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June 2005
I've
added a new grilled tomato recipe to this page (in the lefthand
sidebar), so enjoy! As for my garden... So far, so good, looks
like all the tomato plants I transplanted this year are taking
root. Some of the volunteer cherry tomato plants (I think they
are cherry tomatoes anyway) are even starting to fruit. As the
fruit develops, I'll be able to tell what kind they are, but
most often when volunteers appear in my yard, the sungold cherry
tomatoes are the ones to bet on. In fact, I haven't planted any
in three years because I pretty much count on that happening
at this point. June gloom has started, but we've had a few days
of sun, so I'm sure the tomatoes have been happy about that.
April
2005
It's
that time of year when planting the vegetable garden is on
the brain! Just got my first two tomato plants from my favorite
tomato lady Barbara (read all about her and her farm in last
July's entry). With her, choosing tomato plants is never a
worry because her plants are always healthy and I've got her
advice on what varieties grow well So. Ca coastal areas. But
overall, what to look for in a tomato plant is the characteristics
of the fruit, the time it takes for the fruit to reach maturity,
the plant's growth habit and its disease resistance. More info
on all of that below.
 Tomatoes
Alive
100% All-Natural Fertilizer
This
stuff is amazing. Had a banner year with tomatoes when I used
it. Tried Dr. Earth last year and not sure if it was the fertilizer
or growing conditions, but results not even close to the same.
Great for peppers and eggplants too, as it's for any member
of the nightshade family.
CHOOSING WHAT KIND OF TOMATO PLANTS TO GROW
Disease
resistance is particularly important because it will greatly
affect fruit yield, so find out which diseases are common to
your area and find tomato varieties that have resistance. (Verticillium
and fusarium wilt are two very common soil-borne diseases that
affect tomatoes.) I also find that powdery mildew can be a
problem as I live in a coastal area, and therefore, I spray
for that and insects, but on warmer, sunny days when I know
the liquid will not sit on the leaves too long. Determinate
tomato varieties are best for gardens with limited space, or
in areas with a short growing season, as they grow to about
2-3 ft, set fruit, and then concentrate on ripening that fruit
until they die. Most paste tomatoes are this kind, and I always
grow at least some roma tomatoes in my garden because I like
to make sauce in the winter. A bunch ripen all at once, and
I either make lots of sauce and freeze that, or freeze the
tomatoes in Ziploc freezer bags immediately. the flavor
of tomatoes does change when you refrigerate or freeze, but
they still taste better than what you'd gt at the grocery
store in the winter. Indeterminate (vine) tomato varieties
keep growing taller, setting and ripening fruit until they're
killed by frost, which in So. Ca can be all the way through
January. My cherry tomato plants fall into this category
and every year I have tons of volunteers spring up all over
the place in my garden. These kinds of plants require support,
like tomato ladders, tomato cages or a fence to grow against.
Last year I had them covering a 6 ft. high Bird of Paradise
plant, and just wove the branches through the Bird of Paradise
leaves to support the fruiting plant. I highly recommend
the Velcro Tape you can get at Gardens
Alive. I use it every year to
hold my tomato plants in place and spread out branches to
improve circulation among plants.
 Tomato
Ladders
These
exclusive Tomato Ladders are the sturdiest you can buy,
because they're made with 7mm steel verticals and 6mm cross
pieces -- 20% thicker than others on the market. The rounded
V-shape protects against wind and accidental breakage.
The seven cradle-shaped cross-members give multiple places
for vines to rest, and make it easy to step the ladders
into the ground.
Fruit
characteristics basically comes down to what you use tomatoes
for, and what you like. I use tomatoes with my eggs in
the morning, in salads or on sandwiches for lunch, and
my absolute favorite way to eat tomatoes is to just slice
heirloom tomatoes (Pineapple tomatoes, Cherokee Purple,
or Purple Marizol) and eat them with balsamic (see recipe
in sidebar) I also use tomatoes in fresh and frozen sauces.
Heirloom varieties generally do not hold up well in sauces,
as they are too liquidy and just plain too good to waste
in sauce, so I use them fresh, and stick to paste tomatoes
for sauce, although I did make an heirloom sauce once and
although it had to cook down a lot, it tasted great. I
like Green Zebra tomatoes in salads, but not with my eggs
or in sandwiches. It's all very personal. Many farmer's
markets offer samples, so if you're not sure what you like,
my advice is that you visit a few of the tomato stands
at farmer's markets this time of year and taste your way
to a decision.
The
plants I got from Barbara last week are Roma
tomatoes, of course, as it's a little early to start growing
heirloom tomatoes here by the coast. But conditions look
good this year so far, so I hope this will be a better year
for growing tomatoes than last year was, as I'd like to increase
my tomato yield to have more available to cook with in the
off season. More to come!
 Tomato
Success Kit
Includes patented Self-Watering Planter, Tomato Yield Booster, new heavy-duty
and custom-fitted Tomato Support Cage, 40 qts Self-Watering Container Mix, 1
lb. of custom-blended Organic 5-5-5 fertilizer and Flip-and-Fill cover.
July
2004
Who
knew that Barbara, my Tomato Lady from the Farmers Market (see
June entry) was famous? There was a whole writeup on her &
her husband's farm in this month's Food & Wine Magazine.
