Tale of Two Tomatoes

So this year, my attempt is to grow two different varieties of tomatoes (among the 2,500+ choices out there). One is Black Krim and the other is Lemon (or "Yellow") Boy.

Black Krim

The Black Krim is an heirloom tomato originating from Russia. The plant is open-pollinated, indeterminate, bearing 8+ ounce flattened globe fruits that are deep ruddy red with green/brown shoulders. Some examples can go so dark to have a kind of blackish appearance next to a traditional red tomato.  But the name is actually a combination of two things: "Black Sea" and "Isle of Krim". This particular tomato is known for having a rather complex taste with hints of smoke and salt. If you can get over the ugly appearance (almost always asymmetrical and globby, with blotchy dark colors), the payoff is in the bite. The Black Krim plant needs optimal conditions to produce a lot of fruit. Blossom drop is a frequent occurrence if conditions aren't just right.

Lemon Boy

Yellow Boy or "Lemon Boy" is a rather unique hybrid tomato that was bred sometime in the 1980's. The skin can appear lemon yellow and slicing open also reveals a yellow colored flesh that is sweet with low-acid qualities. This variety needs at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water per week and prefers six hours or more of direct sun each day. The fruit produced is 8oz on average and begins appearing around mid season. It's a fairly easy tomato to grow and is thus popular with commercial growers.


I potted these plants as seedlings in late May. It took a few weeks before I started to see any noticeable growth as the plants needed to acclimate to the new conditions.  Their location is on a south facing fire escape that gets a good solid 8 hours of direct sunlight each summer day. There is some shade provided towards the east that holds off the direct sun until about 10-11am. The side of the house provides shelter from some northerly wind and rain, so the plants aren't completely exposed. The plants are resting on metal slats so there is ample air circulation all around.

Black Krim -- 4 weeks

The Black Krim was the first one to produce fruit. When I saw how early that tomato appeared with the plant being so small, I was worried that it was under some kind of stress, trying desperately to produce a fruit before dying off.  My worries were unfounded as the plant has since grown significantly. However, despite creating a good many flowers afterward, none of them have set fruit. Either my fertilizer isn't quite right or the temperatures are a bit too high. What is puzzling is that the Lemon Boy is much more active with creating fruit while being 1/2 the height! They are both being given the exact same conditions (soil, pot, location, watering, and fertilizer). This goes to show you how tomato plants can have variations in their needs. Black Krim is not known to be a hard plant to grow, but it's not known to be the easiest either. Anyway, the summer has barely started so I'm hopeful that the plant will settle in to bearing more fruit later on. I am also trying to be diligent with "spanking" my tomatoes (that is, tapping the plant with a rolled newspaper to shake loose pollen and incite fertilization).