Tomatoes
Spo-fans know I like to grow vegetables, and heirloom tomatoes are my favorite.
If you are planning a garden next year, may I suggest you try some of these!
Matina or Stupice or Sophie’s Choice - these are my ‘early’ tomatoes.
Most early tomatoes are bred to put out soon but have no taste. These 3 have real tomato taste. Back in Michigan I had toms as early as June.
Anna Russian
Dzuba
Box Car Willie
German Red Strawberry
Choose one of these old fashioned ‘red’ tomatoes. More dear to me than rubies
Cherokee Purple – My favorite ‘purple’ tomato. Legend has it the Cherokee People developed it. This tomato has a purplish skin and a smoky taste. However, it doesn’t make a good sauce as the sauce is brown!
Opalka – best ‘paste’ tomato. Polish tomato shaped like a large hot pepper, it hardly has any seeds or juice. They are excellent for saucing.
Brandywine (Sudduth’s strain) My favorite ‘pink’ tomato, and one of the best tasting tomatoes I know. But get Sudduth’s strain as there are many cheap imitations. I suppose if you only had room for one tomato it would be this one. However, they don’t put out much fruit in erratic weather. So I put in a few plants to make certain of enough produce.
Reisentraube – a cherry tomato that puts out – a lot. Almost foolproof, the countless cherries have real tomato taste (unlike the nasty things in the supermarket).
Nebraska Wedding – My favorite orange tomato. I love the sound of its name too.If you can’t get this one, try Kellogg’s Breakfast or Earl of Edgecombe.
Marizol Gold – a tomato that has gold/red/yellow and orange colouring throughout. Very pretty on a plate. Alternative; Hillbilly Potato Leaf.
Manyel – prettiest, bestest yellow tomato there is.
Green Zebra – small green and yellow striped toms with a bit of ‘zest’.
Noir de Crimee – my favorite ‘black’ tomato. It is really dark red with green jelly. I’ve heard it called the world’s ugliest best tasting tomato. (Sometimes it is called Black Krim)
Omar Lebanese – just for fun. This variety produces “Monster” size tomatoes! We’re talking several pounds. But they are also delicious.
posted by Ur-spo at 8:16 PM
16 Comments:
Now you have the Italian in me churning...I love tomatoes. Let me count the ways I can make pasta sauce with 'em!
PS. So you think I am wicked and I'll need diciplining in 2007. You'll have to catach the chain of comments going back and forth under your introduction post on GMR!!! LOL.
I had no idea there were so many varieties of tomatoes. I may just print out your post and take it with me to the farmer's market to see what they have.
And I might just grow my own, though I've not had much success with plants.
Thanks for the tip.
I'll keep note of them.
We tried a garden here, but the soil is to old + to many trees not enough light.
Holy Crap! The only thing I knew about tomoatoes were that they came in a few, different sizes. That's it. I'm not sure if it's a southern thing, but we would slice 'em, slather them with mayo and salt, and eat. I think my mom still does it.
I have always wanted to grow heirloom plants. Not only are they good to eat, but they are good for the environment. A high five to you for keeping up the biodiversity in our foodstuffs.
Someday I'd love to have an heirloom garden.
According to Ayurveda, for my "dosha" I should avoid tomatoes, but I luv 'em!!! :)
Tiger - time to get a new dosha!
It always takes me back to George Carlin's routine that "something has gone afoul inside of a tomato..."
Leon and I refer to the things that you buy at the store as 'tomatoids.' One of the things that I love to do when I start plants in the winter is to smell the emerging foliage when they first start sprouting. It instantly transports me to summer and working in the garden.
Your info on tomatoes is a goldmine. I love them and am looking forward to trying some of them.
I had a vegetable garden a few years ago in my backyard and one of my friends said it was very typical of me. The rows were perfect and the plants were exactly six inches apart matching in every row. She saw it in the early stages so it was very noticeable. What does that say about me? :)
for northern climes, I suggest the 'earlies' as they will mature in a shorter time period.
Some seed catalogs have toms bred for colder/northern climes but I don't know how tasty they are.
This post has my mouth watering for vine-ripened tomatoes. I live in eastern Montana. We have a long growing season (for Montana) and warm summer temperatures (again for Montana). I would really like to try growing some this summer, but I'm not sure He Who Doesn't Do Dishes will tolerate tomato plants growing next to his prize roses.
Tomatoes? No thank you. Ketchup? Definitely! :)
Omar Lebanese...now that's what I'm talking about!
Dammit! Now I have to go eat a greenhouse bred tomato grown goodness knows where just to get my fix. My mouth is watering!!!
A Song I used to love to sing at nature camp:
There's nothin' in the world that I like better than
Bacon, lettuce and home grown tomatoes
Up in the morning and out in the garden
Lord get you a ripe one, don't get a hard 'un.
Plant 'em in the spring eat 'em in the summer,
All winter without 'em's a culinary bummer.
I forget all about the sweatin and the diggin
Every time I go out and pick me a big'un.
Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes,
What'd life be without home grown Tomatoes,
There's only two things that money can't buy:
That's true love and home grown tomatoes.
You can go out and eat'em that's for sure,
But there's nothin a home grown tomato won't cure
You can put em in a salad, put em in a stew
You can make your own, your very own tomato juice
You can eat em with eggs, you can eat em with gravy
You can eat em with beans, pinto or navy
Put em on the side, put em on the middle
Home grown tomatoes on a hot cake griddle
Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes,
What'd life be without home grown Tomatoes,
There's only two things that money can't buy:
That's true love and home grown tomatoes.
If I could change this life I lead,
I could be Johnny Tomato Seed
I know what this country needs,
It's home grown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetery
Put me out in the garden would be much better
Hell I could be pushin up a home grown tomatoes.
Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes,
What'd life be without home grown Tomatoes,
There's only two things that money can't buy:
That's true love and home grown tomatoes.
sure beats the crap we used to sing at Boy Scouts!
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