I've said before that now I feel like I'm growing some of the
best tomatoes in existence, and apparently, if you believe
in the good taste of Food
& Wine editors and the buyers for many of California's
top restaurants, I actually am! Hey Barbara--in case you're
reading this, I'm passing along your BLT recipe to my friend
Nate (AKA the Maggie's lettuce hottie! Blond hottie if we want
to keep Dennis happy!) so he can use it for his annual BLT
party! And thank you SO SO much for making the trek all the
way from Paso Robles to here. My tomatoes are INCREDIBLE!!
Bill & Barbara's
farm can be seen in a picture gallery at Windrose
Farm. If you're
up in their neck of the woods on Sun, Sept 19th, they hold
an heirloom tomato tasting at their farm. If you've never experienced
the glory of heirloom tomatoes, I would imagine this would
be one hell of an introduction.
Thanks
to Barbara, this is the first year I have successfully grown
heirlooms at home. I think a huge part of the reason for that
success, is that she was very clear to me about which ones
would work in my area and which would not. I live near the
beach and coastal conditions here do sometimes keep temperature
a little cooler than some of these tomato plants would like.
But I think every one of my plants has borne fruit, some way
more than others, but when you're used to at least 3 or 4 plants
a year completely kicking it without producing a thing, it's
not that hard to get excited when a plant you thought would
probably die actually lives long enough, and has enough oomph
to make even a single tomato. Most of my heirloom plants have
produced splendidly, though, and whether I'm chopping up some
fresh tomato to have with my scrambled egg whites for breakfast,
eating them with Balsamic (see recipe in sidebar) or roasting
them to make a chunky tomato ragout, heirlooms are for sure
the highlight of the tomato season. And this year, they are
actually coming from my very own garden! Bill & Barbara--you
guys rock!!
June 2004
I
should have know that this was going to be a banner year when
I accidentally went into my freezer at the beginning of May
and found a bag full of tomatoes
from last harvest that I had missed over the winter when I
gernally use them. So of course, I had my first sauce from
my own garden harvest in early May, and such good luck was
only a harbinger of events to come.
Best
year for tomatoes here in So. CA that I can remember for at
least the last bunch of years. One plant is so tall & wide
that it has grown over and through my Bird of Paradise, which
is at least 6 ft tall. Even the Heirlooms which can tend
to be fussy--OK, in my garden, we normally call that DEAD--are
doing well despite the June gloom which has persisted for
pretty much the whole month. Besides my usual crop of Romas
which I use for sauce, this year I am growing a Russian heirloom
variety called Cosmonaut Volkov, described as a juicy, sweet
rich full-bodied early slightly flattened 8-12 oz. tomato that
is supposed to do well under coastal conditions. I'm also growing
Cherokee Purple, a dusky rose/purple beefsteak and Marizol
Purple, my absolute favorite tomato (slightly edging out the
Pineapple Tomatoes for the best flavor in a tomato I've ever
tasted!) Marizol Purple is a German heirloom which is not easy
to find here, but thankfully for me, Barbara, my wonderfully
awesome Tomato Lady from the Santa Monica Farmers Market had
seeds for this in her catalog, and was kind enough to start
some plants especially for me back in April. Some of these
heirlooms have not grown as vigourously as others, but as the
weather gets hotter, it'll be interested to see what they do
with the long growing season here.
Basically
April & May
were just phenomenally sunny, June gloom hit as usual (handled
slight mildew problems with Soap Shield), but mid-July we
should be back to sun and fun Cali-style, and you'll never
hear a tomato plant complain about that. Of course, if you
ever hear a tomato plant complain about anything, you might
want to see someone about that.
2003
Let's
just forget this year ever happened, OK?? Thank God for Farmers
Markets.
March
2002
Have
not put in plants for this year yet, but one seedling seems
to have shot up on its own right where the Orange cherry plant
was last year. Guess we'll see how it does...
2001
Tomatoes
are among my favorite things to grow, mainly they really do
taste better when they are freshly picked and because I eat
at least one tomato every day! Romas are my favorite, and the
fresh sauce that comes from them warms many a winter evening,
but I also am currently experimenting with growing some heirloom
varieties. The Green Zebras seem to be thriving. The Sweet
100s and some Orange Cherry Tomatoes are abundant with tiny,
tasty bites of fruit, and are huge favorites to put on sticks
and grill with some lemon-herb or teriyaki marinade. And Tomatoes
in Balsamic as an appetizer for a summer party--yum! Tomatoes
taste best when they are not refrigerated, but if you must
refrigerate, allow them to warm before serving, to recapture
some of the nuances of flavor in the fruit. Best of all, pick
them right before you eat them. Some of my tomato plants got
huge this year. Bigger than any tomato plants I've ever grown
before. I did put some in a part of the garden that at this
time of year gets light from about 9 AM-4 PM. Plants seemed
to like that and some branches looked to be about 8 feet tall.
Coastal weather here in So. CA causes some battle with powdery
mildew, but the Soap Shield works wonders. Wish I had applied
it sooner. I always have planted basil near
my tomato plants, but this year, I decided to add marigolds,
for both its insect protection properties as well for as a
little burst of color. Worked pretty well I think. (update
to this 2004: Calendula (Pot Marigold) - If planted with tomatoes,
should repel asparagus beetles, tomato worms and other pests.
I have found that aphids always love mine and marigolds act
more like sacrifical plants drawing aphids to them instead
of to my tomatoes! Go figure. As long as the suckers stay away
from my tomatoes, I don't care all THAT much except boy do
those marigold look battered when they're done.) Only
one plant has gotten aphids this year, and the Pyola pretty
much has taken care of that. So, it's Tomato City--because I
have like 10 tomato plants and they have all been extremely
productive. Fortunately for me, tomato sauce freezes quite
well...
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