Tomatoes

[Randy]

My tomatoes are all looking pretty good and healthy. I'm starting to see little tomatoes coming on now.

 

[Dale]

It won't be long before you will be eating tomatoes. For now you will just to dream about ripe tomatoes.

 

[Crabbergirl]

I have a few flowers on the storm victims, and the new ones are ptuiing on good growth. I guess I will go ahead and plant my fall tomatoes early in a few weeks.

 

[Jade]

Our tomatoes still look horrid. I just walked down to our little garden to check them out. I am seeing green beans on our plants now, that is good. I will be picking cukes by the end of the week.

 

[smiley_face2]

I'm happy that the tomatoes I started from seed look better than the couple I bought!! next year I will be starting all my own as well. there are lot's of green ones, I'm guessing 2 weeks till we are eating cherry tomatoes (depending on how much sun we get) We will also be eating cukes this coming weekend! no beans yet but the plant are looking like maybe Jack planted them!! lol... oh, and we are nearly done eating all our sugar snap peas already!!

 

[richnkim]

My tomatoes are doing good. I will plant a few more after we get back to have plants giving off for me later.

 

[Dale]

I planted more tomatoes as well. Will be canning some tomatoes tomorrow. Yeah!!!

 

[Randy]

I ate the first Sungold from the plant on the back porch. My grandson usually beats me to the first ones. The plants in the garden are looking good and there are some green tomatoes, but nothing ripe yet.

 

[Blueaussi]

So what do you think of the Sungold, Randy? I'm growing it for the first time this year. I've always been a stalwart current tomato lover for my cherry type tomatoes. They have such a true tomato taste and are easy to grow. and very, very prolific, one plant puts out more than I could ever eat.

But, I gotta admit, those Sungolds are pretty darn tasty.

 

[Randy]

Blue, I was introduced to the Sungold by my sister-in-law who works for a large nursery in Sacramento, CA. She gave me three plants when we were down there on a visit one spring. One of the plants was a Sungold. With the help of the animals, my soil has been quite fertile. I planted those three plants, but the Sungold was amazing. That single plant grew huge, about eight feet in width and about six feet in depth. We were only able to use a small fraction of the available tomatoes from the plant. I haven't had a plant grow like that one did since them, but they still do well and provide an abundance of very tasty tomatoes. When they are in season, I like to slice them in half and use the Sungold and the red cherry tomatoes in salads. They are pretty colorful and very tasty. I have that one Sungold in a planter on the back porch and two others in the garden. The ones in the garden do much better, but the one on the porch enables one to graze a bit in just passing. I see another Sungold about ready to eat, but I will leave that one for the grandson. The Sungold does have very good taste though and I have heard the oohs and aahs when people try them for the first time. I have some Sweet 100's planted too and even though they are quite tasty, I like the Sungold better. That doesn't mean they are better. It just means that I prefer them.

 

[Mainegal]

I'll have to look for some seeds for the sungolds. I think that is the one that Debe was going to send me some seeds but with her moving and all last yr she never got around to it.

 

[Dor]

I shared some sweet 100s, okra, and jalapanas with my grandchildren's childcare provider today when I stopped by her house to deliver payment to her for my daughtrer. She was shocked and very thankful. She said her husband would love the peppers. She didn't know I had a garden. I picked three cucumbers today. I will marinade them in vinegar with some tomatoes later for a late lunch. The grands love them.

 

[Blueaussi]

I'll have to look for some seeds for the sungolds. I think that is the one that Debe was going to send me some seeds but with her moving and all last yr she never got around to it.

You realize it's a hybrid, right, so you can't save seed? Well, you can, but you don't get Sungold the next year.

 

[Randy]

Debe is the one that sent me some seeds though several years back and I still have a few left. She bought them at a different branch of the nursery that my sister-in-law works at. So they weren't saved from Debe's tomatoes. When she was still living down there, Debe sent me two packets. One was a year older than the other, but they were still viable. Come to think of it though, I think I am working on seeds that I bought from the Madison Ave. store when I was down there in 2007. I have seen plants for sale here locally now, but I still haven't seen any seeds. We go down to Sacramento just about every year though and I can always buy some more seeds as long as I don't forget. It's kind of fun going to the nursery anyway, but I always come away with more than I intended.

 

[Blueaussi]

There is an heirloom tomato grower who comes to the spring Flower Festival here in Columbia every year, and I believe he goes to the one in Florence, too. Rodger's Tomatoes, or plants, or something like that. Anyway, he is very dedicated to promoting heirloom varieties of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and a few herbs; however, he does offer Sun Gold even though it's a hybrid. He says he gets so many requests for it, and admits that it does have really great flavor.

He's hosting an heirloom tomato tasting festival in Little Mountain in a couple of weeks. I'll post some information on it for the SC contingent here as soon as I can get it.

 

[Randy]

Blue, I haven't given much thought to whether the tomatoes I plant are hybrids or heirloom varieties. The Roma is probably an heirloom, but I also plant Celebrity, Big Boy and Better Boy. I do plant Sweet 100's too.

 

[Blueaussi]

I have been planting heirloom and open pollinated varieties for years. I like the flavors, and I love the histories of some of the heirlooms. I also like supporting open pollinated crops and seed saving. After the summers of 2002 and 2003, I will always, always, always have a Tomato Spotted Wilt resistant variety in my garden, and that means planting a hybrid, but I still prefer open pollinated and heirlooms.

That being said, I did decide to give the Sun Gold a try this year after hearing so many folks rant and rave about them. And, you know, they are good.

 

[Randy]

I don't save my seeds, but maybe I should give that a whirl. A packet of seeds will last me for several years though as it is.

 

[Dor]

I bought some Sungold seeds from Valueseeds. I am not sure I bought them this year or last. I think I will start some this week and see if I can get a last harvest.

 

[Randy]

It's certainly worth a try, Miss Dorothy. I am watching my tomato plants with eagerness now as I'm seeing more tomatoes. They are all green though except that Sungold on the back porch. I don't think Alec has seen that one tomato that is almost ready yet though.