When it comes to cultivating tomato plants at home, there are tons of alternatives. Although it is great, it might be tricky for us to choose a variety that is best in all aspects.
This article can minimize your confusion by delving into two of the most popular tomato types: Park Whopper tomato vs. Better Boy.
Park Whopper Tomato and Better Boy Tomato: at a Glance
Before diving into details, let’s take a quick look at both tomatoes cultivars:
- Park Whopper Tomato: If you are new to gardening, planting tomatoes, or have some extra space in your garden, Park Whopper is a terrific choice. This tomato cultivar is well-known among home gardeners because it tastes fantastic and grows swiftly.
Additionally, it yields well and is resistant to several tomato diseases. Because it is indeterminate, it continues to grow until the first frost. So, you get to enjoy a long season of this variety.
Seventy days after being transplanted in the garden, these tomatoes are ready for harvest. There is now an “improved” version of Park Whopper on the market, which reduces the ripening period by five days.
This version is even more disease resistant and produces higher-quality and juicier tomatoes (living up to its name).
- Better Boy Tomato: The Better Boy Tomato cultivar, which produces over 342 pounds of fruit from a single plant, has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Better Boy is a hybrid indeterminate variety. On average, it takes 70 days for Better Boy to ripen.
This plant yields gorgeous, delicious tomatoes that are deep red, juicy, large, and round. Due to its incredible taste, it can be an ideal choice for salads, sauces, and juices.
Like Park Whopper, Better Boy is resistant to diseases like fusarium, verticillium, alternaria, etc. Since it is indeterminate, it has a long growing season that doesn’t stop until frost.
Related: 15 Oldest Tomato Varieties to Grow
Basic Growth Factors
In this section, we will take a look at some primary growth factors of both these tomato plants.
| Park Whopper Tomato | Better Boy Tomato | |
| Germination rate | 5-10 days | 8-10 days |
| Time to maturity | 65–70 days | 70-75 days |
| Maintenance level | Moderate-consistent | Moderate-consistent |
| Soil type | Well-drained and consistently moist | Well-drained, moist, and fertile |
| Soil pH | 6.0-6.8 | 6.5-6.8 |
| Exposure | Full Sun (At least 6 hours of sunlight) | Full Sun (At least 6 hours of sunlight) |
| Growth | Indeterminate | Indeterminate |
| Fruit size | 8-9 oz (225-255 g) | 8-17 oz (225-480 g) |
| Height | 8-10 feet (2,5-3 m) | 5-8 feet (1,5-2,5 m) |
Weight, Height, and Width
- The weight difference between Park Whopper and Better Boy tomato is not significant. The average size of a single Park Whopper fruit is 8 ounces or 0.5 pounds. Better Boy tomatoes weigh between 8 and 17 ounces, or 0.5 and 1 pounds, making them slightly larger.
- Like weight, we have observed a little difference in both plants’ heights. Park Whopper plants typically grow around 8-10 feet tall. Better Boy, on the other hand, grows up to 5-8 feet tall (1,5-2,5 m), making it somewhat shorter in height.
- In addition to Park Whopper being taller, it is also broader than Better Boy. In general, Park Whopper plants are 24-36 inches (60-90 cm) wide. Whereas Better Boy grows at a relatively narrow width of 18-24 (60-90 cm) inches.
Spacing
No matter which tomato plant you are growing, there should be enough space between them for optimal growth. Therefore, ensure that you are not causing an overcrowding situation. It is recommended to space Park Whopper and Better Boy 24 to 36 inches (60-90 cm) apart.
Sunlight
Park Whopper and Better Boy flourish in full sun. For healthy growth, it is imperative for Park Whopper to enjoy 6-8 hours of sunlight per day. If your plant gets 6 hours of sunshine in the morning and 2 hours in the late afternoon, know that you are on the right track.
The same goes for the Better Boy plant. Six hours of sunshine is perfect for this plant to thrive.
Lastly, make sure that your plants are not overexposed to the sun. If you live in a hot area where the sun is out all day long, ensure to provide shade for your tomato plants.
Better Boy is famous for its dense foliage that protects the fruit from sunscald. However, you can still do this during the hottest time of the day.
Any severe weather condition can be detrimental to your plant’s health. In the same way that too much heat can damage our plants, too much cold can also do the same. So, cover the plants with a sheet if temperatures are likely to freeze or frost.
Related: 31 Funny Tomato Names (No. 9 Will Amuse You)
Flavor
Both of these plants produce delicious, juicy, and crunchy tomatoes that are ideal for including in your meals. However, most people prefer Park Whooper’s taste, because of nice acid balance.
The tomatoes can be picked when they are fully red and firm. The best thing about Park Whopper is that it is really crack-resistant. So, you won’t need to hunt down your collection of cracked tomatoes and remove them.
