Tag Archives: tomatoes

How I Keep Track Of My Tomatoes In My Garden

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This year I only wanted 10 tomato plants in my garden. Not so much, the belt laid plans of mice and men, right? So I have more than that. When I plant, I try to mix up the colors and the shapes and the sizes so that I can keep the varieties straight. Let’s face it, a medium red looks like a medium red, except for taste. Even to The Tomato Lady.

Another thing I do is to make a map. There is now way I can rely on the markers: they fade, fall out or, and I am pretty sure this happens, at least to me, the squirrels think it’s funny to switch out the markers. Probably because I pull out all the walnut trees they try to plant in my yard. Sigh.

Below is a picture of my original map as I walked through the garden making notes.

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This what it looks like once I transfer it to my computer. I include frames of reference such as raspeberries, arbor, greenhouse so that I can orient myself. Works like a charm and I have records from years past. Works for anything you want to keep track of.

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The Letter of the Day is Z; “Z” is for the Zebra Twins, Black and Green

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Black Zebra

A natural and stabilized cross between Green Zebra and a black tomato by Jeff Dawson.

These tomatoes are vigorous, plants that produce 4 oz., 1 1/2”, juicy, round tomatoes with purple/mahogany colored skin and green stripes. 

Great smokey and sweet flavor. 

Indeterminate

Mid-season

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Green Zebra

Customer favorite

This is one of the most unusual variety you’ll ever grow! 

Fully ripened fruits are bright green, with stripes of a still lighter green. 

Round, smallish, 2 to 4 oz. fruits have excellent, tart, “real tomato” flavor. 

Plants are vigorous. 

Determinate

Mid-season

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The Letter of the Day is X: “X: is for Xtra Large Tomato Varieties

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My Love’s Pink Oxheart

Vigorous vine produces big bunches of huge pink tomatoes which are oxheart shaped, meaty, and have fantastic flavor. They have a good balance of sweet and acid. The plant is unlike otheroxheart tomatoes, it has sturday foliage, not wispy like some oxhearts. This tomato has several large, large fruits that weren’t yet ripe. I was hoping to take them to the fair last year but they didn’t turn until several days right after the fair. I would have won the largest with one of them, it topped out at over 3 pounds!

Indeterminate

Mid-season

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Rose

I won the largest tomato of the 2011 Spokane County Fair with this one.

A large leafy heirloom that produces deep, rose-pink, 3″, meaty globes with a taste that rivals those varieties heralded most for their luscious taste.

Seed is from a doctor in PA who got it from one of her Amish patients.

Indeterminate

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Delicious

A favorite

An excellent slicer, with most fruits over 1 pound – many 2 to 3 pounds – and still holds the world record of 7+ pounds for a single fruit! Not in our neck of the woods, probably somewhere south where they have lot sof heat and a way longer growing season.

Produces smooth and solid fruits that seldom crack, with small cavities, nearly solid meat, and excellent flavor.

Developed from Beefsteak after 13 years of careful selection.

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Rocky

A favorite despite the late maturation date. We had loads of them for canning in September.

Simply amazing! These were enormous tomatoes in my garden. Some were so big, you could have used 3 or 4 in one quart jar and a joy to slip the skins for canning.

Good producer of 2 x 3-inch (and bigger), 1 lb., red, paste tomatoes.

Sweet, tangy, meaty fruit. One of the best flavored sauce tomatoes.

Indeterminate

Late season

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The Letter of the Day is M: “M” is for Mortgage Lifter and Maules Red Hot, a Cayenne Type of Pepper

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Mortgage Lifter

These long time favorites are also known as Radiator Charlie. They produce good yields of large, smooth, pink-skinned fruits and have few seeds, even in times of drought. Mild and delectable sweet flavor.

I like these a lot, last year we had 1-2 lb. tomatoes. Yummy. The back story on this is very interesting and one of the reasons I like heirloom tomatoes. In a nutshell, during the Depression there was a gentleman who raised these tomato plants and sold them for $1.00, a hefty sum back then, and was able to pay off his $6000 dollar mortgage in 6 years. It is also known as Radiator Charlie due to the fact he owned a radiator shop.

Indeterminate

75-85 days

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Maules Red Hot

Great for Northern areas, these peppers will give you loads of 10” long cayenne type peppers. They mature from green to red with a flavor that is excellent for hot sauces or making dried pepper flakes.

these were a bonus seed that I rec’d from a seed company. Any variety that works well in the north with it;s shorter season is something I want to promote.

