Heirloom Tomatoes

[smitty55]

I know there's a good number of gardeners here. So I've been growing these heirloom Greek tomatoes for over 30 years now and saving seeds. Best tomatoes I've ever had and that includes for canning as they are so meaty and full of flavour. They are a large tomato, over a pound is common. So I went to water them yesterday evening and found a huge one. It wasn't quite ripe yet but it was starting to look funny around the stem so I picked it. Biggest one I've had in a couple of years at 2lb 4oz. and 6" across, looks like my feeding regime this season is working well. Also included a pic of what the inside looks like.

[Terry]

Wow heirloom Greek tomatoes, I will have to look into them. They make my tomatoes look like miniatures 

[smitty55]

6 hours ago, Terry said:

Wow heirloom Greek tomatoes, I will have to look into them. They make my tomatoes look like miniatures 

I've never seen them for sale anywhere Terry. I was given ripe tomatoes from Greek immigrants back in the 80s that were part of the night cleaning staff where I worked and have been saving seeds ever since. I can't even find a variety name for them online, when I asked John Damianakos what kind they were all he said was Greek. After all these years of keeping them to myself and giving the odd plants to friends and neighbours I'm thinking I might start selling seeds. I traded some this past spring to an organic seeds seller for some heirloom German Pink seeds and while they weren't bad they still couldn't compare to the Greeks both in flavour and growth so I won't be growing them again. The tomatoes themselves aren't really marketable, they have very thin skins and don't take kindly to a lot of handling. A buddy I gave some plants to gave some to his sister a few years back who had a stand at a farmers market and she told me she sold some for $3 each. They're a high maintenance plant that need to be grown a certain way for best results but it's certainly worth it in the long run.

[ketchenany]

Great looking tomato. I have had it happen two times also. One red and one yellow. In my case it never happened again. Have come close. I saved the seeds but could never duplicate it. We do preserve a “few” every year but they are store bought San Marsano variety. This year 10 bu gave us 200 jars. 

[smitty55]

5 hours ago, ketchenany said:

Great looking tomato. I have had it happen two times also. One red and one yellow. In my case it never happened again. Have come close. I saved the seeds but could never duplicate it. We do preserve a “few” every year but they are store bought San Marsano variety. This year 10 bu gave us 200 jars. 

Those are huge for sure. When that happens it's usually a result of fused blossoms where a genetic glitch results in two ovaries in one blossom.
That's a huge amount of canning, I generally do a couple dozen at most each year of sauce seeing as I'm on my own now.

[Weeds]

Smitty, huge tomato! Are you fertilizing like mad and growing one or two per plant  (I’m thinking kinda like giant pumpkin growing) or just plenty of water and sunshine?

[smitty55]

5 hours ago, Weeds said:

Smitty, huge tomato! Are you fertilizing like mad and growing one or two per plant  (I’m thinking kinda like giant pumpkin growing) or just plenty of water and sunshine?

Much of it is the variety but I do make sure to pinch every sucker (indeterminate) so that the only flower clusters are ones that grow off the main stem. Plus I plant them around 18" deep so that stem develops a lot more roots to help feed those large tomatoes. If I were to let suckers grow it would suck up energy to produce tomatoes and they would just break off from the weight anyway. I also provide as good a growing condition as possible with plenty of nutrients and organic matter, never any chemical ferts. I don't really do any flower pruning so I'll get 4-5 clusters per plant depending on when we get first frost. I've had them up to 10 ft tall some seasons.

[CrowMan]

I have a small raised deer-proof (6ft fence) vegetable garden, that considering its size, really cranks out a lot of food.

I left my place for a 2 week fishing trip shortly Labour Day. Before I left, I gave my kids a bushelful of tomatoes, a couple of baskets of green beans, and cucumbers. I pretty well picked it clean, knowing I'd be away. Came back a couple of days ago, and picked another box full of tomatoes and a bag full of green beans.

I grow several varieties of tomatoes, but my favourite are an Italian heirloom beefsteak type that I got seeds for over 35 years. I had a customer who lived in Little Italy  (Toronto) that gave them to me..he called them "Firenze", after Florence where he came from. Nice sweet-tart flavour and can easily reach 2lbs +. Over the years, I have given away many of those same seeds...and everyone raves about them. 

The trick to making a small garden prolific is to go "vertical". With tomatoes, I'm like Smitty, religious in removing suckers and keeping just a single vine. I top them off at about 6 or 7t ft high, so all the energy can go to the fruit at that point.

I grow Kentucky Wonder pole beans on tall racks...and they produce copious amounts from mid July until Thanksgiving.

Same with Cucumbers (a Lebanese variety called Diva)...train the vines on tall teepees.

Had pan-seared Walleye with fresh salsa, green beans and new red potatoes last night...nothing better.

 

 

[smitty55]

Yea I'm still getting lot's of huge tomatoes this season but for some reason I'm getting some with black spots that definitely aren't blossom end rot, not sure why. The stem ends aren't as clean as normal either. I'm wondering if its because my watering schedule isn't as consistent as it should be or possibly an excess of nitrogen ferts from the chicken manure and alfalfa tea I was using. I thought I would have a water supply where I have them planted this year but that didn't work out due to plumbing issues in the farm house  basement so I've been trucking water over to water 24 plants. Truck is down atm too with a blown power steering line so I'm using the car now. These ones are from my latest pick, the front 3 are over 2lbs and all the rest well over a pound. Time to start making tomato sauce.

[CrowMan]

2 hours ago, smitty55 said:

 Time to start making tomato sauce.

I usually make salsa (Pico de Gallo) with my tomatoes. Simple recipe...chopped tomatoes, diced white onion, chopped jalapeños, minced cilantro, lime juice and salt. Everything but the lime and salt comes from my garden. Perfect for football and hockey season with a bowl of nacho chips, washed down with a cold cerveza.

[smitty55]

4 hours ago, CrowMan said:

I usually make salsa (Pico de Gallo) with my tomatoes. Simple recipe...chopped tomatoes, diced white onion, chopped jalapeños, minced cilantro, lime juice and salt. Everything but the lime and salt comes from my garden. Perfect for football and hockey season with a bowl of nacho chips, washed down with a cold cerveza.

Yea I still have quite a few jars still left from a couple of years back. Had two different people tell me it was the best salsa they'd ever had. I told them it wasn't so much the recipe as it was the tomatoes. My own fresh garlic helps too.

[CrowMan]

Salsa making day today.

Grandkids are coming over for probably the last swim of the season. Grilling up steak and shrimp fajitas tonight for the crew.

[smitty55]

On 9/21/2024 at 2:10 PM, CrowMan said:

Salsa making day today.

Grandkids are coming over for probably the last swim of the season. Grilling up steak and shrimp fajitas tonight for the crew.

 

Lucky kids. I made up two 1 gallon batches of brine last evening that spent the night in the fridge. 1 cup of coarse salt, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp #1 cure, black and red peppercorns, bay leaves and rosemary from my own plants, cumin, dried thyme, one garlic bulb and 3 tbs of pickling spice in each batch. Bring to boil and then cool overnight. Today I spent too long having to trim and cut up two large pork loins as I cursed the meat cutters who did them up. Couldn't turn them down though at $1.99lb. All loaded into 4 large ziplocks and in the fridge for4-5 days before rinsing and drying overnight and then into the Big Chief smoker till 130° or so, likely around 5 hours. I'll be set up with back bacon for the year I figure.
Taking a break now and then I'll be into cutting up tomatoes and putting them through the hand crank press, it works real good, no skin or seeds in the sauce. Not sure if I posted a pic of it here before.