by Sharon Meyer

Created on: September 04, 2009   Last Updated: September 05, 2009

Backyard gardens are now back in style thanks to the state of the economy but many gardeners are seeking out something a little different than their grandparents grew. The baby boomers are approaching the vegetable garden in much the same manner as they have lived their lives.They seek out the excitement of growing something new and different.

The bean patch is sporting oddly shaped string beans that grow either in the yard long range or shaped like pretzels. They grow their own back scrubbers at a fraction of the cost but in the plant world they are known as Luffa Gourds. Their tomatoes are not what you will find in the grocery stores, instead their tomatoes grow in all colors of the rainbow. Yes, this new generation of gardeners are leaning towards vegetables that are a little more exotic. Vegetables that truly have that wow factor weaved in when they proudly show off their gardens to family and friends.

One particular tomato has grabbed the attention of many gardeners this year. We have all seen the gorgeous heirloom tomato plants whose fruits not only come in all sizes but also colors such as yellow, orange, black, white and even striped but, have you ever seen the blue tomato?

The Blue Tomato also known as P20 blue tomato is a recent development made by crossing a wild tomato from Peru with a commercial red tomato called 'Flavorwise'. This tomato was formed through cross breeding and is not genetically modified (GMO) in any way. The plant grows tall and bushy. This year my plants were four feet wide by four feet tall . The fruit ranges in size from as large as a tennis ball right down to ping pong ball size, all on the same plant. The fruit forms in clusters of 8-10 tomatoes on a truss.

There are some special tricks that must be followed when growing this tomato. In order for your fruit to reach its fullest blue color potential you must remove any leaves that are shading the trusses of fruit. If leaves are left shading the fruit then the tomatoes will be red in color. The blue tomato receives it's color from direct sunlight shining on the fruit.

The Blue Tomato caused quite an aura of excitement in our garden this year. When I found the tiny outline of a tomato leaf in red on my otherwise blue fruit it got me to thinking about experimenting a little bit for the shear fun of it. I took some thin string and wrapped it around a tomato while still green. Sure enough I ended up with a tie-dyed affect. My tomato when fully ripened was blue with red lines where the string blocked the sun. On another tomato I placed some small heart shaped stickers, once again on the green fruit. My results when ripe was a blue fruit with tiny red hearts.

Next year when planting your garden I'd highly recommend getting some blue tomato seed. Then sit back and have some fun. The blue tomato has an endless possibility of artistically designed and ripened tomatoes. In fact I'd say it's the first truly interactive tomato of its kind.

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