It’s almost that time again, my favorite time of year! Time to get my hands dirty and my nails ragged, prepping the garden space for another season. It’s almost tomato planting time and if you’re tired of planting the same tomato cultivars each year, even if they are tried and true, why not mix things up a bit and try something new this season? Play around with a new tomato cultivar or two, or three.
This can be an exciting endeavor, but before you go all out willy-nilly and buy plants, be sure to arm yourself with some information. Fire up the internet and take a look at the Burpee seed and plant site. They’ve been providing non-GMO varieties for over 140 years, so it’s fair to say the company is not only reputable but you can count on their word for recommending new tomato varieties for the garden, or containers if your current growing space is limited.
-placead-For example, we recently added a deck to our home, so I started looking for just the right tomato to grow in a container for this area. It isn’t a big deck, so I didn’t want a huge plant. Sure enough, Burpee has a number of tomatoes that fit this space. The one that caught my eye wasn’t a cherry tomato either but a beefsteak! Yes, you heard me right.
‘Atlas’ hybrid tomato
The ‘Atlas’ hybrid tomato is a big, tasty beefsteak variety that “combines modern performance with old-time flavor.” Best of all, this tomato plant was made just for growing on decks or porches. It’s a bushy yet compact (36-40 inches across) plant perfect for growing in containers or small spaces, like my deck. It’ll be close to the barbecue, and we’ll be having freshly sliced tomatoes, and I mean FRESH, every night of the week.
Tomato ‘Shimmer Hybrid’
Of course, your search doesn’t have to stop here. How about something new for the garden proper? Perhaps you have a little more space for tomato planting and just want to add something different. Again, Burpee has the perfect selections – like their new ‘Shimmer’ hybrid tomato. It’s larger than a cherry tomato but smaller than a Roma and perfect for munching straight from the vine. You’ll need plenty of space for this indeterminate type though, as it may reach 7-8 feet in height but it’s a high-yielding variety, so expect lots of fruit. And, it’s so pretty. ‘Shimmer’ lives up to its name with its almond shape and gilded shimmering skin touched by green striations. Sounds like another winner to me (our editor has already put her order in)!
Burpee does it every time. Now how about the rest of the garden? Let’s see”¦
