Thursday, August 27, 2009

Harvest Big Time




Time for some eye candy ..... you're probably tired of my comments about what a fabulous tomato growing year we've had here on the West Coast, but heh - how often do I get to do this :-)

Anyhoo, some harvest picsAdd Image
The colander of red tomatoes are Kimberly - which were slow roasted in a 225 F degree oven for 3 1/2 hours - and now stored in freezer; they should keep up to 6 months (but I doubt they will last that long)


Monday, August 17, 2009

First Big Slicer

Well, here is Crnkovic Gold, I guess these fruits would be F3 and saved seed F4 - received seed of F2 in 2004 and grow out of F2 seed resulted in both a pink and a gold from a bi-colour - another grow out provided a white. While this tomato can't compete with the biggies like Cherokee Purple for taste, I love the colour, the plant is healthy and prolific and the fruits are juicy, creamy on the sweet side - and perfect for a tomato sandwhich (on white bread with mayo) ..... a nice light snack :-)


Friday, August 7, 2009

Papageno


Not a tomato, but couldn't resist - made it through our extreme winter and came back better than ever ......


Tomato Plants Mid August


And a pic of some of my plants providing the bounty, staying remarkable healthy thanks to the dry hot weather ....... one plant showing a wee bit of something??
All plants grown in 5 gallons containers, and all have received a very dilute feed of Schultz 10-15-10 with each watering - which during the hot weather has been daily - started out with 1 quart per plant and upped to 2 quarts with our record breaking temperatures - last Wendesday was 34.4 C !! hottest day ever recorded in Vancouver BC


The Harvest Begins


What a fabulous year for tomatoes - thought I'd post a pic of my first harvest ..... from 1 o'clock:
2 Ben Gantz
1 Sylvan Gaume
2 Galina x Grub's Mystery Green
2 Kimberly
1 Psamathe
1 Crnkovic Gold


Thursday, July 23, 2009

Two Hearts




Due to fabulous weather toms are sizing up nicely for so early in the season:

two heart shaped varieties -
Sylvan Gaume (above)
Maria Amaziletie's Giant Red (below)



First Ripe


For those that follow Growing Degree Days (GDD)
Kimberly first ripe at 972 GDD on July 21 - 1-2 oz, small red potato leaf; similar to, but tastier than Stupice, Matina, Bloody Butcher .....



Sunday, June 21, 2009

Tomato Trials


Dwarf Rosella Giant


And just a few pics of a few varieties ..
Sylvan Gaume

Lots of Blossoms


And a few weeks later - mid-June is generally the highlight of my tomato growing - all plants appear extremely healthy, and fruit set has just begun ... thanks to the many days of sunshine and above normal temperatures for this time of year. Usually June is our 'doom and gloom' month - rain, rain and more rain - but it seems other parts of the continent are experiencing our weather this time round. This June has been like August - lets hope it stays that way for a bit longer.


40 Containers Filled


And a few more pics .... I grow all my tomatoes in pots - as it seems to advance ripening by a few weeks - most important here on the coast.



Ready for Transplant


My goodness - can't believe it's heading toward four months since my last post - so much for blogging - I suppose this is my quarterly report :-)


Anyhoo, the weather here in the Pacific Northwest has been exceptional to date - what was a horrid long winter turned into a record breaking spring - with sunshine and perfect tomato growing temperatures for at least the last five weeks.


Didn't go with all those previously mentioned, as a few new ones arrived, and I couldn't resist!! Thank you Carolyn :-)


Anyhoo, babies planted out mid-May, and here are a few pics of the process and what they look like today. I'm trying a new variety called Ben Gantz that was shared by a Tomatoville member, and I must say, they are keeping up with Kimberly - my expected early.


Sunday, March 1, 2009

New Beginnings

Well, it is getting near seed starting time, and I have a lot of decisions to make by mid March. I currently have 16 varieties in my draft 'to grow' list, and a good number of these are grow outs of F2, F3, and even an F5 and F6 nearing stabilization. Exciting times, but I also want to make sure I grow enough earlies (to ensure some tomatoes before September) and round reds (to please other family members)

:-)

Anyhoo, here is my draft list to date:

REDS
Glasnost
Kimberly
Prue
Moravsky Div
Tjutchev
Yasenichki Yabuchar

BLACKS
PP x PPP F2 94-64
Indian Stripe
Psamathe

PINKS
Gregori’s Altai
‘Not’ Persey
Dwarf Rosella Giant vial 08-95
Ben Gantz

YELLOW
Galina X GMG F2

ORANGE
Orange Minsk

GREEN
Green Copia