Tomatoes

[Ben]

Let's talk about my favorite fruit: homegrown tomatoes

Whatcha got? This summer I've got a few modern hybrids and a few heirlooms. I've decided that, for slicing and eating (and let's be honest -- I just can't bring myself to cook anything as natively perfect as a ripe summer tomato) I like the more acidic varieties. Cherokee purples, for instance, have a good flavor, but I just find myself looking for something a little "sharper."

Whaddya like? Whaddya growing?

I few years ago, I got to be a celebrity (ha!) judge for a homegrown tomato contest. Best. Gig. Ever. I tried a variety called "Yankee John" (or something like that - the name escaped me) that just blew my mind, but that I've never seen since. Anybody got any idea what I might be talking about?

If you can come up with anything better than an M&M sandwich ('maters and mayo -- preferably Duke's) I'll eat my hat.

[Too Tall]

There is nothing better than a fresh M&M sandwich with fresh french bread and cracked pepper. Hello nurse.

I've been a fan of Cherokee Red as well, they are reliable and keep well on the shelf. My all time fav. other than that I'd have to go with Green Zebra. It is common and it's got legs....slice it, pan fry that sukah or make a quick sauce. They have natural sweetness when dead ripe or that bite you like if less ripe and brother nothing better breaded and fried in EVO and panko.

That's my vote.

[AJPM44]

I have Green Zebra, Black Krim, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Peacevine Cherries, Sungold Cherries, Orange Banana Paste, Old German Bicolor, and Black Prince growing. Nothing has been picked yet, but my cherries are turning, so hopefully by this weekend I'll be eating them. One of my favorite things is to grate the tomatoes on a box grater, drain it, mince some garlic and spread it on baguette with good olive oil and coarse salt a la pan con tomate. Perfect with an espresso in the morning., or lunch or dinner.

[Ben]

I have Green Zebra, Black Krim, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Peacevine Cherries, Sungold Cherries, Orange Banana Paste, Old German Bicolor, and Black Prince growing. Nothing has been picked yet, but my cherries are turning, so hopefully by this weekend I'll be eating them. One of my favorite things is to grate the tomatoes on a box grater, drain it, mince some garlic and spread it on baguette with good olive oil and coarse salt a la pan con tomate. Perfect with an espresso in the morning., or lunch or dinner.

Proper. Through and through.

[pdxharth]

Amish Paste. Rich, sweet heirloom flavor. Dense and meaty, fist-sized or bigger fruit. Love 'em!

[WadePatton]

M&M on fresh homegrown bread yo. I buy one jar of mayo per year. now is that time.

I've canned a small batch already and need to can or freeze a bit more...mebbe i do a real catsup this time. I did a tomato pickle last year that will be dynamite blended and reduced to catsup consistency.

BrandEva (Brandywine x Eva Purple Ball) is my absolute flavorite this season.

other notables in my patch this time:

Aunt Ruby's German Green
TC Jones (yellow)
Great White (pale yellow)
Cherokee Purple
Hillbilly

[WadePatton]

ARGG _fully_ ripe

an heirloom developed in east TN by somebuddy's aunt named Ruby:

[maunahaole]

Wade, someone knows to not give those tomatos too much water. Well done.... Not much I can contribute here...not much luck growing them as the birds get at them before I can.

meantimes - I ate a ton of this in Spain. Simple, easy and tasty. You get all three.

Tomato Bread Recipe – How to Make Pan Con Tomate

[WadePatton]

i only water when setting them out and for a couple days thereafter. supplemental water goes on (i have to haul it) if plants get to a state of dehydration stress-which

happened this year just after the first couple of pickings as we entered the third recognized stage of drought. then it started raining and now they burst their skins a bit much. heavy mulching with straw really helped out this year.

plan to save seeds this year in order to take advantage of the plants adapting and crossing to my micro-climate.

(what bread? i have yeast hydrating just now)

[maunahaole]

My meager understanding of tomato cultivation tells me that the key is to keep your plants on the brink of dehydration as the plant will drill a deep taproot to seek water. A drip system might be a work-around and help control how much you are watering.

[WadePatton]

i "pre-drill" with a post hole digger. understanding and helping establish a vigorous root system is the base of true horticultural knowledge/success.

pulling your plants up and checking the root systems at the end of the season is a great start.

my system is a bucket and a dipper.

[maunahaole]

Interesting technique. That may be helpful for my yard, as we have hard clay about 12-18" down. Do you use compost or anything when you plant your starts?

