You Can Enjoy Delicious, Home-Grown Tomatoes

Tasty Tomatoes

You can grow your own tasty tomatoes! Although commonly referred to as vegetables, tomatoes are actually fruits! Stop by your local SummerWinds Nursery to explore our fabulous selection of determinate and indeterminate tomatoes—including heirloom varieties—available seasonally, while supplies last. Check out our top choices below…

The Benefits of Home-Grown Tomatoes

There is nothing more delicious than a fresh tomato, right out of the garden. Growing tomatoes in Arizona is surprisingly easy and can offer tasty, fresh-off-the-vine snacks and homemade sauces throughout the year! The tomato plant comes in many varieties, including heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and Roma grape tomatoes. At SummerWinds Nursery, our experts can answer all of your questions about the different varieties, planting tomatoes, and how to grow tomatoes.

Tomatoes are not only delicious, they’re nutritious:

• High in Vitamins, A, C and K
• Great Dietary Source of Potassium
• High in Antioxidants and Lycopene
• Garden fresh tomatoes ensure nutrient integrity

Plus, they are low maintenance and generally prefer a location in full-sun. The best time for planting tomatoes is March, as these plants prefer when the temperature is between 55° and 95° F. Water your tomato plant at its base (don’t water the leaves) once a week during the cooler months and 2 – 3 times a week during the warmer months.

Determinate Verses Indeterminate Tomatoes

Determinate

Determinate tomato plants are also known as “bush” tomatoes and generally grow to a compact height of 3 to 4 feet tall.

• They stop growing when fruit sets on the top bud
• All tomatoes on the plant usually ripen during a period of 1-2 weeks and at approximately the same time
• Well suited for container planting and need little staking for support.

Indeterminate

Indeterminate tomato plants grow and produce fruit until they are killed by frost.

• Although many grow to 6 feet tall, some varieties can grow up to 12 feet tall.
• Indeterminate plants will bloom, set new fruit and ripen fruit all at the same time throughout the growing season.
• Because of their height and fruit production, indeterminate tomato plants require generous staking for support. (Source: https://www.tomatofest.com/tomato-questions.html)

Tomato cages available seasonally, while supplies last.

Top 10 Hybrid Tomatoes

• Ace (a) – Determinate. 80 Days to harvest. Excellent tomato flavor with low acid. An old favorite for canning, exceptional yields of 6-8 oz fruits.
• Beefsteak (b) – Indeterminate. 75 Days to harvest. Huge 2-pound fruits are juicy, meaty and full of flavor. Ideal for slicing.
• Better Boy (c) – Indeterminate. 70 Days to harvest. High yield of huge 10 oz. fruits. Superior disease resistance and unbeatable flavor.
• Celebrity (d) – Determinate. 70 Days to harvest. All-purpose variety with superb flavor, disease resistance and heavy yields of 7 oz. fruits.
• Champion (e) – Indeterminate. 65 Days to harvest. Red fruits can get 6 – 8 oz. in weight. Tomatoes are solid with a meaty texture and sweet flavor.
• Early Girl (f) – Indeterminate. 57 Days to harvest. Meaty red early fruits. 4 to 6 oz. Heavy yields on hardy vines.
• Juliette Red (g) – Indeterminate. 60 Days to harvest. Clusters of elongated grape-like fruits hold onto the vine longer than any other cherry type. Excellent flavor and high yields.
• Large Red Cherry (h) – Indeterminate. 72 Days to harvest. An excellent salad tomato. High yields over a long season. Green fruits may be pickled while ripe ones can be used fresh or for preserves.
• Roma (i) – Determinate. 75 Days to harvest. Produces a large harvest of thick walled, meaty, bright red, oblong fruits that are ideal for cooking and sauces.
• Sweet 100 (j) – Indeterminate. 70 Days to harvest. Long, pendulous clusters of sweet scarlet red 1 oz. cherry-sized fruits. Great for snacking and salads. Produce over a long season.

Want one more? We recommend the Sun Gold Cherry (k) tomato: Indeterminate. 55-65 Days to harvest. This hybrid golden orange tomato is considered to be among the sweetest tomatoes with a tangy flavor. Plant can grow to be 8 to 10 feet tall or more and produces up to 1 oz. fruits until it frosts.

