$100 Tomatoes are Worth It!

Even though I tried to destroy the plants by burning them with calcium chloride, they are still rewarding us with some fruit. I told DH I don't care if we never get another tomato, we should still plant again next year. We invested a good bit in the tomatoes (and the insect repellent), but it's worth it. We've had so much fun seeing and trying all the different varieties of heirloom tomatoes--and this year, we've had the added benefit of no salmonella!


Today I've been at the "tomato bar," taste-testing the different varieties--except I'm not always sure what variety I'm tasting. The plants had gotten so big that their stems overlapped each other--there's one plant with a stalk that stretches over two other Earthboxes--and it's hard to see what's what.

Perhaps if I don't try to murder them next summer, the harvest will be even better!

Things I've Learned About Tomato Gardening

1. PREVENT BLOSSOM END ROT: Be sure to apply lime 2 to 4 months before planting tomatoes.*

2. BE CAREFUL WITH CALCIUM CHLORIDE. If day temperatures are greater than 85 to 90 degrees F, calcium chloride can burn plants. Under high temperatures, use CALCIUM NITRATE. Spray 2 or 3 times each week, beginning when the second fruit clusters are blooming.*

3. REMOVE FRUITS THAT HAVE SEVERE BLOSSOM END ROT; otherwise the damaged area could serve as an entry point for disease-causing bacteria or fungi.*

4. Cherokee Purple seems to be extremely susceptible to BER. Do grow it—it’s worth it--but watch out for this next year. This may be why I’ve lost so much fruit—we didn’t know to take off the fruit that had severe BER.

5. (This one’s for blondes.) If you’ve just sprayed yourself with an insect repellant with DEET in it, don’t open your mouth, even if your DH wants to have a conversation with you right at that moment. The vapor is still hanging in the air, and it is truly disgusting.


*From http://www.aces.edu/ (Alabama Cooperative Extension Service); many thanks to The Roomie!

Things You Don't Want to Know

We are actually harvesting tomatoes this year! We have a nice selection of heirloom tomatoes, and since we're new to those, we're really enjoying the variety of shapes, colors and tastes.

I'm not sure about the average cost per tomato, but there are some things you don't want to know.

Speaking of things you don't want to know, yesterday I was on the phone with Pappy, telling him that I'd been nibbling on a piece of Hummingbird Cake for my birthday. I overheard Mommadrool howling in the background--she had looked up the recipe on the Internet and was reading the fat and caloric numbers. "Please," I said, "don't tell me--I'm beggin' ya!" Legend of the Hummingbird cake

I don't want to know.

Anyway, the above photo shows the three tomatoes we're harvesting right now. So far, we've had bunches of Galina's (a sweet yellow cherry tomato), half a dozen Purple Haze, (bigger than a cherry tomato and quite tasty), and three or four Big Beef tomatoes, great for slicing. Keep your fingers crossed for Cherokee Purple. I'm so excited to try it, but our early ones have all had a bad case of blossom end rot, so I've been spraying the plants for that. Hopefully the others on the vine won't be spoiled. Kellogg's Breakfast looks promising, with really large fruit, and I can't remember all the others that are out there.

In the herb department, I think we have enough basil to supply the entire Southeastern U.S. We'll keep taking pictures as the summer progresses!

Charlie Brown Tomatoes

Our tomato plants came in today! I'm so excited.

I always feel a little like Charlie Brown kicking the football at this time of year. DH and I get our hopes up for a great crop of tasty tomatoes, and then, just like last year, Lucy moves the football, i.e., something goes wrong and we are disappointed again.

The past couple of years were the worst. We tried growing tomatoes in those upside-down planters. As soon as we planted our beautiful tomato plants in those planters, they began looking sick. I don't know if we accidentally raised the plants out of the direct sun, or we had a fungus among us, or what. Now, a tomato expert in our area says that his brother grows them in upside-down buckets, and they do very well, so I don't know what our problem was with that.

DH even built a mesh-enclosed structure to keep the birds out. I still donate a tomato to the birds every now and then, but they don't get all of them.

In previous years, we have grown some tomatoes that we figure cost approximately $75 per tomato--no small feat. I'm not sure if they were actually worth $75 apiece, but they were yummy.

This year, we're going back to the Earth Boxes . . . . . we have many, many Earth Boxes. I have a fungicide recommended by the tomato expert, and The Roomie accidentally mentioned to me that she's a Master Gardener, so I have plans for her, too.

She'll have her hands full; our problems growing tomatoes are legend. Wish us good luck . . . and please don't touch that football.