. Kakao’s distinctive look is suitable for branding by variety.

For more: www.johnnyseeds.com

Orange Zinger

New Orange Zinger is a high-quality indeterminate cherry tomato that’s great-tasting and crack resistant. It's dark orange color has big tomato flavor — a balance of sweet and tangy. The plant has great yield with plenty of usable fruit. Resistant to Fusarium Race 1 and Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Fruit ripens 60 days from transplant.

For more: www.panamseed.com

Bellini

Bellini is an early maturing, large-fruited, light orange cocktail tomato with great flavor. Indeterminate plants produce clusters of 8-12 smooth, deep oblate shaped, 1.5 ounce fruit with a rich, low acid flavor and good sweetness. It is widely adapted, easy to grow and matures in about 65 days from transplant.

For more: www.sakatavegetables.com

Caiman

Caiman is a large, round beef tomato with a medium-vigorous plant and an open plant habit for greenhouse production. It provides a good fruit set under hot conditions and is very productive. The average fruit weight exceeds 8.8 ounces. Caiman offers a nice disease package with resistance to: Leaf Mold races 1-5, Fusarium races 0-1, Spotted Wilt, Tomato Mosaic Virus and Verticilium Wilt. Caiman is available in 100-seed, 500-seed, 1M and 5M packages.

For more: www.ruppseeds.com

Skyway 687

Skyway 687 will work in both open-field and protected-culture environments. This new, 75-day variety offers excellent interior color, firmness and good eating quality. It has a strong plant that provides consistent, extra-large, 11-ounce fruit. Skyway 687 is resistant to: Fusarium Races 1-3, Nematodes, Spotted Wilt and Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl. Skyway 687 is available in 100-seed, 500-seed, 1M, 5M, 25M and 100M packages.

For more: www.ruppseeds.com

Bigdena (F1) Tomato Seed

Bigdena’s vigorous, open plant produces very high yields of uniform, 8-10 ounces, red fruits that are mostly smooth with slight shoulder ribs. The fruit has a good flavor with nice internal color and quality.

For more: www.johnnyseeds.com

Sweetheart of the Patio

Sweetheart of the Patio is a determinate tomato that can be grown in hanging baskets and smaller spaces. It has a semi-cascading habit and the fruit is a super-sweet, snack-ready baby cherry size. The compact plants are tolerant to Late Blight and offer high-yields. Each tomato weighs about 1 ounce (38 g) and measures 1 inch (2.5 cm) around. Ready to harvest in 68 days. It is supplied as raw seed exclusively through Burpee Home Gardens.

For more: www.burpeehomegardensbrand.com

Marbonne (F1) Tomato Seed

Marbonne is a hybrid version of the long popular French heirloom Marmande, but with improved disease resistance and vigor. Beautiful, deep red, ribbed tomatoes are borne on healthy plants. The Marbonne’s flavor is among the best with smooth, soft texture. High yields of 7-9 ounce fruit. The Marbonne makes a nice mix with Marnero and Margold. Does well in protected culture.

For more: www.johnnyseeds.com

Rossini

Rossini, like its orange counterpart, Bellini, is a very early maturing (in about 60 days from transplant), widely adapted, mid-sized red cocktail tomato with excellent flavor potential. The plant habit and maturity match Bellini, with slightly smaller (1-1.5 ounce) fruits with great texture and excellent eating appeal.

For more: www.sakatavegetables.com

Volante

Volante is a productive, 75-day variety that produces a concentrated set of large and extra-large fruit. The plants are strong, medium in size, and set very well in the heat. The fruit are high quality, very firm with good shelf life and flavor. It is adapted for mature green and vine ripe production. Volante has intermediate resistance to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus. It can be grown in either protected culture or open field production. Volante is available in 100-seed, 500-seed, 1M, 5M, 25M and 100M packages.

For more: www.ruppseeds.com