Okay , northern gardeners : tomato seasonis upon us and we have some determination to make . We could plant our garden full of Early Girl or Better Boy tomatoes and we ’ll have flock of delicious tomato to cook with and enjoy … but they ’ll all be red , which is predictable and uniform and maybe even a piffling slow .
Or we could do something daring and adventurous this summer and spring up striped tomatoes . They ’re unique , colorful , and tasty , too ! You ’ll be amazed at the impact these special tomato can have on your garden esthetical and in your cooking . C’m on , join the sport !
Green Zebra
I do n’t imagine I could start any article on striped tomatoes without placing Green Zebra at the top of the list . It ’s earned this place by length of service — the variety turns 40 yr old this twelvemonth — and by its well - deserved celebrity as a well - known striped kind . Green Zebra is unripe when ripe and sports darker unripened streak . It ’s not technically an heirloom variety due to its youthfulness , but it ’s open pollinated and is definitely an heirloom Lycopersicon esculentum in spirit . you may also ensure out the related Red Zebra and the newer Purple Zebra varieties . Purple Zebra is a loan-blend with high-pitched disease resistance — it was anAll - America Selections winner(national ) in 2022 .
Pink Berkeley Tie - Dye
Maybe the stripes are n’t as pronounced on Pink Berkeley Tie - Dye as they are on Green Zebra , but I promise you this : You wo n’t even care . Pink Berkeley Tie - Dye is gorgeous and productive with a association - dyed appearing ( seed catalogs often describe the interior vividness of the tomato as “ kaleidoscopic ” ) that ’s in truth a delight . If you imagine Green Zebra as grave and reliable , you’re able to guess Pink Berkeley as a gregarious overachiever . ( Additional bonus : the tomatoes are quite large and yet ripen nicely within our northerly turn time of year . )
stripy Roman
Sometimes you just want a satisfying , workhorse tomato plant that ’s productive and meaty . And if you may get all that in a stripy Lycopersicon esculentum , it ’s even safe . Striped Roman is a Romany tomato , a good producer , and excellent formaking sauce . It ’s a lovely , stretch tomato plant with orange stripes and is well deserving adding to your garden .
Brad ’s Atomic Grape
If you thought Pink Berkeley was wild looking , here is her even crazier cousin , Brad ’s Atomic Grape . It ’s hard to recover words to describe the brilliance of this tomato , but each item-by-item fruit vary in its coloring — oranges , greens , reds , blues , Brown University , purples — and blueprint of striping . The final result is a one - of - a - kind , prizewinning Lycopersicon esculentum variety that is surprisingly tasty , too . It ’s named for Brad Gates who educate tomato mixed bag in California .
So , which one appear most interesting to you ? We all know our taste - and - true tomato motley , but there ’s something fun about branching out into something new and exciting . Have fun !
Samantha Johnsonis the generator of several books , includingGarden DIY , ( CompanionHouse Books , 2020 ) . She lives on a former dairy farm in northern Wisconsin with a Pembroke Welsh Corgi key Peaches and often write about pets , horticulture and farm life .
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