The critters fooled me this summer. They let me enjoy the first tomato cultivars that ripened, so I figured the coast was clear for the summer. But they must prefer heirlooms (which take longer to mature). As soon as we hit August, all bets were off and if I didn’t pick my tomatoes the second they showed even the slightest hint of color, I would find chewed fruits the next morning.
My favorite cultivar that I got to enjoy was ‘Wild Boar Pink Berkeley Tie Dye’ (pictured above). It’s an indeterminate (65 days) with an heirloom taste, and the fruits started to ripen for me in July already.
My husband’s favorite was ‘Chef’s Choice Orange’ (the one above wasn’t fully ripened yet when I picked it). The 9 to 12oz fruits taste like an heirloom—one of its parents is the heirloom ‘Amana Orange’—and even though most of my tomatoes had blemishes this year, the fruits on this one were perfect every time. These tomatoes have less acid.
I tried ‘Sun Gold’ this year because the whole world seems to rave about it (the little orange ones above), but I wasn’t impressed with this cultivar. I was expecting an explosion of fruits and didn’t get them, and once picked they kept splitting open and leaking on my counter. I grew ‘Sweet Gold’ last year which buried me in tomatoes that kept coming until frost, and they never split. That’s the cherry tomato I’ll grow again next year.
‘Jet Star’ was one of my best performing red tomatoes. They were blemish-free and crack-free and lasted a long time on the counter. It’s a low acid tomato that yields 8oz fruits.
And I was excited about growing ‘Aunt Ruby’s German Green’ on the advice of neighbors. In fact the seed catalogs say it’s a good one to try because it ripens green and doesn’t tempt rodents or birds. Well my chipmunks weren’t fooled. Just as two of the biggest tomatoes (easily over a pound each) felt soft to the touch and I was about to pick them, the chipmunks beat me to it and had a feast. I intended to outsmart them when a third fruit was nearly ready, but they chowed down on that one too before I could bring it safely inside.
I got a little carried away this year and grew 18 different cultivars (the rodents were happy!). Next year I’m going to plant just two or three types of tomatoes and hope the rodents will share with me.