This 'n' that

[ksmith]

Tomatoes. I wound up with nine.

They stayed green for the longest time. A couple of weeks ago, I cut them down, along with lengths of vine and hung them in the back door window, which faces south. Nothing for a couple of weeks--I considered dumping them and calling the whole thing a wash. Then suddenly over the last few days:

The Tobolsk, which are bright yellow-orange:



The Black Krim, with a maroon-green underside and green top:



The bigger ones all give a little when I press them. I want to give the Black Krim a couple more days, but am tempted to give the bright Tobolsk a try tonight. Along with these, there's a cluster of five much smaller tomatoes. I think they're Black Krim, but I'm not sure. Whichever, if they taste even halfway decent, I will try again in the Spring. Only this time, I will start them in the cellar with a light sometime in March.

And finally:

Herself the Elf (sans tail because I'm such a photographer):



And the King, looking sheepish for some reason:




The food bowl is Gaby's. Having to eat around the bumps has really slowed her down.

Comments

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

I'm glad your girl is home and settling back in.

Tomatoes ripen in the dark. An old trick is to put them in a paper bag under the sink. Whatever you do, don't refrigerate them. That retards ripening and turns them to mush.

[(Anonymous)]

9 is pretty good! I hope you like the flavors.

I'm not too sure about the ones I grew this year. Juliet, and Sweet 100. The Sweet 100's were amazing. But the Juliet was kinda boring. I'll be off in search of the perfect tomato again next spring. They were both prolific this year though. I brought in 20# right before the frost. Next year it's gonna be just two plants. A cherry tomato of some sort, and one other.

I'm glad Gaby is home and doing well.

Adrianne

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I found the paper bag thing online today, too. Guess that's what I'll do with the rest of them.

Now if I cut one and have slices leftover, should I just leave them out on the counter to preserve the taste?

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

When are they ripe enough to eat? I'm going to compare them with my supermarket ones, but is that what you do? Do I need to let them get pretty soft, or what?

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

That I don't know. If you try the experiment, let me know how it goes.

[(Anonymous)]

Sniff them. You can smell that wonderful tomatoy goodness when they're ripe.

I don't know anything about Black Krim, but yours don't look dark enough to me. And you can't tell by hardness unless you know your variety. Mine never get soft until they're rotten. Neither do the orange ones I've gotten here. But my farmer grows "field tomatoes" that are so soft they're hard to transport. They're worth it. The flavor!

Adrianne

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I put the Krims in paper sacks under the sink. They should be edible in a couple of days, I hope.

I cut into the Tobolsk. It probably needed a few more days, but even so it has more flavor than any storebought tomato I've ever had, including those $5/lb Uglies that are supposedly heirloom. The garden experiment will be carried over to next year.

[patinagle.livejournal.com]

Sweet Millions are even better than Sweet 100s, but hard to find.

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for the tip! I'll look for seeds. I need new mesclun seed for next summer anyway.

Adrianne

[(Anonymous)]

Store bought tomatoes are pale ghosts of what a real tomato tastes like. My farmer's market has a greenhouse that does hydroponic tomatoes that taste yummy. But I generally quit eating tomatoes in the winter. If I must buy them, I buy the organic Sugar Plum tomatoes from del Cabo.

If you should decide to plant in the ground next year, I've had terrific luck starting tomatoes inside, then moving them outside early - 3 weeks before last frost - and protecting them with "wall-o-water". Once they outgrow the wall-o-water, I take the protectors off and put them in cages (which discourage deer).

Adrianne

[silvergryphyn.livejournal.com]

Have you thought about cheating a bit? I'm a member of a local CSA
(Community Supported Agriculture) farm. This particular farm has a work component as well as the monetary portion for the share. You also always have to pick some your own veggies. I can't remember if the great garden experiment was just to have better veggies or to also do it yourself. If more on the great veggies side, I'd bet you could find a local CSA.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I know we have one, but from what I saw during an initial evaluation of the offerings on the website, you have to take a set amount, and even the smallest is way more veggies than I need. I didn't see a pick-it-yourself option. Maybe a farm that's farther away offers one.

[silvergryphyn.livejournal.com]

I've actually been splitting a share for the past three years because it is _way_ too much just for me. My farm also has an alternate week option.