My heirloom tomatoes. Still no frost and these things are going all out. This is an heirloom tomato, Cherokee Purple. Notice the pinkish tone instead of the orange we see with the new hybrid varieties. IMHO, this is the best of the best. The newer hybrids produce more fruit and of course are more tolerant of disease, but they don't have that wonderful taste. If you haven't tried some of the heirlooms, don't expect the perfect round or oval shapes. Many heirlooms are large but irregular shaped. I think you'll forgive their imperfections after the first taste;)
Thanks, Tina for suggesting this topic. Frankly I had nothing for today until I read your blog.
52 comments:
Last year I had heirlooms and they were wonderful, but this year, nothing grew right. My brother had beautiful tomatoes, but he has heavy soil and I have sand. Not enough super hot nights and lots of blight...so there is always next year.
Please do check out Hey, Harriet and play along. With the wonderful photos you take, it would be a pleasant change and you get to know so many cool people!
Have a great day and don't get to anxious about my last post...brrrrr....
sharon
Gorgeous shade of purple on that heirloom tomato! They do have a better taste than the hybrids. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder! :)
Hey, at least you have veggies! We got our first frost this morning. It was still a great morning for a 4 mile walk...sunny and cool. Cameron
Marnie, All the newest hybrid tomatoes have had the taste bred out of them in exchange for an ability to travel well in trucks across the country! I am with you the heirlooms taste like the tomatoes. Wonderfully tasty and they don't need to be perfect looking! I will remember this recommendation for my vegetable garden...which is becoming even more of a possibility! Gail
Hi Sharon. Looking at those photos made me remember all the problems I had last winter;)
I know it makes a difference if you have sandy soil. You can hardly get enough water to them when they are at their peak. Maybe next year.
I'll check out the shadow site.
Marnie
PerennialGardener. I like the unusual coloring. The odd shapes and cracking bothers some people a lot. Not me.
Marnie
Hi Cameron, the weather man has been predicting frost since Friday. Just a matter of days left:(
Marnie
Hey Gail, you can always stick a tomato plant in with ornamentals if you stake it and pinch off the suckers;)
Marnie
Perfection is overrated, isn't it? These look fabulous. Next year I am going to try a few less flowers for a few veggies. I miss the flavors.
Hi Kathleen. I would miss my tomatoes so much if I couldn't grow them. BLT s, tomatoes stuffed with tuna salad, any kind of sandwich. So much better with fresh tomato.
Marnie
I love tomatoes and look forward to them fresh from the garden every year. The heirloom tomatoes are beautiful to look at and of course tasty to eat. Some of the tomatoes grown in our area in Oregon are as big as softballs. Everything tastes better with fresh tomatoes!
Beadedtail, I agree. Salads, sandwiches, everything need fresh tomatoes.
Marnie
Marnie, You are SO SWEET! These tomatoes look kind of like Bradley's but I see they are Cherokee Purples. I have some Bradleys (I think heirloom too?) in my garden and like their flavor over all the others. I think it is something about the heirlooms that make them taste more tomatoey and I'll look for them next year. Yup, I actually did a taste test on them. Like those cages as well. Too cool to have tomatoes in October-at least I think it is:)
We've had a few hard frosts and I pulled out the rest of my tomatoes yesterday. I do have a bunch of seeds for heirloom tomatoes for next year, though. Hooray! I haven't grown any heirlooms before and am looking forward to their tastes and colors!
~ Monica
Who ARE those consumers that want those pallid, perfectly shaped, bland "tomatoes"--I mean, who puts a whole tomato out to be admired for its shape in the first place? I, too, envy you your tomatoes--unfortunately, the deer are more savvy than the consumer the grocery stores target so they eat them no matter what they look like.
Do your cats and dogs get into them? Ranunculus is all carnivore, but his predecessor Pete LOVED tomatoes and would occasionally knock over a cage to get to them . . .
I just chopped down my wild cherry tomato plants today. They were still producing but a frost is coming...
Love the color of those Cherokee Purples. I just canned my last 10 qts of tomatoes today. So glad that chore is behind me! Ours are finished since the frosts hit. My hubby planted garlic today. Lots of it!
I remember your post earlier this spring about your heirloom tomatoes, Marnie. I do want to try a couple of these next year; thanks for reminding me to add this to my plant "wish list." In the end, it's really the taste that matters anyway, isn't it?
We had a freeze this weekend so that is the end to the growing season and the end to my husband's hammock season....sigh...
Marnie, I've never tasted an heirloom tomato. I know, I missing out! :) Yours is a lovely color and if as good as you say worth the effort to grow them. Will try some container ones next year.
Hi Marnie. Sorry I've missed a couple of posts.
I wish there was a way to preserve a tomato as is so I could have sliced tomato on a sandwich or just to eat with a meal. I canned some and juiced some, but it's just not the same! I've never heard of that particular variety of tomato.
Lisa
Your purple tomatoes look wonderful. I grow the heirloom Brandy Wine. I usually get big beautiful tomatoes with a fabulous taste.
