The Best Tomatoes I’ve Ever Grown

Posted by: Susan Perry, Master Gardener in Larimer County

“Best” is such a challenging word.  I guess most people would think about the best-tasting tomatoes they’ve ever grown.  To give that perspective justice, you’d have to be the type who tries new varieties every year.  That’s never been me …. I find something I like and stay loyal.  Of course, this approach has its pros (always a known, enjoyable quantity) and cons (maybe I’ve missed out).  Take ice cream.  From a little kid, it’s always been mint chocolate chip for me.  I’ve tried other things but mint chocolate chip has remained my favorite.  Fast forward to adulthood here in Ft. Collins when Coldstone Creamery opened.  They had mint but it was too minty, so I branched out to coffee with Heath Bar bits on top.  YUM YUM!

Back to tomatoes.  For years, it was Early Girl.  They worked pretty consistently in Colorado.  Then,

Early Girl tomato
(Photo courtesy of Rutgers University)

it seemed every year there was always something that went wrong.  A few years ago, my next door neighbor (Carrie) gave me some Brandywine and Purple Cherokees she’d grown from seed.  We tried them, loved them, and they had survived a nasty whitefly infestation that decimated the Early Girls, and a Mortgage Lifter.  Both Brandywine and Purple Cherokee had great flavor and were great for BLTs.  They became my number one for pure flavor.  (Remember, I haven’t tried hundreds of varieties so they seem perfect to me.)  But they were a bit juicy for canning, so last year we also planted Roma plum tomatoes, which were quite good for canning and very prolific.

Purple Cherokee....or Cherokee Purple
No matter how you say it, they are tasty!

I’m sure there are many out there who have experimented with other varieties who could suggest other things for me to try.  And I’d give them a shot, so don’t hold back.  But it really wasn’t just flavor that made Brandywine and Purple Cherokee “best” for me.  “Best” was, thanks to Carrie, when I branched out and started growing my own tomato plants from seed.  When growing open-pollinated tomatoes, I could collect seeds from tomatoes I’d grown, save them, and use them the following year.  So this worked well with the Brandywine, Purple Cherokee, and Roma.

But collecting the seed in the summer, starting seedlings in the spring, transplanting them outside over Memorial Day weekend, and watching them grow all summer is what has made for the “best” experience.   First, it reminded me that things are often far less daunting than one might imagine.  Growing from scratch also gave me the satisfaction of knowing what had happened to my tomato plants every step of the way.  No more hoping that the store where I bought the plants knew to bring them in when nighttime temps were below 50 degrees.  No more waiting till Memorial Day so that all the plants that had been exposed to cold nighttime temps had already been sold.  And last, I learned a bunch of new things – exactly how to collect the seeds, hot to pot-up the seedlings to prevent them from becoming too leggy, and taking advantage of all warm days in the spring to put my seedlings outside when temps were above 50 degrees and bringing them in at night.  Which all goes to prove that you can teach an old broad new tricks!  

Crabapple Blooms – A Welcome Sign of Spring

Posted by: James E. Klett, Extension Specialist

Crabapples are popular ornamental trees in Colorado especially along the Front Range of Colorado and their flowering announces the arrival of spring.

Their blossoms appear generally from April to May depending on variety but this season they have appeared one to three weeks earlier than normal. Crabapple flowers may be single (5 petal), semi-double (6 to 10 petals) or double (more than 10 petals). Single-flowered crabapple varieties tend to bloom earlier and currently many are in full bloom. Semi-double and double flowered varieties tend to bloom later in the spring season. Actual dates of blossoming can vary each year depending on weather conditions and this spring they seem to be earlier than normal. Also, the length of blooming period can range from 1 to 2 weeks depending on variety and weather conditions. Cooler weather will prolong their bloom period.

Crabapple flower buds are even attractive before they are fully open, developing color as they swell – called the balloon or bud stage. The balloon may be a different color than the later mature flowers.

Crabapple flowers are a welcome sign of spring and this year’s flower abundance along the Front Range seems exceptionally outstanding.

Colorado State University has been evaluating crabapple varieties for over 30 years for ornamental features and for disease and pest resistance.

 

A few single flowered forms that have done exceptionally well in our trials include:

• Cardinal – with pink to white single flowers with reddish new leaves and good disease resistance
•  Spring Snow – single white very early fragrant flowers with bright green leaves and very popular because it produces no fruit
•  Royal Raindrops – with single pink to red flowers with cutleaf purple leaves turning orange red in fall
•  Sentinel – red balloon to white early flowers with upright growth habit and good for narrower spaces

Semi Double Types:

• Coral burst – has pink to rose semi-double flowers and available in both tree or shrub form and an excellent patio plant

Double Type:

• Brandywine – has double pink rose flowers that are later to bloom, but has many larger fruits and exfoliating bark. It is one of the better double flowered forms.

By choosing to plant some crabapples of all three types you can enjoy the flowers of crabapples over almost a six to eight week period of time given favorable weather conditions.