Maria Sonnenberg

Dr. Harry Klee is on a crusade to save tomatoes from blandness.

Klee, eminent scholar in horticultural sciences at the University of Florida and one of the world’s top tomato experts, has devoted 20 years of his life to exploring the vagaries of today’s tomatoes and for 10 years he has concentrated on the taste---or more accurately, lack of taste---in commercially produced tomatoes.

“The biggest complaint consumers have is that modern tomatoes have lost their flavor,” Klee said. “I agree with the consumers. Flavor has been lost in producing commercial varieties.”

South Florida, California and Mexico are the primary growing grounds for tomatoes these days. Growers in those areas have developed tomatoes that can be transported great distances and still look good. Taste is another matter.

“These growers are not paid for flavor, they’re paid for yield and disease resistance,” Klee said.

Klee’s research team has good news for foodies disappointed by supermarket tomatoes, which look fantastic and don’t cost much, but taste about as interesting as paper. To get back to tomatoes’ rightful flavor, Klee has tapped unto the superior taste of the heirloom varieties, also known for their fussy growing habits and low yields.

“Heirlooms are incredibly susceptible to disease,” Klee said.

Klee and his team have succeeded in energizing heirlooms without compromising their superior taste.

“We set out to hybridize modern commercial lines known for yield with heirlooms,” Klee explained. “We developed something that offers twice the yield of heirlooms but also has a fabulous flavor.”

Home gardeners know that tomatoes that ripen on the vine have a superior taste to what they can purchase at the store.

“No matter how gorgeous they look at the store, the ones you leave to ripen on the vine taste better to me,” said Rose Peurrung, of Viera.

For years, Peurrung used to grow an abundance of tomatoes at the three-plus acres she owned in Titusville. Although she has downsized to Viera, she still keeps a couple of plants.

“I’ve always grown heirlooms,” she said. “They’re not as prolific or as big or as pretty as something like a big boy, but they taste better.”

She recommended gardeners veer toward the determinate types, which usually grow three or so feet tall and sport a thick stem, instead of the viney and rangy indeterminate varieties.

She admitted that the heirlooms could be challenging, but she found a formula to take care of failures.

“I planted more than I needed, so everyone, the insects, the bird and diseases, got their share,” she said.

Peurrung would start her heirlooms from seeds she purchased at big box stores like Walmart. Varieties such as brandywine and rutgers always performed well for her.

“I grew them year after year,” she said.

Brandywine is also a favorite with Kari Ruder, owner of Naturewise Nursery at the Green Marketplace in Cocoa and nursery manager at Bok Tower in Lake Wales.

“There are thousands of heirloom varieties, so it takes experimentation to find what works best in your area,” Ruder said.

For growing in Brevard, she favors lemon drop, chadwick cherry and everglades in the smaller tomato varieties. Arkansas traveler and snow fairy are great mid-size choices. Along with brandywine, she likes amish paste and cherokee purple.

Thanks to the University of Florida’s tomato researchers, garden gem, garden treasure and a yet-to-be-named third variety should be soon winning the hearts of tomato lovers.

Growing tomatoes in Central Florida has always been a challenge, thanks to the never-ending humidity and the rain, but these new University of Florida “super-tomatoes” should make things easier.

“They’ve shown good performance in Florida, with a big advantage over big boys and heirlooms,” Klee said.

Word-of-mouth in the gardening community has created such a stir about these superior seeds that more than 10,000 gardeners in all 50 states and 38 countries are already enjoying the fruits of these new stars of the plant world. Like proud parents, the gardeners forward their tomato baby pictures to Klee and boast about how they’ve been enjoying Caprese salad for 30 straight days, thanks to these new tomatoes.

Pleasant View Farms in New Hampshire will distribute the new varieties to independent nurseries around the country in 2018, but in the meantime, you can join the bandwagon. With a $10 donation to help with tomato research, the University of Florida will send you your very own packet of seeds. Klee suggested starting them in January for best results.

Gardeners who have grown the “Gator ‘matoes” gush about their taste, and the old-timers compare them to those excellent tomatoes Grandma used to grow in her backyard. From the feedback Klee has received, it is obvious there is a serious pent-up need for rich, juicy tomatoes.

“People are so desperate for flavor in tomatoes,” Klee said.

For more on the University of Florida tomatoes, click here or visit Facebook at and facebook.com/Garden-Gem-Tomatoes-574251062717213.