[WadePatton]

Interesting technique. That may be helpful for my yard, as we have hard clay about 12-18" down. Do you use compost or anything when you plant your starts?

i used some worm castings, couple of handfuls at the bottom of each hole. others will use bag ferts-and in that case you be sure to leave at least a couple of inches of buffer between the roots and chemicals. i may have used some time-released supplements but i kinda forgot and i use less than recommended always.

in heavy clay the holes can become a water trap and drown the roots, but a well-developed root system should have enough shallow roots to keep from drowning the whole plant. plant deep, as all the stem below the surface will form roots.

tilling destroys soil structure and the microbes that make the whole system tick, i'm trying to get away from it altogether and will eventually. heck (somebody is selling the concept now) mulch and seed on a flat rock will make plants. keep adding mulch and after a few years the rock is buried.

my ground was forest 10 years ago, still getting big rocks and roots out and gradually developing my perma-culture. container planting works great for maters, but makes water management more intense-depending on your soil mix. nurseries that blend their own container mixes can help you there.

also, if dealing with "root-bound" transplants, nick the outermost roots vertically with a razor/wicked sharp knife-a few to several times around the rootball as you plant--mof if you get held up by weather, you should do this to any plants developing root-boundness-and put 'em right back in the pot. trick learned from old-time nursery-man. mof, the nurseries do it with chemicals now and it maximizes root vitality in the pots.

[Noteddy]

Some excellent advice here.

Was traveling this year instead of starting my own seeds. Got some old-reliables transplants from the farmer's market. Unfortunately, they were mis-labeled. So, I have no idea what I'm growing. But they made a pretty good lunch anyway.

IMG_0378.jpg

[Too Tall]

You guys rock. Wade, that tomato is what the old folks used to call a "keeper". We would pick them a little early, wash, dry and wrap all the perfect ones. They were good for months.

Manahole, I was taught to bury my starts 1/2 way up the stem. That's cheating, they will turn all that stem into roots ASAP.

I'm with you cats wrt watering, the best tomatoes are strong survivors ;)

[burgess1108]

Is that your tomato pickin' revolver? You know, most people just pick them by hand.

[Too Tall]

Yo W.P. I'm putting in a formal request for some seeds for that Ruby heirloom. Cool? I'll make you something good to munch in exchange.

[WadePatton]

Sure, I can provide some but nearly every tomato-intense seed source has 'em now, even the local farm store had ARGG seeds this year.

i get seeds from Southeastern Seed Exchange-it's sommers up there Mid-Atlanticy.

that single-action is just another tool i use a lot. it's a single-six with splendid accuracy (some are better than others). i shot a lot of hornworms with it last year. it's_THE_ most satisfying way to remove hornworms, but the cages will be in the way this season...and i pulled the first hornworm two days ago. time to be vigilant-they're a walking green cancer for tomato vines.

Hey i finally found my map. to wit:

ARKANSAS TRAVELER!!! is the most wonderful red tomato i've ever grown. I had a mix-up and possibly id'ed this as BrandEva before.

[WadePatton]

Some excellent advice here.

Was traveling this year instead of starting my own seeds. Got some old-reliables transplants from the farmer's market. Unfortunately, they were mis-labeled. So, I have no idea what I'm growing. But they made a pretty good lunch anyway.

IMG_0378.jpg

that has the color of Lemon Boy, a low-acid and mild-flavored hybrid. i "incidentally" planted those again this year, but have sworn off 'em altogether as being too bland for my tastes.

but then there are probably 45 tomatoes that color.

and yeah TT, there are keepers-but i've never planted for that. i'm eating fresh or canning/saucing. may look at the "keeper" selections when i have a good keeping place.

the green futzes everybody up, but those are best eaten fresh and not cooked in any way. mof, a blindfolded person could not discriminate the various colored fruits (that i like) by color.

[WadePatton]

oh and:

TASTE TEST:


heirloom division:
BrandEva vs Arkansas Traveler

hybrid division:
Red Champ II vs. Jetstar

I finally caught some of all of these ripe at the same time. cut 'em right at the tailgate, cleared palette with cheap beer.

Jetstar, pretty as it is, is lower in acid than RC2, with about the same flavor profile otherwise. makes it a bit bland. Done with 'em. RC2 wins.

The BE fruit was a bit sun-scorched and underripe, whilst the AT was an absolutely beautiful specimen at full maturity.

I'll do several do-overs, but the AT is awesome. BE isn't thrown out yet, but i'm going to keep shuffling one or three each year to establish about 20 ATF's.

finished that AT with my hen-eggs and toasted french (JC) bread this morn.