Marnie, I love the Cherokee Rose tomatoes! Our local farmers market sells them and I always buy them there! Yummy!
Hi Tina, I haven't heard of Bradleys. There are so many old varieties. We have taste tests here at the office. Fun, everybody picks something different. A lot of people like Brandywine and a couple loved the Sweet Millions (not heriloom).
Marnie
Hi Monica, good luck with your first plants. Hope you love the taste.
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Hi Bookbaby, me too in a couple more days I'm afraid.
Marnie
Hi Cosmos, LOL we had a doberman who would go out and pick a tomato every few days. Health conscious gourmet dog;)
I know what you mean. Those store tomatoes are as hard as apples and dry. Then again, I have a friend who would not garden no matter what. She says smugly, "I don't put my hands in the dirt." TAkes all kinds.
Marnie
Those tomatoes look fab, I must try harder to beat the blight next year.
Kim x
Hi Kerri, that is a big job. I may blanch and freeze a few more. Most I've given away. Of course I've eaten more than my share;)
Marnie
Hi Rose, I think so too. Hope you have good luck with your next spring.
Marnie
Hi RamblingWoods, the end of the hammock season, LOL. Yes me too, big sigh.
Marnie
Hi Beckie, it you get a chance to try some, I think you'll like them. A lot of upscale restaurants are using them to please their customers. More expensive but they come in many colors, pink, purple, yellow, red and striped;) Make a pretty display in salads.
Marnie
Hi RaccoonLover. If only. You are right, juice and canned is a poor substitute.
Marnie
Hi OldCrow. Brandywine is supposed to be the favorite of most people. I grew one this season but it doesn't produce as heavily as some of my other varieties. It is good tho, I'll plant another next spring.
Marnie
Hi Kim. Disease can be a problem. Our ag extension says to plant in a different location each year with a 4-year rotation. Not many people have that much garden space so we just do the best we can.
Marnie
Hi Sherri, you're lucky. Our local growers all grow the hybrids. They do produce more fruit I guess.
Marnie
Yum! Those look great! For my dad's birthday this past spring, I got him several different varieties of heirloom tomato plants. Most of them have done really well, and some are still putting out tomatoes right now!
Heirlooms are all I will grow now. I was hooked from the first time I tried them. I love the irregular shapes and the variety of colors--and the taste--that will hook you if nothing else will! I find I have less problems with disease and bugs than with hybrids. Are you going to have some fried green tomatoes if you get a frost?
Yumm....I hate to see them gone for the winter.
These are great looking tomatoes. I've never heard of them. Thanks for introducing them.
Hi DogGeek, he probably remembers the old fashioned kind from when he was a kid. My Dad does.
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Hey, Morning Glories, I hadn't thought of that. I've never fried any but I could try;)
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Hi Birdlady, me too. Their season is so short.
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Hi JaneMarie, if you can find them they are really worth trying.
Marnie
Would love to taste this one! All we grow are the mini tomatoes in pots! They are still on the vine!! Temps dropped to 4C ..brrrrr....roses still
braving though!
I also grow heirloom vegetables including the tomatoes. I like the taste of the heirlooms the best and I like bio-diversity!
I have been enjoying seeing all your bird and butterfly pictures. I see you also enjoy bugs, birds and blooms!
We are kindred spirits!
Sherry
Hi Naturegirl, I like
Hi Naturegirl, I like some of the little ones. Sweet Million is so good sometimes I just pop them into my mouth while I'm picking them.
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Hi Sherry, yes we do have much in common. I enjoy almost everything I can do outdoors.
Marnie
Looks like you might have to cut a few of them while they're still green. My mom used to put hers in a brown paper bag on the counter to get them to ripen. I don't have any tomatoes, but I think it's time to bring in the last few peppers & to cut the parsley.
Hi MMD, our weatherman says temps in the 20's this weekend. Bring 'em in or lose the I guess.
Marnie
Great heirlooms...that is the advantage of a home garden - we can grow the very flavorful varieties of vegetables. In a commercial setting they are not selected for taste first.
I am so excited that I found your blog! WOW.... I LOVE IT! We have loads in common as far as gardening only I am new to blogging. WE did get frost last night and my Brandywine Heirloom tomatoes took a hit. :-(
I am following you on Blogger!
Thanks for sharing your garden with me.
Hi Bren, I'm so glad you found my blog and took the time to leave a comment. I'm kind of new myself, my first blog was this spring. It's interesting and addictive;)
Marnie
Hi Chris, I agree. It is pretty amazing the different tastes you get depending on the variety of vegetable.
Marnie
I can't wait to hopefully have good heirloom tomatoes next year. This year's tomatoes were a disaster and seeing yours makes me remember how good a homegrown goodie tastes!
I quit growing hybrids three years ago and now grow only heirlooms. Cherokee Purple is one of my favorites. Might I suggest 'Hillbilly' for you next spring? ;~)
I tried hierlooms this year, bu that lack of disease resistance......well they got diseased pretty fast. I had to rip them up and pitch them...made me mad and sad..Oh well there is always next year. And its fall...my favorite time of year!
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