Tomato season is fast approaching! Let's start thinking about starts and which ones you should put in your garden. Lee and Nick from Wendell Niepagen's Greenhouses and Garden Center stopped by the GLT studios to chat with Murph and Laura about some new tomatoes to try. Plus, they share some care tips to ensure a great crop of 'maters.
*Lee says there's 80 varieties of tomatoes at Niepagen's.
*Nick suggests trying the Azoychka tomato, which is an heirloom variety from Russia. It's a 10-ounce beefsteak style. It's a deep yellow and slices nicely. It's a little on the acidic side and has a citrus flavor. Nick says it's good as a salsa.
*There's a German heirloom that has fruit that weighs in at 1 - 2 pounds. It's the German Pink. Sweet, meaty and very good flavor, it's a versatile tomato.
*Moskvitch tomato is another heirloom from Russia. The plant produces fruit in 60 days, so it's good for those in a hurry to have a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich! It's also cold tolerant.
*Wait until Mother's Day to put your plants in the ground. Soil temps need to be nice and warm, so don't rush the season.
*Don't trim your tomato plants, Lee and Nick advise. As for fertilizing, use a granular 10-10-10 early on in the season. After they set flowers, stop fertilizing. You want all the energy of the plant to go into the fruit, not into growing.
