Tomato Talk
October 24, 2011 
Today I'm trying to divert my attention from pre-school angst by writing about one of my favorite subjects...
Tomatoes.
They're bright and cheery.
They radiate sunshine.
They know nothing of school busses and backpacks and letting go of a small shred of control of one's child.
They call me back to a simpler time. A summer time. A time of bare shoulders, new freckles, and garden frolicking. A time of my children being firmly under my domain and my sprinkler.
None of this pre-school business.
Woe to the mother who first relinquishes the care of her child! Woe to me!
Just kidding.
I'm actually coming to terms with the pre-school situation quite nicely. I just like to throw in a little dramatic flair from time to time.
So, tomatoes...
I have two -- count 'em, TWO -- fresh tomatoes sitting on my counter top, the last ones from the garden for this year, and as soon as they have been ingested, my 2011 love affair with tomatoes will come to a screeching halt.
I don't know if I'm ready for it to be over!
(Evidently I have issues with letting go lately.)
I started out the season with fifteen -- count 'em, FIFTEEN -- different varieties of tomatoes. I started them as seeds way back in April, and here's what I learned about that process...
1. Starting them in April works out well for me.
2. They need to be as close as possible to a window with full sun, otherwise they get tall and leggy, and they are structurally weaker.
The fifteen varieties, and my impressions were as follows...
1. Super Snow White (Cherry) - delicious, delicate flavor, produced fairly well
2. Sun Gold (Cherry) - awesome, best producer of the bunch, and best flavor
3. Chocolate (Cherry) - mild, delicate flavor, not my favorite, but good, produced fairly well
4. Bloody Butcher - produced well, small, but good flavor, worked well for making sauce
5. Jelly Bean, Yellow (Cherry) - very good flavor, produced somewhat
6. Orange Wellington - didn't produce a lot of tomatoes, but had great flavor, looked more yellow than orange
7. Roma - produced very well, smallish, but had good flavor, tried and true little tomatoes, worked well for making sauce
8. Mr. Stripey - not sure if I got any of these or not... I think the two sitting on my countertop might be these
9. Brandywine, Red - produced, but had big cracks
10. Old German - didn't produce (this was the one tomato that I bought as a plant rather than started from seed)
11. Black Krim - produced some tomatoes, mild flavor, not my favorite
12. Brandywine, Yellow - ???
13. Sweetie (Cherry) - very good flavor, came up as a volunteer from last year
14. Marglobe - ???
15. Aunt Ruby's German Green - ???
16. Brandywine, Pink - ???
17. Beefsteak - ???
Okay, so I guess I planted seventeen -- count 'em, SEVENTEEN (I promise I'll stop doing this now) -- different varieties. The ones with the '???' either didn't produce, OR the tomatoes they did produce were cracked or diseased looking, so I didn't pick them, OR I did pick them but was too busy at the time to pay attention to what they were.
Up next... Tomato plans for next year.
I have plans.
Oh yes, I have plans.
Gardening
Reader Comments (3)
I had the striped tomato, didn't love.
I am amazed that you grow them from seeds. I have never tried that before.
I can't think of a place in my house that would get them the sun they needed. I dream of a greenhouse.
I love your "ode to tomatoes" post. It is like sending your child off to preschool. Totally! You nurture them, then they're gone!
Tried the 'Mr. Stripey' this morning... Was not impressed. Really pretty! But flavor just wasn't anything to write home about.
You are so smart! Love all of your varieties! Good stuff.