After harvesting, you can store these tomatoes in a cold and dry place. You can also take care of them by canning or freezing them. Later, you can include them in sauces, juices, salads, snacks, sandwiches, or any recipe, including tomatoes.
When tomatoes are stored in the refrigerator, their rich flavor is said to be diminished. Hence, it is better to avoid doing so.
Related: Tomatoes in Pots: 14 Important Answers You Have to Know!
Resistance to Splitting
Different environmental situations enable cracks in tomatoes, like consistent changes in temperature or moisture. Low potassium and excessive nitrogen levels have also been associated with fruit cracking.
Some tomato varieties are more susceptible to cracking and splitting than others. Thankfully, Park Whopper and Better Boy make it to the category of tomatoes that don’t split so often, so we are in the safe zone here.
Pests and Diseases
You must protect your beloved tomatoes from pests and plant diseases to ensure healthy growth. Hence, pay special attention to your plants and take notice of early signs of diseases.
Speaking of Park Whopper, it is known for being highly disease resistant. This plant is resistant to pests and many tomato diseases like tobacco mosaic virus, verticillium wilt, nematodes, fusarium wilt, and more. The improved version of Park Whopper has shown even more resistance to these diseases and insects.
As a precaution, you can use a neem oil spray (Buy this product here). This excellent insect repellent should be applied right after you witness an insect on your plant or early symptoms of plant disease. Besides swiftly killing bugs and insects, this product can limit the effects of the disease, which is terrific.
Better Boy tomato isn’t much different than Whopper in this regard, as it is extremely resilient to pests.
Lastly, it is imperative to note that both plants can get negatively affected by overwatering, moisture, and temperature fluctuations despite being highly resilient.
For instance, your tomato plants may rot if you overwater them. Similarly, your plant can get damaged by intense sunlight and cause a condition called sunscald.
As a result, you must monitor both the weather conditions and the amount of water you provide for them to grow properly.
Water and Soil
Each plant requires watering 1-2 inches (2,5-5 cm) of water a week. You can even minimize the watering time during monsoon.
As I’ve already indicated, overwatering can be detrimental to the health and development of your plant. Therefore, make sure to avoid doing that.
Water them when the soil’s top inch is dry. Remember that the plant’s base should receive water instead of foliage. This technique will protect the plant from fungal or other soil diseases.
Lastly, all tomato plants, including Park Whopper and Better Boy, need nutrient-rich, consistently moist, well-drained, but slightly acidic soil to grow in a healthy manner. Therefore, make sure that your soil ticks all these boxes.
Fertilization
Tomatoes require phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, as well as other trace minerals for growth. You can conduct a simple soil test to examine plants’ nutritional and pH levels.
If the plant has a nutritional deficiency, the results will highlight that. You can find a suitable fertilizer accordingly to fill that deficiency.
If you want an organic fertilizer for your tomato plants, Espoma Organic Tomato-tone (buy this product here) is an ideal product. Composed of natural ingredients, it is a premium fertilizer for all varieties of tomato plants to aid in producing wholesome, plump tomatoes.
Additionally, 8% calcium is there to prevent blossom end rot, which works well. Fertilizer should be applied every two weeks to all tomato plants, including Park Whopper and Better Boy.
You can get fertilizer according to your soil’s nutritional needs and start applying it. Needless to say, prevent overdoing it and follow the guidelines written over the product.
Park Whopper Tomato vs. Better Boy Tomato: Which Tomato is Better to Grow
So, that brings us to the end of this article. There are not many major differences between Park Whopper and Better Boy. However, I did my best to bring light to every single difference.
You can see that it is pretty hard to pick a favorite when both varieties are so similar to each other. Their heights, diameters, germination rates, and maturity times differ slightly, but nothing radically.
The maintenance needs of both plants are similar as well. Both need 6+ hours of broad daylight, well-drained and moist soil, and 1-2 inches (2,5-5 cm) of water per week.
Finally, both tomato plants are popular among home gardeners due to their quick ripening, high yielding, long growing season, and delicious taste. For any dish that calls for tomatoes, they are ideal.
Surely, after trying the experiment of growing them both, you might be able to choose a favorite.
Better Boy tomato variety is more convenient if you don’t want a tomato plant taller than 8 feet (2,5 m). On the other hand, Park Whopper’s excellent level of disease resistance may impress you and make it the ideal type for use at home.
In the end, it all comes down to personal preferences. Therefore, take your time to experiment with both of them and remember that nothing can go wrong with either of them.
References
nanasbloomers.com, homeguides.sfgate.com, En.m.wikipedia.org, plantaddicts.com, nanasbloomers.com, thespruce.com, hortmag.com, Planetnatural.com, tomatodirt.com