Guest Columnist
Almost every year, one or two new tomato or pepper varieties are released for us to enjoy. Two years ago for example, THE tomato was tycoon. It remains very popular, and NTCC will have it in their spring plant sale, but a new variety available for 2018 is an All-American Selection (AAS), disease resistant tomato called red racer. As an AAS winner, it obviously has great taste.
The red racer plant is smaller than most tomato plants, reaching 3’ in height and about 2’ in diameter. Due to its size, it makes a great patio container plant. The fruit is larger than a grape tomato, but at 1 ½ inches weighing 2 oz., it’s a little smaller than many varieties. The common term for such a size is cocktail tomato. Fruits are formed in clusters and are uniform in size.
Red racers, said to have a great acid/sweet balance, mature as much as ten days earlier than many varieties and will produce around 68 fruit per plant. It’s a determinate, so NTCC will have replacements available in mid-July.
Another outstanding container/ornamental plant and AAS winner is the onyx red pepper. It’s container/ornamental, because its height only reaches 6-10”, with a 10-15” foliage spread. Interestingly, the foliage may start out green, but turns dark purple, while the fruit starts out being purple or black before turning mostly red, although the color may stay black.
Onyx red fruit becomes available during June and then continues until frost. Also, don’t forget, peppers are perennials, so you can bring the container indoor for the winter as long as it continues to get sunshine. Then, put it back on the patio next spring. Being in a small container, fertilize every two weeks.
NTCC will have both plants available at its spring plant sale in mid-April.
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