Who actually ever says, tomahto?
In 1863, a popular seed catalogue listed 23 tomato cultivars, among which was Trophy, the first modern-looking large, red, smooth-skinned variety which fetched 5 dollars for a packet of 20 seeds! Based on inflation today, that would be about $86 for the seed packet!
Here are some interesting tidbits about tomatoes:
Superstition once had it that placing ripe tomatoes on a mantel when first entering a new dwelling would guarantee future prosperity or will ward off evil spirits.
Pincushions the color and shape of ripe tomatoes were used instead if ripe tomatoes were not available. To this day, pincushions are most often red. Who knew?
Americans may be in love with tomatoes today, but the relationship got off to a rocky start. During Colonial Times, we wouldn't put a tomato near our mouths, let alone try to eat one. Folklore had it that if you ate a tomato, its poison would turn your blood into acid. Instead, the colonists grew tomatoes purely for decoration.
This year my first red tomato was a Stupice on July 7...and we are still getting tomatoes.
Best way to grow RED or Ripe tomatoes in and around Montesano is in a greenhouse.
This is my greenhouse. It's only 8 feet by 8 feet. This year my husband put on a new corrugated plastic roof. I don't even bother starting my own tomatoes from seed anymore. Rather than being stuck with a ton of seedlings, that you have to repot. This way you can choose different varieties to grow and always try a new kind each year. I buy them already grown, 1 - 2 feet tall. Volunteer tomatoes do pop up and grow everywhere from the year before.
In the greenhouse you might want to grow kinds of tomatoes that are parthenocarpic, (pär th -n -kär p) – The production of fruit without fertilization. Or just go in the greenhouse and start touching the blossoms and repeat. It's nice to have a fan in the greenhouse to help others pollinate, but my fan broke earlier this spring and just never replaced it. I've caught bees and put them in there, but they don't like being forced in. I also just prop open the door. There are nine tomato plants growing in the greenhouse. A couple are the same variety. I was ONLY going to plant like 6. But when I got to Windmill Farms, I just couldn't help myself...and planted 8 more tomato plants outside in my garden. Built them a cloche...they're not as easy to tend to...you have to bend over, squat and look for spiders.
Outside you can make a cloche out of PVC pipes and cover it with clear plastic. I do use the red plastic mulch that you put down on the soil around the tomato plants. I bought my red plastic from Territorial Seeds. Greenhouse grown tomatoes are just way earlier, look beautiful and taste wonderful.
These are some of the tomatoes this year:
Stupice, early cold tolerant 2 to 3-inch, first tomato. indeterminate, (means the plant keeps growing tall), 52 days photo above
Legend, 68 days, tolerant to blight, early slicing tomato, 4 to 5-inch, determinate, parthenocarpic
Big Beef, 9 oz. to 1 pound, huge, slices fit on a BLT sandwich just right.
Chocolate Cherry, 70 days. indeterminate, sweet fruit, grows on trusses of 1 to 1 3/4 inch fruit, crack resistant. I really liked this tomato for a larger cherry type.
Super Marzano, is a roma-type, 70 days, indeterminate, pear shaped fruit, about 5 inches long. Roma's have more pectin than other types. That's why they are used for making tomato type sauces, and Romas don't have many seeds or much juice.
Fraiser's Gem, 80 days, determinate, 3 inch fruit
Sun Gold, 65 days, sweet, apricot-orange color, 1 1/4 inches across, trusses, indeterminate, these look so pretty in a salad.
Cherry Buzz, early 55 days, indeterminate, bite-sized 1/2 - 3/4 inch red, sweet.
Siletz, 70 days, 4 to 5 inch fruit, about 7-10 oz, very early and parthenocarpic. Couldn't find my photo of this one. Sorry.
Have been eating a lot of tomatoes. Tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, basil with a small amount of cooked pasta and olives too. Mix all together and pour Italian dressing over.
Simple salsa: tomatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers, lime juice, salt and pepper — dice everything up. Add diced jalapeno to make as mild or hot as you like it.
If I was going to grow one vegetable...tomatoes would be it. Store bought tomatoes never taste as sweet as home grown ones.
