Indian River tomato
Indian River tomato is seed released in 1958 by the Florida Agricultural Experimental Station as a selection from a natural cross between Manalucie and Manalee. A climber to 1.5m producing round smooth red fruit to 10cm with thick firm flesh. Ripens later in the season in Tasmania (late Feb and after from my experience if an average spring) but produces heavily in a hothouse also.
Sow – Start on a heat mat ideally in late August to October and plant out after frost risk and soils around 10 deg at night (after 7 days consecutively).
Can start earlier if planting in a hothouse. 8 weeks on average from sowing to planting if using a heatmat.
Cool Climate: mid JUL– NOV (Heat mat)
Temperate: SEP – DEC (soil temps <16C)
Sub – Tropical: MAR – DEC (Humidity induces disease)
Tropical: mid APR to JUL (Humidity induces disease)
- Tomatoes enjoy lower humidity and 20-30 degree daytime temps and night times above 8 to 10 degrees. Plant out only after risk of frost (protect if late frost)
Spacing – 60 to 100cm
- Back to Tomatoes
- How I Grow my tomatoes post
- Tomatoes on the Wiki
- The wild ancestor of the tomato is native to western South America. These wild versions were the size of peas. Aztecs and other peoples in Mesoamerica were the first to have domesticated the fruit and used in their cooking.
- The Spanish first introduced tomatoes to Europe, where they became used in Spanish food.
- In France, Italy and northern Europe, the tomato was initially grown as an ornamental plant. It was regarded with suspicion as a food because botanists recognized it as a nightshade, a relative of the poisonous belladonna.
- This was exacerbated by the interaction of the tomato’s acidic juice with pewter plates.
- The leaves and immature fruit contains tomatine, which in large quantities would be toxic. However, the ripe fruit contains no tomatine.
