Tomato 'Mortgage Lifter' (Organic)
Solanum lycopersicum L.M.C. ‘Radiator Charlie’ Byles was a mechanic in Logan, West Virginia, who also bred tomatoes. During the 1940s, he sold these beefsteaks for just $1 each and paid off his mortgage in six years, so naming this now classic variety. Fruits in 12 weeks from transplant; yields 16kg per plant with 800g fruit.
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Tomato 'Mortgage Lifter' (Organic)
Creator of Mortgage Lifter, Radiator Charlie, boosted his income from the clapped out pick up trucks he repaired. He also bred beefsteak tomatoes, selling the plants at $1 each. He erased his mortgage in six years and so named one of his best tomatoes, Fruits in 12 weeks from transplant. Yields 16kg per plant with 800g fruit.
Sow seed 6-8 weeks before you want to plant out your tomatoes. Never plant tomatoes in the same bed two years running as you risk infection from a build up of pests and diseases. Tomatoes need an open, sunny position, with plenty of air circulation to thrive. Tomatoes are best in a bed which has been heavily manured for a previous crop such as broccoli. A soil that is too rich in nutrients will produce prolific, but soft, sappy growth which is prone to disease. Long, leggy toato seedlings can be planted very deeply or even on their sides, as the stem is able to grow roots when covered with soil, and a large, healthy root system will develop.