FROM THE GARDEN

YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH SUMMER TOMATOES

Every gardener has a favorite vegetable or fruit, and mine is the tomato. I love to walk through the plants in the summer, their fragrant vines brushing against me and leaving the scent of tomato on my skin and hair. Variety is the spice of life you know, and with more than 400 kinds of tomatoes available, I always try to grow as many different types as possible. This year I set a record with 76 tomato plants!

I grow heirloom, hybrid, bush and vine. If it's a tomato seed, chances are it will be planted in my garden at some point in time. Over the years, I have grown to love heirloom tomatoes—their vast array of hues satisfy the craving for color and variety in my garden and cooking.

The definition of the word "heirloom" is hotly debated. One school of thought places an age or date point on the cultivars. Others say the seed must be over 100 years old. Others prefer the date 1945, which marks the end of World War II and roughly the beginning of widespread hybrid use by growers and seed companies. The old school of thought is that a true "heirloom" is a cultivar that has been nurtured, selected and handed down from one family to another for many generations. Regardless of interpretation, most agree that heirlooms, by definition, must be open-pollinated.

There are two predominate types of tomato varieties—indeterminate and determinate. Indeterminate tend to be the most popular type, usually tied to a cane or string, and the side shoots are removed to ensure the plant's energy goes into the fruit rather than the foliage. The plants grow to about six feet and produce fruit until killed by frost. This type includes Brandywine, Jubilee, Sungold, Cherokee Purple, Hillbilly, Green Zebra, White Wonder, Arkansas Traveler, Black Krim, Caspian Pink, Delicious, Mortgage Lifter and Rutgers.

Determinate tomatoes, also called bush tomatoes, grow to about three or four feet, and all the tomatoes on the plant will ripen around the same time. Since they are compact and require a limited amount of staking, they make great container plants for people with limited garden area or those in a summer rental. Some of the most popular varieties are Better Bush, Heartland, Sunmaster Hybrid, Bush Goliath, Yellow River, Fargo, Bush Early Girl and Early Wonder.