"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson




Monday, September 12, 2011

September 2011 Tomato Update

This morning I picked the last of the tomatoes in the raised beds.  There were still a few on the vines but I need to get my winter beds planted so I will pull them out today.  I still have San Marzano, Green Zebra and Dr. Lyles Pink Beefsteak growing along the driveway and these we are picking daily.  The vines are taking over and are loaded with fruit, I planted this group in mid June.
 Dr. Wyche's yellow on a six inch plate.

If you would like to see a list of what I planted this year click HERE.

This group was planted in raised beds:

Abraham Lincoln: grew very well, no signs of disease, medium size tomato with heavy harvest. I would recommend this one. Early tomato.

Cherokee Purple: Winner all around. Large fruit, slightly sweet, beautiful color. My husbands favorite! Must repeat this one next year.

German Queen: Very large fruit, great flavor, would grow again.

Isle Candy: Super Sweet yellow cherry tomato. I loved this one! Give it lots of room to grow. Must repeat next year.

Mr. Underwood's Pink Beefsteak: Huge tomato! Beautiful color and flavor. A must for next year.

Old German (yellow): slow to ripen, medium size tomato, pretty red veins, tart flavor. I liked this one and may grow again next year but will put it in a cage. I grew this one under an orange tree and the vines climbed high into the tree. It needs space.

Persimmon: Beautiful yellow/orange, medium to large tomato. Much like a beefsteak inside. Wonderful flavor, slightly sweet. Will grow next year.

San Marzano: Heavy producer. Easy to pick, almost too easy, they tend to fall into your hand when you move them. A MUST FOR NEXT YEAR!  The only plum type tomato I will grow. (Also growing along driveway).

Wisconsin 55: This is a smaller salad size tomato. Heavy producer, no diseases, would grow again.

Yellow Pear Cherry: No name on this one, but a heavy producer as with most pear tomatoes. I will save seeds from this one to grow next year.

Zapotec Pink: No! Just did not give me enough tomatoes. The ones I did get were good, but with my limited space, I would not repeat this one.

Red Zebra: A real winner, I loved the flavor. This one is a smaller tomato, nice tart flavor pretty striped skin but the flesh is red and not striped like the skin. I will grow again. Early producer.

Balls Beefsteak: Another huge tomato. Winner all around. Late harvest is the only drawback. You need to wait for this one, but you will be rewarded for your patience!

This group was planted on the bank by the driveway in June.

Dr. Lyle's Beefsteak: Huge tomato, very meaty. This was one I was not sure if I planted or not, but found the tag when harvesting. A must for next year. Very vigorous growth. Give it lots of room and a tall large wood cage. The small cages will not support these vines.

Dr. Wyche's Yellow:  Huge size yellow tomato, nice for slicing. Would grow again.

Green Zebra: One of my all time favorites. Tangy, green stripe skin, lemon green color when sliced. Looks pretty with red and yellow tomato slices in a Caprese salad. A must for next year.

San Marzano and Mr. Underwood Pink Beefsteak growing here too.

Review
My tomatoes this year exceeded my expectations!I have canned and froze more than we will need for the winter. I am already planning for next year.

Front Row: L-R Cherokee Purple, Red Zebra, Balls Beefsteak. Second Row: Mr. Underwood's Pink, Dr. Wyche's Yellow, Wisconsin 55.  Back Section: Persimmon, Old German, more Wisconsin 55, and Red and Green Zebra's
Red Zebra in front, San Marzano (plum tomato), Persimmon and Old German
Persimmon and Old German (yellow)
Yellow Pear
Everybody in the mix
more in the mix
Cherokee Purple, Mr. Underwood in front;  Zapotec Pink  in the back, Yellow Pear on right, small yellow is Persimmon.
San Marzano!



16 comments:

  1. You are an amazing person in the garden!

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  2. You really planted a lot of tomatoes! It looks like you had a great crop, too, with a lot of variety. Are you canning, freezing, or giving away those beyond what you are able to eat?
    Beth

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  3. I cannot believe that you planted so many tomatoes. We planted a dozen vines, which I thought was plenty. Four got diseased and two fell over, but we had a nice production. What have you don with all of your tomatoes?

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  4. Love seeing your listing of what tomatoes were in your garden...I tried the roasted tomatoes recipe you shared...will be doing more...the house smells heavenly while they are in the oven!

    My mixed packet of tomato seeds was supposed to include San Marzano but unless they are hiding, didn't get any plants out of the bunch. Certainly have more than enough of th4e others!

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  5. Taylorsoutback,
    I am so happy you tried roasting tomatoes. This is the way I preserve mine now. I do still process them in a waterbath if I am not freezing them, but I too love the flavor and the smell. Must be the garlic!

    I have not tried buying a mix of seeds yet, but there is always next year.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Ann, I can and freeze a lot of them. I made sauce yesterday and seasoned it with fresh basil and garlic, some dried oregano and a bit of shallot. This batch I processed in jars for use this winter. I also freeze a lot of tomatoes to use for soup and such and have made about 12 jars of salsa. The flavor is just like you have in the summer.

    Thank you for visiting!

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  7. Beth,
    I can and freeze whatever we don't eat. My husband and I eat 2 to 3 tomatoes a day so we use many of them. I always plant a lot of heirlooms each year to see which ones I like. It seems I find more and more names each year. This year I really liked most of the ones I planted. The only one that gave me real trouble was Zapotec Pink, but I might give it another try next year and give it its own space with more air circulation.

    I am a tomato hoarder!

    Thanks for visiting my blog today.

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  8. Thanks Betty! I do love to play in the dirt.

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  9. Wow - this looks like some serious canning to be done!

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  10. Great harvest. They are beautiful. Enjoy your sauces and salsaa.

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  11. L. Ambler,

    Thank you! We are enjoying all the fruits of our labor with lots of help from mother nature.

    Thank you for stopping by.

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  12. Wow! What an amazing harvest. Your tomatoes look so good. Thanks for the description of each variety, very helpful. My tomatoes just did ok this year, seems the birds got to them before I could

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  13. Delone, Thank you! I think my favorite is San Marzano for plum tomatoes and Cherokee Purple is sweet and pretty. Oh but then the Persimmon was wonderful too. So many tomatoes and so little space.....

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  14. I am so jealous of those tomatoes! You really have green fingers and so much joy in your growing. Those photographs tell me a lot about your climate and your diet, so different from mine, fantastic work:~)

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  15. Bernideen, Yes it has been a busy summer for me. I am not complaining, I love that I was able to preserve so much of the tomatoes. Some years we get enough to eat fresh but not as much to can.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  16. Foxglove Lane,
    Thank you! We have been very fortunate this summer.

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Thank you for taking time to visit my blog, I love hearing from you, stay as long as you like, Carla