One of my earliest memories of my grandmother was her eating tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches. The tomatoes, still warm from the garden, the soft wheat bread, a dash of salt and a slather of mayo was just about her favorite supper from about July 1st until the frost killed all her tomato plants.
Me, I am much more of a BLT girl, heavy on the B, light on the T. This summer however I am learning to appreciate tomatoes.
Every year we grow about 20-25 varieties of tomato starts at the greenhouse and people always ask which one is the best. Since I only ever grew two kinds in my garden, an Italian plum for canning and ‘Celebrity’ for BLTs, my breadth of experience was not great. So we decided to find out.
We planted one each of 25 different varieties of tomato plants in our garden the third week in May after the rain finally stopped. Dad dutifully bought heavy-gauge square wire cages, and even set up a drip line irrigation system. This was the most attention our tomato plants have ever gotten.
The plan was to have a tomato taste testing, a very scientific experiment, and decide which was the best. Maybe next year we wouldn’t have to grow so many choices.
In the three months since these monster tomato plants have been growing, I have really come to appreciate the different classifications of tomatoes. There are indeterminate, vining types that flower in stages, producing fruits for a long period of time. These plants can get quite large. Most tomatoes fall into this category.
The determinate, bush types reach a certain stage, flower at once and produce most of the fruit simultaneously. Most plum types or other canning tomatoes are this type. All the work can be done at once. Many patio tomatoes, also fit this description. These plants top out at less than 3 feet, and may not even need much support.
Another classification is heirloom versus hybrid. The heirloom types are open pollinated, meaning you can collect the seed at the end of the summer, and if you plant it the following spring, should have more or less the same tomatoes. They generally have prosaic names like ‘Brandywine’, ‘Mortgage Lifter’, ‘Cherokee Purple’, ‘Black Zebra’, ‘Arkansas Traveler’ or ‘Box Car Willie’ to name a few. These are generally thought to have better flavor, at the expense of a high yield, or disease resistance.
The hybrid types are a cross of two inbred lines. If you keep the seeds, the tomatoes won’t come true the following spring. These generally have been selected for superior production traits such as size, firmness, disease resistance, high yield. Some say at the expense of flavor.
Most tomatoes are between 70 and 90 day crops, meaning the time from when the seed is planted until when the first harvestable fruit is ripe. I started picking the ‘Early Girl’ and the ‘Jetsetter’ fruits in late June. By the second week of July we had tomatoes coming out of our ears.
One of the biggest challenges with tomatoes is blossom end rot. This is not actually a fungus, but rather a calcium deficiency. There are several products containing calcium solutions that you spray on the foliage. They recommend applying several times when the plants are flowering, and during wet or extremely dry weather to help prevent this problem. I didn’t do this. Last week I noticed a few tomatoes with rot on the bottom, and mixed some flowable calcium in with the irrigation water. This week the tomatoes showed no signs of rot. Maybe it worked, maybe it didn’t and they got better by themselves. Who knows?
What I do know is 25 tomato plants makes a LOT of tomatoes. Look for the results of our taste testing next week. Meanwhile here is one of my new favorite recipes.
RAINBOW TOMATO SALAD
Great for a potluck or a summer picnic
3-4 pounds of different kinds of tomatoes -small slices, diced or cherries cut in half
Salt
¼ cup White Basalmic vinegar or Red Wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
Fresh Mozzarella cheese balls drained, cut into bite sized pieces (optional)
Fresh Basil leaves 7-8 sliced thin, a sprig for garnish
Liberally sprinkle cut tomatoes with salt in a colander and let drain 15-20 minutes. This draws out the moisture and intensifies the flavor. Don’t worry, it won’t taste salty. Mix vinegar and oil, add shredded basil, and pour over tomatoes and mozzarella. Garnish with spring of basil. Eat at room temp or slightly chilled. Will keep in fridge 1-2 days, though best first day. This salad looks best with a mix of red and yellow tomatoes of different sizes.
