In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

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May 12, 2008

Tomato tags

Tomato tags tell you a lot more than the name of the tomato you’re buying. It can tell you whether the variety is resistant to many of the ills that plague tomato plants. Truly, it can be frustrating to watch a healthy tomato plant suddenly succumb to a wilt disease or be throttled by nematodes.

A quick look at the tomato tag can tell you whether the variety is resistant to the main diseases that attact tomatoes.

If it has the letters "VFN," "VFNA" or "VFFNA," then it is resistant to the most common problems that plague tomatoes.

"V" means the variety is resistant to verticillium wilt.

"F" means the variety shows tolerance to fusarium wilt. (Two "F's" means it is resistant to both types of fusarium wilt).

"N" means nematode resistance.

"T" means the variety resists the tobacco mosaic virus.

"A" means it is not susceptible to alterneria root rot.

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