It’s About Thyme
by CHRIS WINSLOW
This has been a week of frequently asked questions about tomatoes.
Gardeners are anxious to get started, but as we know from the chilly conditions this week, Mr. Winter hasn’t released his grip quite yet.
When is it safe to plant tomatoes?
The simple answer is: when the last of the freezes and frosts is behind us.?The average last freeze date for the Travis/Hays county areas is the first week of March. The last frost date: around March 15.
It’s important to remember that these dates are averages. Last spring my tomatoes in my northern Hays County garden were toasted by a very late frost on April 7.
If you ask organic farmers at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market for a safe date, you get a variety of answers.?One said that if Easter Sunday is in early April, she plants the following day. (Easter is April 4 this year.)?Another farmer said it was safe to plant when the mesquite trees budded out. Yet another said mesquites can be fooled, and the safest indicator is the pecans. After their leaves come out… it never frosts.
I then spoke with Edgar Chaves at Finca Pura Vida in Fayettville. His first crop has already been planted. He gets an early start by surrounding his plants with cages and covering them with protective row cover if frost is in the forecast.
Why so early? Edgar likes to take advantage of the cooler weather because tomatoes don’t set as well when the temperatures climb in the nineties.
What varieties of tomatoes will I have the most success with?
The most popular is the suitably named Celebrity. Gardeners grow this tomato 10 to 1, and everyone loves the taste.
Other popular varieties: Merced, Big Boy, Better Boy, BHN 444, Carnival, Valley Girl and Amelia.
Most gardeners concur that cherry tomatoes are bullet proof and will continue to produce even in the hottest of summers.
The most popular cherry tomatoes: Sweet One Hundred, Big Cherry Large, Sweet One Million, Small Fry and Yellow Pear.?My two favorites are Juliet and Sun Gold. They produce handfuls daily and these rarely make it to the kitchen because they are so sweet.
Are there any new tomatoes being released this year?
Yes! Phoenix tomato has all the buzz right now. This tomato had its debut at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, and was presented to the public on Feb. 4 by the San Antonio Master Gardeners.
Phoenix has a mid-size fruit that’s highly adapted to hot conditions. It’s a vigorous plant with good leaf cover and will set fruit in hot and dry conditions.
Fellow gardeners, I can’t wait to trial this new variety as well as the 30 others I’ll plant in my 16’ by 32’ garden. I’m going to do many trials at the nursery as well. Come see!
If you have any questions about tomatoes or any other plant or garden related subject please give me a call or send an e-mail. to iathyme@yahoo.com. Or mail a postcard to It’s About Thyme: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748 www.itsaboutthyme.com.