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The Letter of the Day is K: “K” is for the Tomatos, Kellogg’s Breakfast and Kosovo

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Kellogg’s Breakfast

this is one of my daughter’s favorite tomatoes. Lovely, pale-orange fruits are solid and meaty throughout, packed with mild, superb-tasting flesh. A long-season producer of large, beefsteak-type fruits, up to 16 oz., with solid centers that have just a few seeds at the edges. We had 2 pounders one year. This is great tomato for both cooking and eating fresh. Indeterminate, 80-85 days

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Kosovo

This is another one that I love. Big oxheart shaped red tomatoes. Good flavor. This wonderful variety came from a former U.N. worker in Kosovo, who passed it down to Carolyn Male. Huge, deep pink heart-shaped fruit that has a sweet rich flavor and is very meaty while still being juicy. Production is excellent and the tomatoes are simply beautiful, but it is the delectable and intense tomato flavor that really makes this one special. Tomatoes can grow up to 1 pound, with ranges from 10 to 18 ozs. Indeterminate, 75-80 days

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for more information about these tomatoes, go to www.thetomatolady.com

The Letter of the Day is I: “I” is for Isis Candy (Tomato) and Italian Ice (Tomato)

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Isis Candy

These are great tomatoes and one of our family favorites. although the first time I grew this, I didn’t understand that they were a reddish-orange when ripe so I waited and waited. Finally, I learned that they were supposed to be avmarbled color and that they had a star on the bottom. Very pretty and yummy.

They are a marbled reddish color with a starburst on the underside. Sweet and fruity. Heavy yields of short trusses, in double rows, of 6 to 8 fruits each. Indeterminate, 70-80 days.

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Italian Ice

Sugary sweet and bursting with juicy flavor, ‘Italian Ice’ is a summer picnic treat. Clusters of 1-1 1/2″ snack-sized fruits ripen from green to ivory white, becoming uniquely sweet and mild tasting. 

Chill a bowlful for a satisfying portable snack when the heat of the summer demands a cooling, melt-in-your-mouth treat.

Indeterminate, 65 days

The Letter of the Day is H: “H” is for the Tomato, Hundreds and Thousands and the Pepper, Hungarian Yellow Wax

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Hundreds and Thousands

This tomato is really cool. The tomatoes are a currant size and there lots and lots of them. Hundreds? Yes. Thousands? Not really, but you won’t go short of tomatoes with this variety. 

The sweet, mini-cherry fruit are very flavorful and early and perfect for putting into a salad or popping into your mouth.

Plant with petunias, alyssum and lobelia for pretty hanging baskets. 

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Hungarian Yellow Wax

Spicy, fairly hot, banana shaped fruits, 6″ long and 1-1/2″ across – perfect for pickling. Matures from light yellow to bright red. Best hot pepper for cooler climates. Ever-bearing plants are 16 to 24″ tall, strong, uprightImage

The Letter of the Day is G; “G” is for the Tomato, Green Grape and the Pepper, Giant Szegedi

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Green Tomatoes and White Peppers

Green Grap

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My description on my website: These are the first, fully ripened green cherry tomato. I adore these. Fruits are delicious, juicy and sweet and burst in your mouth. They turn a lovely golden green when ripe and are wonderful straight from the vine. Mix with Sweet Million and Sungold cherry tomatoes for a rainbow infused salad. Use for a large container planting on your deck.

Determinate, 70 days

My Notes: So many people have no idea what they are missing when they bypass these little ping pong sized beauties in favor of a more traditionally colored cherry tomato. Pop them in in your mouth and they will surprise you with a flood of sweetness. Wait until they are a golden green. The plant is well behaved and will do well in a large pot. Aunt Ruby’s German Green is another tomato that wows with it’s sweet, winey taste and it can get pretty big.

Giant Szegedi

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My description on my website: Originally from Hungary, this variety is very hard to find in the United States.

Short, fairly compact plants produce good yields of very crisp, thick walled, very sweet peppers that average 4 inches long.

Fruits start out white and slowly turn yellow, then orange, and finally red at maturity. Fruits hold well on the vine and it is very easy to pick white, yellow, orange and red peppers at each picking without any stage sacrificing taste or crispness.

They are wonderful on vegetable trays, in salads, or in cooking. This variety does very well in cooler regions of the country where other pepper varieties struggle.

My Notes: I love the white peppers and em excited to try this one. I’ve grown Albino Bullnose before and it is apleasure watching it turn from white to red on the same plant. White Lakes is also a white/cream pepper.

