Tomato Season: Love it or Leave it?

[Warren Stupidity]

It is tomato season here in New England. Home grown, farmstand, heirloom or regular, gotta love ripe fresh local tomatoes. Or not.

[Scuba]

1. I'll eat as many as three or four a day for the next month or so. Love 'em. n/t

[Warren Stupidity]

5. I'll eat myself sick. Basil mozzarella and tomatoes until ....

well nevermind that.

[shanti]

43. caprese salad, yumm!

that said, i had 3 tomato plants this year. out of those three plants, only got about 8 small tomatoes. one plant never produced any....the veggie season was not good here.

[Ohio Joe]

2. Love it - nt

[TwilightGardener]

3. I've got hornworms and deer. I haven't yet had a tomato, despite caring for

and watering my plants for three months now. Still have to buy them. So I vote Leave it.

[pipi_k]

8. Different issues at my house...

We don't have that many warm days here where I live. Temps here can be 5 to 10 degrees cooler than down in the city, so tomatoes don't do so well in my yard.

The first year we moved here we grew some. The bushes were loaded by this time of year, but the tomatoes were still all green.


OTOH, my blueberries and blackberries love the weather, so there's always that to look forward to

:)

[TwilightGardener]

13. Isn't that frustrating, when they don't ripen? I've heard that growing them

near a south or west wall will concentrate the heat and make them ripen sooner. That said, I'd take blueberries and blackberries over tomatoes any day, if forced to choose. Tomatoes are cheap and everywhere this time of year, but berries--those are a real treat!

[pipi_k]

35. It really was....

we literally had dozens of them.

But we read someplace that wrapping them individually in newspaper and storing them in a dark cool place would keep them from ripening (or rotting) so that you can harvest them all and then drag them out to ripen on the windowsill.

Skeptical, but tried it...for whatever reason, it worked. We had tomatoes for weeks here.

[emcguffie]

22. It can also get too hot for them.

They won't set fruit somewhere in the 90s.

Here in NJ, they stopped setting fruit during that heat wave, but now they're back.

One mistake people often make is trying to grow tomatoes in the same spot year after year. Diseases that kill tomatoes -- those wilt diseases, fusarium and verticillium -- get in the soil, and the only way to really avoid them is to grow the tomatoes in different places.

I don't know where you are or how cool it is there, but it has to get pretty cool before it starts causing problems, like down in the fifties, I think. Then they can't metabolize, or take up (not sure which), nutrients in the soil.

Do you have lots of spots on the leaves?

[pipi_k]

36. Hmmm...didn't know that...

Where I am, we usually don't have hot weather until the third week of August. This year it came earlier, during that whole country heat wave thing last month. But no...extreme heat isn't a problem here.

I live in the Hilltowns of Western Mass, on the side of a hill, which imparts a whole other kind of microclimate. We can have overnight temperatures in the low 50s to high 40s here, even during the summer, and in fact the other day Mr Pip had to start up the furnace because the house was quite chilly in the morning.

So we just gave up trying to grow tomatoes (or anything else but wildflowers). Although I must say the two apple trees out back have some pretty decent fruits on them. The grapes...not so much.

[robdogbucky]

26. I have the hornworms

but I patrol daily and look for them and evidence of them. They can be well-camouflaged and difficult to see, so I am in the habit of looking for their damage first then try to find one of them. I use netting to cover the plants I don't want birds, squirrels, deer, etc. to eat.

[TwilightGardener]

49. Yeah, I have to patrol and pick them off--they look just like the stems and

leaves, can hardly see those little buggers. Plus, they hang on pretty hard, I have to literally tear them away--so gross.

[robdogbucky]

54. It's too bad too, as the horned tomato caterpillar,

they are the child stage of the hawk moth, a truly beautiful creature and quite large for a moth. I think their larva came to me in the soil I bought from a commercial landscaper and that they emerge periodically. As stated, I have been lucky this year. They usually manage to decimate a tomato or two before I notice them and find them. Two years ago I found one and thought to have banished it to the local predator birds, etc. when I tossed it 15 yards away into a clear area of the yard next to the bird bath.

That little sucker made it back to my raised bed by the next morning. He was lucky for a day as I did not make the same mistake twice. I incinerated him on a pyre of old leaves in a can.

Hands off my tomatoes!

[formercia]

50. I have a problem with Deer too

I became tired of them nipping my plants, so I melted a little Vegetable Shortening and mixed in some Cayenne Pepper Powder. Mix well and dab on the underside of the leaf tips after it cools down to around body temperature, especially on the new growth. It will take a couple of applications before they all get the message, but it works well and is harmless.

