Tomatoes - Finally Coming In

[Mikey]

But now it's been raining for a couple of days and some of the near ripe ones are starting to crack.
So...I went out and picked some of the cracked ones so they don't get any worse.

Had an amazing BLT today with one of the smaller, completely ripe ones, but these are the monsters.
The ones in the pic are brandywines. The other plant is called pineapple, but the fruit isn't quite as far along yet.




Believe it or not, this is two vines planted in five foot tall cages about four feet apart, which you can't see anymore because the plants are about eight feet tall.




Been getting hundreds of these sungold cherry tomatoes for a couple of weeks now...

[Mikey]

First time I've gotten serious about it in the past seven years or so.

In the past I was always late getting the plants in the ground. There's really no excuse for that here because there's about 0.000001% chance of any frost after mid March. This time I got started around mid-April. We had cooler than usual spring weather but recent hot spells have really helped the tomato plants, if not the electric bill.

[mvscal]

I've got two (potted) San Marzano plants coming along nicely. They are about that tall though nowhere near that bushy. I should have bunch of them ready in a few days. They yield like crazy.

But you haven't had an amazing BLT until you have had one with homemade bacon.

[Dinsdale]

I don't have tomatoes. We're growing a bunch of chilis (including the world's hottest pepper).

Been a weird year -- berries, especially tomatoes, with our ultra-hot* year, have been growing at a mind-boggling rate. But with the maters and peppers, they've been slow kicking out flowers... which seems pretty odd to me.

The huge black cherry tree was a bust -- big heat wave right as they were ripening (which is usually a good thing) just shriveled them up in a day's time. The plums did, and are still doing great. Blueberries (got 6 old-growth bushes) did pretty deece.

But some things just aren't kicking out much in the way of blossoms, opting instead to reach for the stars, in dramatically rapid fashion.

Weird year.


* -- South Texas is kinda hot, too.

[Mikey]

Not being overly experienced at this I'm actually wondering if I should prune them back some. Some people say that it promotes more fruit setting to limit the growth. I have a lot of green but to tell you the truth, fewer tomatoes than I would expect. I guess that's pretty normal with some of the heirloom varieties, though. There are about a dozen or maybe 15 on those vines right now in various stages of development, plus 6 large ones on the kitchen counter.

Homemade bacon would be awesome but a pain to deal with at work in the microwave. The Costco pre-cooked kind will have to do for now...at least it's not canned.

Today's sammich will be some un-sauced pulled pork from a couple of weeks ago that I pulled out of the freezer last night, on a couple of large pieces of sourdough with stoneground horseradish mustard, a couple of thick slices of a brandywine tomato and a pile of spicy mix micro greens (radish and broccoli). Looking forward to lunch.

[mvscal]

Not being overly experienced at this I'm actually wondering if I should prune them back some. Some people say that it promotes more fruit setting to limit the growth. I have a lot of green but to tell you the truth, fewer tomatoes than I would expect. I guess that's pretty normal with some of the heirloom varieties, though. There are about a dozen or maybe 15 on those vines right now in various stages of development, plus 6 large ones on the kitchen counter.

You also might want to check your soil or your fertilizer. You don't want too much nitrogen or you will get lush, green tomato bushes with little or no tomatoes.

Homemade bacon would be awesome but a pain to deal with at work in the microwave.

Bacon is a cinch to do in the microwave. Just put some paper towels down on a plate, lay your bacon on them and cover with another paper towel then nuke it for about five minutes give or take.

[Dinsdale]

Or invest $2 in a microwave bacon-cooker. Makes for a little more cleanup than paper towels. Both techniques work well.

[Goober McTuber]

Does it work better than 12 minutes in the oven at 400°?

[mvscal]

There are about a dozen or maybe 15 on those vines right now in various stages of development, plus 6 large ones on the kitchen counter.

Interesting. I counted up mine and stopped counting at 50. I have maybe another five or six. We had a little trouble early with bloom end rot and worms but all of the fruit I've seen since are healthy. I would definitely recommend putting in a San Marzano plant or two to those who enjoy growing tomatoes. They grow like weeds and yield in bunches like cherry tomatoes.

[Ken]

I have a lot of green but to tell you the truth, fewer tomatoes than I would expect. I guess that's pretty normal with some of the heirloom varieties, though. There are about a dozen or maybe 15 on those vines right now in various stages of development, plus 6 large ones on the kitchen counter.

but recent hot spells have really helped the tomato plants..

That's probably your answer right there. Tomato pollen becomes unviable under excessive, prolonged daytime heat (say, 90 or so) and warmer than usual nighttime temps.

[mvscal]

First batch is in with at least this many more to pick by Tuesday afternoon. Absolutely delicious. They have a very deep tomato flavor. More meaty than juicy.

[Mikey]

Nice.

I spent some time this morning pruning the branches off the ground and then added some 4-10-4 organic fertilizer. We'll see what happens.

Still getting hundreds of the "sungold" cherry tomatoes. Those things are like a blast of flavor when you chomp down on one.