The Letter of the Day is F: “F” is for Tomatoes, Fiorintino (Costoluto) and Fireworks

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Fiorintino

tomato-fiorintino

My description on my website: A fantastic old Tuscan Heirloom variety with dark red skin and juicy delicious flesh. Shaped slightly flattened with fluted shoulders. Fruits are typically about 8 ounces, with a smoother shape than the heavily ribbed Costoluto Genovese. The flavor is high in sugar with excellent acid, making for outstanding taste that’s wonderful fresh or made into sauces. Fusarium resistant too!

My Notes: These were prolific and most were of a medium size. The taste was pretty good too. I liked to cut their tops off and stuff them with chicken salad. The fluted edges really stood out. Great for cooking and salsa.

Indeterminate, 80 days

Fireworks


My description on my website: This is one of the largest, earliest red slicing tomatoes available, and it has excellent flavor. Fireworks is an exceptional variety. Its bright red fruit are 6 to 8 ozs., round with a pointed tip, and borne quite heavily on vigorous plants.

My Notes: One of the earlies that is an indeterminate and a larger tomato which is unusual for an early tomato. Jetsetter and Siletz are all a good size. I will be growing it in my garden for myself this year. I had so many customers who raved about it’s size and taste that I need to see it for myself!

Indeterminate, 60 days

The Wonderful World of Tomatoes (And Some Peppers) My A to Z Theme

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Does anyone REALLY know how many varieties of tomatoes there are in the world? I am going to hazard a guess that no one does. I do know that there are hundreds and hundreds of tomatoes, with different colors, shapes, uses, flavors and growing habits. New hybrids are always on the forefront.  I even developed my own – “Mister E” which started as a mystery, but is now one of our favorites.

I raise  tomato and pepper plants using organic methods and sell them every April and May. This year I have 1300 pepper plants (41 varieties) and about 6500 tomato plants (154 varieties). Not only do I sell, but I like to educate people about growing their own food. during this A-Z Challenge I will showcase some of the tomatoes I grow and hopefully have the time to throw in a few peppers.

Now, you probably want to know what my credentials are, what makes me an “expert”. Read on…

I started my gardening journey as a child – my parents had a HUGE garden, and grew Early Girls, Beefsteaks and Roma tomatoes as well as other vegetables and plants. While I loved seeing things grow, I did not like weeding, although my mother claims I actually enjoyed it!

Eighteen years ago – the dark ages to some of you – I started gardening again in Spokane. I started with the standard varieties, but soon became bored and searched for others. Oh, the seed catalogs wooed me with their glossy pages and colorful pictures and tantalizing descriptions of tomatoes I had never even heard of. I started ordering tomatoes with names like Mortgage Lifter, Green Zebra, Orange Russian, Ananis Noir, and Sungold. I was in heaven and as every good gardener does, I planted the entire seed packet.  Usually 25-40 seeds with almost 100% germination! What was I going to do with all my tomato plants?

That first year the excess plants were put in the driveway along with a coffee can as a money box and a sign inviting folks to buy them. People loved them and were as happy as I was to try the different kinds of tomatoes. From there I started doing a local garden show – “The Garden Expo.” In a sense, I have grown with them. I started with one booth and a small greenhouse when it was a small show. Now it is a regional event held at the local community college campus, with 15,000+ customers anticipated this spring, and I have 3 greenhouses growing 6,500 tomato plants, 1,300 peppers, and some herbs. If you make to Spokane on Mother’s Day weekend, stop by on Saturday; my 4 booths are located just beyond the entrance.

Since I started my business, I have researched and grown all kinds of tomatoes – heirloom, patio, early, etc. This year we are planting over 154 varieties! I will be highlighting many of them in my blog in the days to come. I have also developed my own garden soil mix and determined the best fertilizers and additives to get great, tasty tomatoes. I became a Master Gardener for six years to learn more, and also to teach others. Now, my husband calls me the Garden Master, but I am not sure if that is because he thinks that I know a lot about gardening, or because I am always putting him to work in the garden!

Each year we grow something new and learn something as well. Do I know everything? No, but I am always learning and I like to share with others what I know. My next challenge is figuring out how to ship my plants – I have had a number of inquiries from across the United States for plants.

In truth, I never intended to become The Tomato Lady. However my customers came up with the name and I liked it so much that I registered it with the state. When I am not in the garden, I am a graphic artist and I am married to a talented illustrator (We have to do something in the off-season!) We designed the logo and marketing materials.

I hope you will enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy sharing it with you. Feel free to also check out my website, TheTomatoLady.com and Facebook page, https://www.Facebook.com/theTomatoLady. God willing, we will continue the journey into tomato gardening together.