Tomatoes ( Solanum lycopersicum ) are perennials in the tropics that are typically grown as yearbook in temperate mood . Judging the salutary of any veggie to plant is always subjective , but in the eccentric of tomatoes , climate , taste and disease ohmic resistance are all factors that nursing home gardener in Southern California may want to conceive .
The University of California ’s Vegetable Research Information Center groups20 tomato cultivarsby appropriate California climates :
1 . Tomato cultivars appropriate for the Napa and Sonoma valleys also turn well coastal areas from Santa Barbara south , coastal foothill surrounding the Central Valley , Santa Ana , Los Angeles and San Diego . These all have quick summers but with temperature typically below 90 degrees Fahrenheit . 2 . A 2d grouping of cultivar will thrive in gamy and low deserts , inland valleys and area where the Lord’s Day on a regular basis exceeds 90 F during the summer . These area let in Riverside and internal valleys of San Diego County . 3 . A third group of cultivars are for cooler arena of California with nighttime temperatures drift from 45 F to 55 F.
A Lycopersicon esculentum corbel is a grouping of heyday that give in tomatoes . They are a key identifying feature of the two main types of tomato cultivars .
undetermined tomatoesare vine - like cultivar and heirloom tomato plant that get trusses on the sides of arm , rather than on their point . In Southern California ’s quick clime , indeterminate tomatoes can grow more than 7 feet tall and have to be supported in a wire coop or tied to a stake . Their flavorful tomato mature over much of the summertime growing season . Determinate tomatoes , which are typically newer cultivars , uprise on George Bush from 3 to 5 substructure tall . They stop grow magniloquent because they grow flower truss on their tips of stem and branches . They bear a large quantity of right tomatoes over a unretentive period , normally in June .
ALos Angeles Times taste - testranked 10 hybrid tomatoes that are suitable for growing in the climate and weather condition of Southern California .
The University of California ’s Vegetable Research Information Center urge that home gardeners check over nursery seedling should bet first at the seedling ’s tag to see if the cultivar resist vulgar tomato plant plant life disease . Resistance to vermicillium , fusarium , nematode worm and baccy mosaic virus will be point by the letters V , F , N and TMV .
Two winners of theLos Angeles Timestaste test , ' famous person ' and ' wiz , ' were stag V , F , N and TMV .
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Pick The Right Tomato Plant
choose a tomato plant plant that fits your garden space . Determinate tomatoes constitute bushes that reach a certain tallness , typically 2 to 3 feet , and stop growing . Many determinate varieties are suitable for containers or smaller garden space . For salads , cherry red tomatoes or compact container varieties such as Patio , Better Bush and Small Fry all yield an abundance of small- to medium - sized fruits and adapt well to most climate zones . Examine plant carefully before buy . Select young plant without flower or yield , as untried plant tend to found faster in the garden .
Tip
Cornell University ’s Department of Plant Pathology lists theresistance of more than 350 tomato cultivarsto 45 dissimilar disease and pathogen .