Want Earlier Tomatoes This Year?

Early-ripening tomatoes are the hot items in this year’s vegetable patch. Two of the biggie seed companies - Burpee and Park - are duking it out, each with “exclusive” earlier-than-thou tomatoes.

Burpee’s contender is the fastest of all: Called Fourth of July, it is a hybrid that ripens in 44 days, which is 10 days quicker than the “early” standard, Early Girl.

Park’s contender is Early Challenge Hybrid, which ripens in 63 days. While it may take more than two weeks more than that other company’s early tomato, the Park people claim theirs has the top flavor and is particularly disease resistant.

How do these two shape up against the all-time favorite, Early Girl? The answer is in the taste: Try growing all three for comparison, then make your choice. Park Seed is at (800) 845-3369; Burpee Seeds, (800) 888-1447.