Early Tomatoes
Everyone is eagerly awaiting the first ripe tomato, right? Or, maybe you’re lucky enough to have already been able to pick a ripe tomato.
I took a preview tour last weekend of the annual New River Valley Garden Tour, held here in Blacksburg, and talked to one of the homeowners, Ron Chew, who started eating ripe tomatoes from his vegetable garden a month ago! The tomato is an heirloom called Glacier, and he learned about it while living in Maine. At only 55 days, it’s one of the very earliest tomatoes available.
I did some research on it when I got back home and found that the taste is rated as far superior to other extra early tomato varieties. Ron said he didn’t think they were as good as some of the later varieties of tomatoes but they fill the gap until those are ripe, and they are, of course, much better than you can buy at the store. Glacier will be grown at my home next year for sure!
I grow a bunch of the large Roma tomatoes for making spaghetti sauce, and a couple of a small, very meaty tomato plants called Salsa, which I use for – you guessed it – salsa, and then the rest of the tomatoes vary from year to year. Usually it’s a half dozen or so heirlooms of a variety of colors that catch my attention, for no particular reason.
Which tomatoes are your favorites?
June 27, 2012 - 7:55 AM
Glaciers would be worth trying, to help quench the desire for tomatoes, and having to wait until July otherwise.
I like Rutgers, Old German, Mortgage Lifter, Mr Stripey, German Johnson, and Roma. Then I normally get a couple of other variants of big tomatoes, and one tomatillo, too. The variants are always something different, an orange or yellow version, just for variety. I really prefer heirlooms more than any other.
I am trying some Cherokee Purples in my 5 gallon buckets on the patio this year. Plants are huge and I have about 5 or 6 little tomatoes already and more blooms to come.
We’re trying a Black Cherry tomato this year. I’m eager to see how those turn out!
My son grew a Black Cherry and a Sun Gold last year. Made for some very pretty tomato salads!
We picked our first tomato on Saturday, and five more since then. I don’t remember which type they are, but we planted them very early. Our thought was that if they got zapped by frost we’d have backups germinating in a sunny window. Luckily they survived! The zucchini and cucumbers are coming in strong, too.
We picked our first tomato – a yellow stripey (heirloom) that Deep Roots gave us. We also got a couple yellow oxheart plants (heirloom) from her too. I bought a pack of “Heirloom Tomatoes” that contained all different types of tomatoes for last season. We kept seeds from the ones we liked the best. One of the varieties was an icicle shaped tomato and we were very impressed with it. It was large and very few seeds. I am not sure what it is called. Then we had a plant that produced a 2 lb tomato so we kept the seeds from both of those. I also have some Brandywine tomatoes from a neighbor that I have been growing for a couple summers. We are growing Cassidy’s Folly which is like the icicle tomato from last year and then Watermelon Beefsteak for just a regular tomato. Both are heirlooms – the only type we buy. I can my paste tomatoes whole and put a sprig or two of basil in with them. Then I make my spaghetti sauce from them when I need a batch later in the year. I also can some without the basil for when I make soups and chili. I do make a few jars of pizza sauce using the Mrs. Wages packets for when we want a quick pizza. We also tried making salsa last year and that turned out well. We may do that again this year.
I will keep “Glacier” in mind for next year also. Sounds like one the Man of the House would enjoy.
I just can’t wait until they come into season. I know some consider it sacrilege, but here’s my recipe…
100% whole wheat bread. Hellmans mayo thick on both slices of bread. Super extra heavy on the black pepper covering the mayo. Two 1/2″ thick slices of tomato arranged on the bread diagonally. Kosher salt sprinkled on the slices of tomato. Do this twice. Cut the sandwiches in half, top of slice to bottom. Gorge yourself. Experience heaven.
The wife and I have been growing a “hybrid” heirloom in our garden for the past several years. It’s a home made cross between a German Johnson and a Mortgage Lifter. We jokingly refer to them as “Johnson Lifters.” Once the seeds have acclimated to your growing conditions you’d be amazed at the results. Definitely going to try the Glaciers tho.
Picked my 1st cherry tomato’s yesterday. 5 of them yeh!!!
I can’t think of a single food item where there is a greater disparity between homegrown production and the product supplied by a grocer, than with tomatoes. Thanks to the FDA for allowing the genetically engineered products to kill the taste buds of anyone desiring a good tomato sometime other than July or August.
crooked road, you are right-on with the recipe, except for the bread — must be stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth white bread.
#10 Peaches.
I don’t do white bread, for that very reason. I know that’s the traditional bread, but not for me.
Just reading these posts makes me hungry. My 75 plants (the ones I was stressing over when we hit that late April chill)are coming along. The first Juliets (my favorite…a little smaller than a roma, early and prolific)are coloring up nicely. I save seeds from pink and yellow oxheart types, which are our main canning/sauce choices and are good for folks who love fresh tomatoes but have to avoid seeds (theirs are found in narrow channels and are easy to scrape out). The yellow stripey DCarol mentioned came to me from an aunt who got a ripe tomato from a cousin who bought plants from a Meadows of Dan greenhouse owner who got her start from my grandmother, who would have been growing this variety prior to 1980! I save seeds of Matt’s Wild Cherry for its intense, “Now THAT’s a tomato!” taste. Beefy Boys are a sturdy all purpose variety. New for the year is Nugget, a golden plum hybrid. And then there are the two plants from DCarol’s family, which grew to the ceiling of my enclosed porch before I could get them outside…One of my brothers cannot eat onions so the summer plan is to can lots of onion/garlic free sauce, soup and maybe catsup (finding commercial ones without at least onion powder is about impossible).