The best tomatoes to plant this spring

Added on 28 March 2021

Tags

US- It's tomato planting time. If you are looking for some exceptionally delicious tomatoes, consider the tomato Ruby Crush and another cherry tomato, BHN 968.

Ruby Crush is the Rodeo Tomato for 2021 and offers a sweet, grape-style fruit. It is a determinate variety which means it grows quickly to a relatively small full size and then concentrates on producing fruit.

BHN 968 is a cherry tomato that also begins producing fruit very quickly. The flavor is more tart than Ruby Crush, but it is very flavorful, and I can't decide which tastes better. I am finding it easier to suggest that you follow my lead and grow a few plants of each so you can enjoy the different but equally tasty flavors.

Ruby Crush and BHN 968 will be the first tomatoes in your garden to mature fruit. They both can tolerate hot temperatures and grow through infestations of spider mites.

For something special, grow the Ruby Crush and BHN 968 in containers. Because of their determinate structure and relatively small size, they do well in containers that are 5 gallon or larger.

I especially like how tomatoes perform in whiskey barrel halves. Try the plastic version. They sell for about $10 and offer all the advantages of a wood barrels without the elaborateness of the wooden structure.

Weed control, insect treatment, and irrigation are all easier for plants grown in a large container. Use Osmocote supplemented by soluble fertilizer to provide nutrients. Use of a tomato cage is not as important for the small tomatoes as it is for the larger tomato varieties, but I find it to be useful.

If you are interested in growing larger tomatoes, there are several proven selections on the retail market. When I say proven selections, that refers to varieties that can produce desirable fruit within the limitations of our short growing seasons and in the midst of our challenging soils and pests.

We want a tomato variety that can grow to a reasonable size and produce tomatoes before the temperatures become to hot to produce fruit. The spring growing calendar is basically April 1 through June 30. Just like cherry tomatoes, grow the larger varieties in full sun and in well-fertilized soil.

Young Tycoon tomatoes, a good choice for a larger tomato.

Marvin Pfeiffer /Staff file photo

Some of the proven selections are Tycoon, HM8849, HM 1823, Celebrity, Valley Cat, Red Deuce and Red Snapper. Tycoon, Celebrity, Valley Cat, and BHN 968 are nematode resistant. Use those selections in sections of gardens that are infected with nematodes.

Some San Antonio gardeners have had success in reducing the speed and extent of spider mite populations by using a preventative spray every week of 2 tablespoons of seaweed extract per gallon of water. Daconil is a fungicide that is usually effective in stopping the spread of a fungus on an infected plant. For detailed information on using agricultural fiber mounted on the tomato cage to discourage white flies, thrips and other insects carrying virus infections, visit plantanswers.com.

Use a Bt product such as Thuricide or Dipel to control caterpillars. Often it is easier to find the hornworms and other caterpillars and just pull them off by hand. They grow to a large size quickly.

Calvin Finch is a retired Texas A&M horticulturist. calvinrfinch@gmail.com