TOMATO, SLICER/BEEFSTEAK
VARIETY: Hybrids = Beefsteak, Better Boy, Big Beef, Celebrity, Chef’s Choice Striped, Early Girl, Mountain Delight, Mountain Magic, Park’s Whopper, Wild Boar Pink Berekeley Tie-Dye, Wild Boar Sweet Carneros Pink
Heirlooms = Abraham Lincoln, Arkansas Traveler, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Black From Tula, Brandywine (potato-leaf variety), Brandywine Pink (potato-leaf variety), Brandywine Yellow (potato-leaf variety), Giant Oxheart, Green Zebra, Hillbilly, Jubilee, Oaxacan Pink, Omar’s Lebanese, Persimmon, Stupice, Thessaloniki, Virginia Sweets
BLOOM COLOR: yellow
FOLIAGE COLOR: green, can be darker green or purplish on the underside of the leaves - leaves and stems usually have hairs
VEGETABLE COLOR/SIZE: Color = varied including red, pink, brown, purple, orange, yellow, green, and multicolored
Size = 4 to 16 oz or more depending on variety
BOTANICAL NAME: Solanum lycopersicum
ANNUAL OR PERENNIAL?: annual
WARM SEASON OR COOL SEASON?: warm season; not frost tolerant
PLANT SIZE: 3 to 5 feet tall; 1 to 3 feet wide
LIGHT NEEDS: at least 6 hours of full sun per day, more sun is better
WATER NEEDS: normal (about an inch of water total per week)
FERTILIZER NEEDS: heavy (either a balanced or a higher phosphorus content fertilizer about twice a month)
IDEAL SOIL CONDITIONS: well draining soil
PLANT SPACING FOR TRANSPLANTS: leave about 2 to 3 feet between plants
PLANT SUPPORTS NEEDED?: possibly, plant leaves should be kept off of the ground - cages are a common support method
WHEN TO PLANT OUT: after all danger of frost has passed and soil temperature is above 60 F - bury the plant deeper in the soil than it was in the pot, more roots will grow off of the area of the stem that is under the soil
CAN IT BE PLANTED IN A CONTAINER?: smaller plants may do fine in a large container but in the ground is better for optimal growth and production
DURING GROWTH: even watering will help avoid cracking of tomatoes better than an excess of water (watch out during big summer rainstorms)
WATCH FOR THESE PESTS/DISEASES: tomato hornworm, blight, tomato mosaic virus - heirloom varieties may be less resistant to blight
TIME TO HARVEST: 60 to 75 days
HARVESTING: harvest individual fruits when ripe or nearly ripe, plants may continue to produce fruit until first frost with continuous harvesting