[TwilightGardener]

51. I have a rotten egg/cayenne/garlic mixture somewhere in the garage...

I mixed it up in May for a rabbit deterrent. I'm afraid to open the bottle now...:puke:

[formercia]

64. Nuk Mam is good too.

Yummy.

[seabeyond]

4. sometimes we get a lot. last couple years, not many at all. plants are growing

jsut not getting tomatoes. i dont know anything about it, but hubby says too hot.

[Chemisse]

6. I love them! Cut up and salted, they make a great snack. n/t

[Taverner]

7. Got me some organic romas that are just about ready

YUM!

[Brickbat]

9. I'm not a fan of tomatoes, but I'm growing 20 plants this year for sauce. I've never grown tomatoes

from seed before and I'm thinking I might actually have some success this year.

[bluestate10]

31. Do you have sauce recipes to share? nt

[Brickbat]

47. You mean beyond cutting up a bunch of tomatoes, garlic, onions, peppers, basil and salt and pepper

and simmering it all afternoon? No, not so much. ;)

[robdogbucky]

56. You forgot the tomato paste and sugar. Essential IMHO n/t

[Brickbat]

60. Sometimes I use paste, sometimes not. Depends on the tomatoes.

[taught_me_patience]

61. Tomato paste for Roma tomatoes. Otherwise not needed

A bit of sugar is essental though. If you cook the onions down enough, there sometimes is enough sugar from that that extra isn't necessary.

[bigwillq]

10. Love it!!

Having some home grown now on my sandwich! :bounce:

[Aerows]

11. I don't like fresh tomatoes by themselves

But cooking with them, making salsa and tomato sauces .... :::drool:::

[Warren Stupidity]

23. try a little salt and pepper on a fresh sliced tomato. nt

[Aerows]

39. I can't stand the smell of raw tomatoes

I know that sounds weird, but I can only eat them raw in salsa with lemon juice. They have a carrion-ish smell to me, like bell peppers (which I don't eat AT ALL) when raw and alone.

I adore tomatoes in dishes and soups, but after watching my family eat mayonnaise and tomatoes or mayonnaise and tomato sandwiches, it grosses me out to the extreme. I don't even like the ones from Taco Bell on my taco supreme, and I don't eat them when presented with a salad in a restaurant.

[taught_me_patience]

12. I've got about 50 green ones on two plants on my condo balcony

We've already picked about ten

[onethatcares]

46. time for some green salsa,

yowser, yowser, yowser.

there are some great recipes on the internet tubes, yesssssssir.

[Shandris]

14. My grandma gives me a fresh tomato or two during the year for a sandwich...

...and we have the Red Gold fields a bit of a drive from here, but that's about all 'tomato season' means to me.

OTOH, going to the RG factory will net you a big box-o-Red Gold products for cheap. Like 20 cents bottles of ketchup and 5 cent gallons of tomato juice. Even at the dreaded Wal-Mart, they sell for 3.19 and 2.49 respectively.

[Shagbark Hickory]

15. Not a big tomato eater. I believe they're mildly poisonous.

That doesn't keep me from eating tomato paste tho.

[NRaleighLiberal]

18. As a good test case - I eat amazing quantities each summer - I suspect not! n/t

Been growing hundreds of varieties of heirlooms since joining the Seed Savers back in the mid 1980s. One of the joys of the gardening season!

[Shagbark Hickory]

21. I walk through miles of poison ivy each year and have never had a reaction to it.

That doesn't mean everyone else is safe.

[nc4bo]

16. Yum. Have eaten lots of tomato sandwiches...

Toasted bread, lil mayo, salt & pepper, sometimes a generous squirt of mustard.

:drool:

[eleny]

17. Ane when all else fails - Make tomato prune jam

[udbcrzy2]

19. Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich, yum! n/t

[Viking12]

20. I have a bumper crop this year. I will be eating tomato and cuke sanwiches for the next few weeks.

Of course I have homemade pesto, pickled banana peppers, salsa, garlic paste, horseradish, and baba ganoush to add a little variety throughout the season :)

[robdogbucky]

24. My small salad tomatoes come on first

and I have been using them in my salads since they first appeared in late May. I tried a new variety this year, the Current tomato. They are really tiny but packed with flavor and they are also really prolific which helps with their being so small. I also have retrieved a few Early Girl tomatoes that came on, and I made a roasted tomato soup and then some red marinara sauce. Yum.

I still haven't entered the peak for my other large tomatoes and with some new orange colored varieties I planted this year am really looking forward to Sun King and Jubilee tomatoes. They look beautiful already and will be coming off in the next two weeks. I have a Celebrity plant and a Beefsteak plant that are chock full of plump green tomatoes. Last year I cored, peeled and blanched a bunch for the freezer and enjoyed making pasta sauce and pizza sauce all through the winter.


