The Disease-Resistant Tomato Variety That's Worth Growing In Your Garden

If you have been growing tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) in your yard for any period of time, you've likely experienced the frustration of losing crops to diseases like late blight after prolonged periods of rain. What this usually means for gardeners and tomato farmers across the globe is a truckload of expenses on fungicides and even desperate hopes for the rain to stop tomato blight in its tracks. The fact that tomatoes are further prone to early blight, leaf spot, and a whole host of other conditions does not make things any easier either.

Enter 'Iron Lady', a tomato variety that's as tough as it sounds. It provides resistance against three major diseases that torment tomato gardeners –- early blight, late blight, and Septoria leaf spot. A brainchild of Cornell University professor Martha Mutschler-Chu, who collaborated with experts from North Carolina State University, this variety is also resistant to verticillium and fusarium wilts — features that make it indispensable for your vegetable garden.

In general, tomatoes prefer well-drained clay or loam soil with a pH in the range of 5.8 to 6.8. Since 'Iron Lady' is a determinate variety, you can plant the seeds at a distance of around 12 to 18 inches, anywhere between 1/8 to 1/4 inches deep in the soil, as compared to indeterminate varieties that need more spacing. 'Iron Lady' varieties are also great for gardeners who don't have a lot of space in their yard and are looking for cultivars with more compact growth. However, the same wide foliage can also end up blocking the sun for the nearby plantings, so make sure their sunlight needs are met as well, particularly for plants that shouldn't be grown too close to tomatoes.

Moreover, if you're looking for ways to grow tomatoes without a backyard, this variety is also handy for growing in containers. Fruits take around 75 days to reach maturity from the day of transplanting, and are dense, juicy, medium-sized, and well-balanced in flavor. The fruiting period only lasts two to three weeks, which makes them perfect for short-season gardens as well. 'Iron Lady' is known for providing maximum resistance against late blight, thanks to the presence of genes Ph2 and Ph3, but you can bolster its resistance to early blight and Septoria leaf spot as well by taking some precautions during planting and keeping the seedlings away from other susceptible varieties. These tomatoes are versatile – excellent for sauces, canning, salads, and sandwiches.