Re: [tomato] One wilting tomato plant

Margaret Lauterbach (Tomato@GlobalGarden.com)
Mon, 08 Jun 1998 10:29:33 -0600 

At 10:48 AM 6/8/98 -0400, you wrote:
>Have you considered it may be the work of a cutworm?
>
>I'd be interested to know what varieties of cherry tomatoes you grow and
>their different characteristics.  I grow Sweet 100 for the excellent
>very sweet taste despite the way it cracks.  I tried Super Sweet 100 and
>they remedied the cracking problem by making a tough skin.  I also grew
>Sungold which was sweet and fruity but not tomatoey enough for me.  But
>I'm open to anything.  I like to eat them while harvesting my
>beefsteaks.  I'd also be interested in how the Bush Beefsteak tastes as
>I've seen reviews of it saying it was insipid while others liked it.
>Marlynn
>
First of all, I admit to being prejudiced against hybrids, and for open
pollinated tomatoes.  OPs have thinner skins, don't ship well, and
wonderful flavor, so they're prime candidates for home gardens, IMO.  Seed
companies claim Sweet 100s is a hybrid, but it isn't.  They just want to
sell seed each year instead of people's saving their own.  

Gardeners' Delight is the best-flavored cherry tomato I've tasted, and it's
an open pollinated variety.  It's larger than Sweet 100s, in some gardens
growing almost to golf ball size.  Skin is tender, and the flavor is sweet
but tomato-ey.  Another excellent cherry tomato (this one's yellow) is
called Lollipop.  It's an open pollinated variety available from Southern
Exposure Seed Exchange.  

If you're worried about disease resistance, consider whether people would
have bothered saving seeds from a wimpy plant that easily succumbed to
disease.  Many open pollinated varieties have been available for 50 years
(designated heirlooms) or more.  Last year I grew one variety that's known
to have been available for 150 years.  Nobody's going to save seeds for
generation after generation for yukky fruit, either.  Try growing tomatoes
such as Black Krim, Pruden's Purple, Dinner Plate, Watermelon Beefsteak,
etc., and you'll get hooked on OP tomatoes.  Margaret