Gotta love tomatoes.

[appleannie1]

25. Eat tomato sandwiches every day and tomato and fresh basil salad every night during

tomato season. Love them. Can the extra for pasta and chili during the winter months. Cannot stand the cardboard varieties you buy in stores during the winter months.

[Snotcicles]

44. On toasted rye with mayo, yum. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. Tomato season is late this year.

Mine have been sulking for weeks; now they are at long last starting to ripen. We had a cold, wet spring followed by weeks of very hot weather. The tomatoes did not like this. I think we will have tomato season in September this year. Better late than never, I guess.

[Retrograde]

55. Mine never ripen until September

doesn't matter when I plant them, they'll just stand around waiting until August to flower. There are some timy fruits on some of them now, so I expect I'll have some ripe ones in a month or so.

The farmers' market did have some good ripe ones yesterday - had my first BLT of the season today.

[sendero]

28. Who.

.... couldn't love fresh homegrown tomatoes? I tried to grow some this year but didn't do too well in the 110 degree heat :(

Next year, look out. I'm going to grow a bumper crop and eat them every day!

[Little Star]

29. RUMMYisFROSTED will not be happy that this is not in the..

farm stand forum. lol

[Fuddnik]

30. I'll plant my winter crop in about six weeks!

[waking wisconsin]

32. had a freshly picked tomato for breakfast

heavenly

[tech5270]

33. A summer without tomatoes just isn't worth living

As a matter of fact, I was just preparing some stuffed roasted tomatoes for dinner.
Unfortunately this hasn't been a good year for me. Between the weather and an ill-timed hospital stay, most of my tomatoes came up on their own from last years seed. I did get some Hungarian heirloom seed for next year. Nice sweet and nothing but meat.

[customerserviceguy]

34. One of nature's great foods

Fresh in a salad, or made into pasta sauce, tomatoes are always in my kitchen!

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[watercolors]

38. We eat tomatos every day, can't imagine a day without them!!

Also blueberries, & here in Fl its mango & Fl. green avacados, which are so buttery sweet , yumm!

[jwirr]

40. Just wish mine were doing better. Oh well there are 2 other family

gardens and the farmers market.

[kentuck]

41. I'm having one right now!

Tastes pretty good!

Went to a "Big Lebowski" party last night where folks dressed up in different characters for the movie. I was the Stranger. :-)

Drank a few "White Russians" in the spirit of the movie.

[southernyankeebelle]

42. OMG,my neighbor called and asked if I wanted tomotoes from her garden. I

went right over. I was able to make 6 bags of tomato juice I will use to make homemade soup. I have been eating tomatoes for days. Morning, noon and night. Just cut them up in a bowl and a little salt. But they taste best by cutting up tomatoes in a bowl. Then take extra virgin olive oil over the tomatoes. Sprinkle or use fresh garlic over them and a little oregano. Put aside. Toast 2 slices of bread then put american cheese and melt the cheese. Put on a plate then take the tomatoes with the juice and put on the hot open face toast and cheese. OMG died and gone to heave. It is very good.

[onethatcares]

45. just planted 2 plants,

I know it's not much but here in zone 9.5 it's hard to get decent ones and I'll be happy with 30 total edibles at the end of the season.

Like everything else, things are backwards here in sunny floriduh, plant in august, harvest in december/january.:shrug:

[Bozita]

48. August is National Fried Bologna and Onions and Home-Grown Tomato on Fresh Bakery Bread Month

A poor man's prime rib!

[Warren Stupidity]

53. now that is a mouthful

[Critters2]

52. I can take 'em or leave 'em alone. But my dog would kill for a fresh tomato.

My next door neighbors grow tomatoes right against the fence. This time of year, I can't leave my dog attended in the backyard, or she'll try to dig under the fence to get at the tomatoes. I once caught her trying to climb the fence!

edited because I can spell, but I can't type.

[robdogbucky]

57. And to think it's a citrus fruit n/t

[AsahinaKimi]

58. Depends...

Grape Tomatoes?


Cherry

or These



Any of them would be yummy!

[Texasgal]

59. Love me some 'Maters

Although all of mine have died and I cannot grow them this year. 105 degrees for months and no rain will do that. :(

[Cannikin]

62. I've been splitting them in half and baking them with bread crumbs, seasoning and asiago cheese.

Soooo tasty.

[flvegan]

63. WOW! Finally, something that DU collectively agrees on.

The simple tomato...whoda thunk it.

[spinbaby]

65. It's love hate thing

I love them but they're a migraine trigger for me.