Top 10 Heirloom Tomatoes

• Black Krim (l) – Indeterminate. 80 Days to harvest. Dark red-purple fruits with a rich, sweet flavor. An heirloom from Russia with very large 8 oz. fruits. Highly regarded for it’s excellent, bold taste.
• Brandywine (m) – Indeterminate. 85 Days to harvest. Large potato-leaf vines produce deep-red, meaty fruits up to 2 pounds in size with an excellent mild, non-acidic flavor rated by many as simply the best!
• Cherokee Purple (n) – Indeterminate. 80 Days to harvest. Beautiful heirloom weighing in at about 1 pound and filled with intense violet-purple hues. Believed to have originated more than 120 years ago, this heavy bearing vine truly is a treasure from the past.
• German Johnson (o) – Indeterminate. 80 Days to harvest. Introduced nearly a century ago, a large 2 pound, nearly seedless tomato that’s creamy, tangy, meaty and juicy. A parent of the popular Mortgage Lifter tomato. Very heat tolerant.
• Green Zebra (p) – Indeterminate. 78 Days to harvest. A result of four heirlooms bred together, this tomato boasts beautiful emerald green striped 2 oz. tomatoes with flavorful green flesh. Great fresh or canned.
• Mortgage Lifter (q) – Indeterminate. 80 Days to harvest. 1930’s heirloom beefsteak with meaty and very juicy fruits that average 2.5 pounds. Consistently wins taste tests by home gardeners.
• Pearson (r) – Determinate. 80 Days to harvest. A 1942 variety with rich old-fashioned tomato flavor. High yields of 7 oz. red fruits perfect for slicing, sandwiches and canning. Popular commercial variety in California in the 1950’s. Excellent yields in hot, semi-arid areas.
• San Marzano (s) – Indeterminate. 80 Days to harvest. Introduced in 1926, this tomato is thinner and more pointed than Roma types. Flesh is much thicker with fewer seeds. Taste is stronger, sweeter and less acidic. Ideal tomato for pastes and sauces.
• Taxi (t) – Determinate. 70 Days to harvest. Bright yellow 6 oz. fruits are meaty, mild and acid free. Great fresh for salads, sandwiches or as an addition to salsas.
• Yellow Pear (u) – Indeterminate. 80 Days to harvest. Very sweet 1.5 inch, yellow pear-shaped tomatoes, great fresh or used for preserves. Very productive plants and easy to grow.

Hybrid Tomatoes vs. Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom: Generally speaking, most heirloom varieties were introduced before 1940. Heirloom varieties can be grown from seed. Heirloom tomatoes are not as disease resistant as hybrid tomato plants but they’re relished for their multigenerational taste.

Hybrid: Hybrid tomato plants are generally more resistant to disease. They are created from two different varieties with desirable traits, including: disease resistance, their ability to grow in hot or cold climates, or taste, texture and size.

Want to Know How to Grow the Tastiest Tomatoes?

At SummerWinds Nursery, we recommend the following soils, amendments and fertilizers to help you grow absolutely fabulous tomatoes:

• Strawberry Fields™ Potting SoilStrawberry Fields™ Fruiting & Flowering Potting Soil is designed to pump up your blooms, fruits and berries with no hang-ups.
• E.B. Stone Organics Tomato & Vegetable Food The 4-5-3 tomato and vegetable food can be used throughout your vegetable garden, in addition to being used with soft fruits (such as strawberries) to produce high-quality fruits and vegtables. Registered cdfa.
• Worm Castings: At SummerWinds, we offer two types of worm castings:

• • E.B. Stone Organics Super Earthworm Castings An ideal addition to local soils, this organic soil conditioner helps improve the overall health of your soil. Registered cdfa.
  • WormGold® Plus Pure Worm CastingsA great organic addition to potting soil mixes. In addition to being used as a soil amendment, can also be used for making compost tea.
• HuMic Granular Humic Acid (by Fertilome) HuMic Granular Humic Acid soil amendment is for vegetable gardens, flowerbeds, indoor plants and compost bins. It is a highly concentrated soil conditioner. Its humic acids enhance nutrient uptake, stimulates soil microbial life and encourages root development.
• Natural Guard Soil Activator (by VPG Fertilome) Natural Guard Soil Activator is a safe, natural way to help your lawn clippings compost and return to the soil valuable nutrients found in grass clippings and thatch. Promotes the chelation of available nutrients, assists in nutrient uptake, and improves the growth of beneficial microorganisms.
• Maxi-Cal 10-0-0 Fertilizer (by Grow More) Maxi-Cal liquid is a bio-effective formulation that prevents or corrects physiological calcium and micronutrient deficiencies. Contains 10 percent calcium plus eight micros. Improves quality of fruits and vegetables. Corrects blossem end rot in tomatoes, peppers, melons and broccoli.

• Extreme Plant Food Tomato Blend (by Dave Owens, the Organic Garden Guy) An all natural, slow release plant food that is high in nitrogen with added calcium to prevent blossom end rot. It feeds your vegetables and promotes mico biotic activity in the soil. This product contains Mycorrhizae (beneficial fungi) that increases the ability of the plant to get nutrients from the soil. It also helps to prevent transplant shock and increases your plant’s resistance to disease. It will increase plant growth, vitality and production naturally.

Want to learn more? Speak with one of our Trusted Garden Advisors.

At SummerWinds, We Guarantee Success!

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