Medusa Certified Organic

Product Details

Medusa was bred to have the appearance and flavour of heirloom tomatoes but with reduced cracking and cat-facing. Vigorous vines with good disease resistance produce large, juicy, 340g (12 oz) purple tomatoes with green shoulders. Expect a complex sweet/savoury flavour plus a hint of smokiness that black heirloom tomatoes are famous for. Medusa also boasts high resistance to Verticillium Wilt and intermediate resistance to Root Knot Nematodes and Late Blight.

• Heirloom appearance and flavour
• Large purple beefsteak
• Intermediate Resistance to Late Blight
• Indeterminate (vine) plants

All About Medusa Certified Organic

Difficulty

Moderately challenging

Timing

Start indoors in early spring over bottom heat. When seedlings germinate, remove from the heat and grow under bright lights. Grow seedlings on for 6-8 weeks at around 10°C (50°F). Early season tomatoes can be planted out once night-time temperatures are reliably above 7°C (45°F) - or later. Other types should be transplanted out when night-time lows are 10°C (50°F) or warmer - or later. Optimal soil temperature for germination: 25-35°C (68-95°F). With bottom heat, seeds should germinate in 7-14 days.

Starting

Sow seeds 5mm-1cm (¼-½”) deep. Keep seedlings under very bright light to prevent legginess. You may have to pot on seedlings more than once before they go out to allow for root growth. Space bush (determinate) transplants 45-60cm (18-24”) apart and vine (indeterminate) types 50-75cm (20-30”) apart in rows 1m (3’) apart.

Days to Maturity

From transplant date.

Growing

Ideal pH: 6.0-6.8. Tomatoes like fertile, well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter. Dig in finished compost and manure, and add 1 cup of balanced organic fertilizer beneath each transplant. The nutrition from heavy clay soils is excellent for tomatoes, but they are slow to warm, so transplanting should be done later. By the same token, lighter soils warm more quickly, so transplants can go out sooner. Adding glacial rock dust will supply all the calcium they will need. Regular watering is vital, but don’t let the plants sit in water.

Tomatoes are tropical plants so they require full sun and lots of heat. Vine varieties will require some kind of support such as a wire to grow up, or a trellis to be tied to as the plant grows. Bush types benefit from the support of a tomato cage in order to prevent sprawling. At the time of final transplant, plants can be buried up to their first pair of true leaves. This will encourage greater root growth, helping with both nutrient uptake and the plants’ ability to stand up to dry conditions.

Harvest

Harvest when the fruit is the desired colour. Green tomatoes can be ripened indoors at a cool temperature when they are blemish-free. Very dark green tomatoes are unlikely to ripen fully.

Seed Info

• At least 75% of seeds will germinate in optimal conditions.
• Usual seed life: 3 years.

Diseases & Pests

Blossom End Rot: This is an environmental disorder caused by a calcium deficiency. It appears as a brownish dry and firm sunken area on the blossom end of the fruit. Uneven watering can result in an unbalanced potassium-to-calcium ratio. Regular and even watering, along with adding bonemeal or dolomite lime, will help prevent this disorder.

Late Blight: An airborne fungal disease that starts as leaf spots before spreading to stems and fruit. Water-soaked areas appear on the leaves and can lead to complete plant destruction. Keep moisture off plants, use drip irrigation, and ventilate greenhouses well. Copper spray applied regularly in late summer can prevent the fungus from germinating.

Companion Planting

Tomatoes benefit from being planted alongside asparagus, basil, beans, borage, carrots, celery, chives, collards, cucumber, garlic, lettuce, marigold, mint, nasturtium, onion, parsley, and peppers. Avoid planting near Brassicas, dill, or potatoes, which may spread blight to tomatoes. Do not plant tomatoes near walnut trees.