Heirloom tomatoes is a specific category of tomato that are distinguished from tomatoes commonly found in supermarkets in that the heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated. As a result of being open-pollinated, seed from heirloom tomatoes will grow into heirloom tomato plants that is identical to the original plant that grew the seeds. Thus, heirloom tomatoes tend to have consistencies characteristics from year to year.
Additionally, many individual choose to grow heirloom tomato plants due to the complex flavorings that often contain within heirloom tomatoes compared to the flavoring of hybrid tomato. The flavor of heirloom tomatoes can vary significant from one heirloom tomato to the next due to the chemical composition of those tomatoes. For instance, some heirloom tomatoes may contain high amount of sugar, which provides a sweet flavoring to those heirloom tomatoes, while other heirloom tomatoes may contain high amounts of acid, leading to a tangy flavoring to those tomatoes.
Heirloom Tomatoes: What They Are and How to Grow Them
Furthermore, some heirloom tomatoes may contain earthy or smoky flavoring as a result of the pigments contained within the tomatoes, such as anthocyanins. Due to the diversity in flavoring of heirloom tomatoes, heirloom tomato cultivator may use a variety chart to ensure that they consume the heirloom tomatoes best suited to their flavor preference. The size of heirloom tomatoes can also influence the way in which those tomatoes can best be use in cooking.
For instance, cherry heirloom tomatoes are small in size and can be used as snack or added to salads. Plum heirloom tomatoes are often elongated and have a high amount of meat to the flesh of the tomato, making them more ideal for the creation of sauces due to their low moisture content. Medium-sized heirloom tomatoes are often used in the preparation of sandwiches, while large beefsteak heirloom tomatoes is used for large sandwiches due to the high volume of tomatoes that can be provide to the sandwich.
Thus, the cook must consider the size of heirloom tomatoes prior to their use in a recipe so as to avoid difficulty in the cooking process. In order to successfully grow heirloom tomatoes, certain maintenance of the plant is required to ensure that the biological need of the plants are satisfied. For instance, heirloom tomato seeds should be started indoors six to eight weeks prior to the last frost date in one’s growing region; starting the seeds indoors will allow the tomato plants to develop strong stem.
Furthermore, when the tomato plants are to be transplanted from indoors to outdoors, the stem of the heirloom tomato plants should be buried into the soil; these buried stems will grow new roots for the plant. These new roots will allow the tomato plants to better stand up to periods of droughts. Additionally, the tomato plants should be watered regular; if the plants are not watered consistently, the tomatoes will often crack.
Finally, calcium should be provided to the plants as the calcium will help to prevent the development of disease in those heirloom tomato plants. In addition to knowing the type of heirloom tomatoes that are available for purchase in one’s area, consideration must also be provided to the climate in which those heirloom tomatoes are to be grown. For instance, some heirloom tomato varieties will develop to maturity in the middle of the summer, while other heirloom tomato varieties is slow-growing.
Additionally, some heirloom tomato varieties are able to handle high heat climate but other heirloom tomato varieties will not perform as well in environments with high humidity levels. Thus, consideration must be provided to the climate where the heirloom tomatoes will be grown to ensure that the plants are harvested before the first frost of the season. Seeds can be saved from heirloom tomatoes and used to plant heirloom tomato seeds in future years due to the fact that heirloom tomatoes often breed true to type.
To save the seeds from heirloom tomatoes, the overripe tomato can be selected and allowed to ferment for several day. After the tomatoes have fermented, the seeds can be rinsed and dried on parchment paper. The dried heirloom tomato seeds should be stored in a cool and dry area; such an environment will allow the seeds to remain viable for many year.
Finally, in order to retain the genetic purity of heirloom tomato varieties, the different varieties of heirloom tomatoes should be isolated from one another so that the bee will not perform cross-pollinations of those tomatoes.