Some favorite, old-time heirloom tomatoes come in disease-resistant varieties.
Tomato plants can take some babying, which makes the newer disease-resistant varieties hard to resist. However, many gardeners prefer to grow intensely flavorful and succulent tomatoes just like grandma grew. Some heirlooms have gained improved disease-resistance from breeding programs, while others are just known to be hardier. You can choose from some hardy heirloom varieties, but remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: Garden with good soil, water regularly and rotate crops to slow the buildup of tomato-loving pests. Does this Spark an idea?
Brandywine
Brandywine tomatoes are known for huge, indeterminate vines and huge fruits ranging up to 1 lb. each. These yummy beefsteak tomatoes have been grown by the Amish since 1885, and many gardeners still have success with them today. Brandywines have reddish-pink flesh and take 80 to 100 days to mature.
Cherokee Purple
Cherokee Purple is a close contender in the flavor contest with Brandywine tomatoes. Not only do they have a storied history of harvest by Cherokee Indians, these large tomatoes truly look like heirlooms, with purplish skin and pronounced ribs. The indeterminate vines produce mature fruits in 85 days.
German Johnson
German Johnson tomatoes beat out Brandywines in the competition for wildest vines and biggest fruits. These pink-fruited tomatoes originated in North Carolina and do well in the humid South, where gardeners love to gather friends and family for tomato sandwiches every summer. They take about 75 days to mature.
Marglobe
The name says it all: Marglobes have a smooth, round shape. These red tomatoes mature on determinate vines in 75 to 80 days. The medium-sized tomatoes were released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1925. According to Bonnie Plants, Marglobes are resistant to verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt.
Rutgers VFA
Rutgers tomatoes have been popular since the mid-1930s, due to their ability to produce bumper crops on more manageable, determinate vines. The medium-sized, red fruits are known as "VFA" for resistance to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt and alternaria stem canker. They take 70 to 75 days to mature.
Other Varieties
Specialty tomato growers claim disease resistance in heirloom varieties lesser known in the United States. Golden Harvest Organics touts the Big Rainbow Tomato and Black Russian tomatoes, among others.
Tags: days mature, Brandywine tomatoes, Cherokee Purple, determinate vines, disease-resistant varieties