Tomato Tuesday: Get Ready...

I'm sure I spaced these seeds better...

It's the time of year to start your tomato seeds and other tomato-y fruits too. I have a whole flat of ground cherries, litchi tomatoes and a new one called golden berry (I'll report back) seeded, watered and waiting. I've already started my eggplants and peppers but that's another story.

They're sitting in my sweltering greenhouse at the moment germinating one by one. I feel like a kid finding easter eggs each time I spot a new sprout. They'll be spending cold nights and days inside of course but that's not necessary during this misplaced summer we're having this week. I take them in whenever the weather is predicted to be too close to 4C and leave them out as long as it's not frosty - in a greenhouse of course. I used to put them in a plastic tub and prop the lid open when it got too warm. It will warm up, even getting way too hot, in surprisingly cool temperatures with the lid securely fastened so err on the side of caution if you use this trick. Closer to planting date, they'll be moved outside to face their new friend - wind - in full force.

Someone asked on a forum if anyone used cold treatment for their tomato seedlings. According to this explanation, it helps them to flower earlier. Because I tend to leave my plants out during passable weather - not hail, gale or frost - from the beginning, I guess I do. Can't say as I notice super early flowering plants or at least flowering time seems to be quite variable. I'd love to hear other people's experiences.

Tomato Tuesday - Time to get Independent

The weather stations all agree and the May 2-4 weekend is fast approaching. Looks like there is no frost on the horizon so I kicked my tomato babies out into the garden. As I was planting, I noticed something very interesting:


Arctic Queen shows off its flower buds.

What's that? Flowers? Oh yes my friends... and it's not even June. I'd just like to stop here and remind myself that this was an experiment in starting tomatoes inside/outside. This is an alteration of the wintersown technique I use when impatient or with some tender plants. Seeds, sometimes prespouted, are sown in wintersown containers and left outside during the day but brought in at night if frost threatens. I figured it would be an easy way to do tomatoes as I have taken down my seed starting shelves in preparation to move - no time soon as it turns out but I digress...


Tomatoes planted in an old pond area that has been filled in. My veggie garden has been converted to yawn to sell the house.

As it seems that we won't be finding our rural slice of the pie in a timely fashion, I also figured I would sow other tenders like beans, and summer squash. I'm hoping we'll be out of here by the time a butternut is nicely mature.

By the way, technically this could be risky as there *might* still be a late frost but I have frost clothes and cloches if such an event happened. The average last frost date here is actually in early May though it varies greatly. Most years, I put out my tenders mid-May.

Planting times in Ottawa.

Tomato Tuesday*

These tomatoes were indoor / outdoor sown and are now sizing up so have been transplanted into recycled yoghurt pots.

Speaking of Tomato plants, if you ahven't started any than Yuko's Open Pollinated Seed is having her annual Heirloom Tomato & Perennial Plant Sale on the weekends of May 15 & 16 and May 22 & 23.

* A good alliteration has surely been used before and this is no exception. I also plan on adopting TT days to document the countdown to fresh tomatoes, and beyond!

Harvest Day - Tomatoes!

Yup, I'd like to announce that on January 19th, 2009, I am harvesting tomatoes.


Winter Keeper tomatoes nearly all eaten up.

These are long storage tomatoes by the name of Winter Keeper, a variety that I got from Mapple Farms. They have been sitting on this rack since the end of September and have been slowly ripening ever after. Some but only a few have succumbed to rot. Most have stayed blushy gold with a red interior until I eat them. The taste is no where near as sublime as a sun ripened tomato but it is not bad considering they have been riding the shelf for the past 4 months.

Let us harken backward to other end too where I am starting Tiny Tim dwarf tomato because I'm curious how well it will grow on a window sill. I'm also going to be trying Red Robin which is apparently adapted to this sort of growing. Aren't they cute?


Teeny tiny baby tomato with huge pointing finger.

Tomato seed fun

So you know when you get a pack of tomato seeds and you think: "Great, I really wanted to try an OP variety of Sungold or that weird varigated tomato that everyone says tastes so-so but it sure looks cool, but I don't want 15-30 plants!"

Well folks, I propose that we start swapping tomato seeds. If you are interested, I will send you three seeds of your chosen variety while supplies last and once they arrive. In return, I am looking for early to mid season tomatoes of varying kinds with a special interest this year in long storage types, drying types, hanging to store types weird types like 'stick / curl' and indoor dwarfs. This year you can choose from:

Black cherry
Purple plum
Tiny Tim
Sub-arctic
Variegated
Velvet Red
Red Robin
Principe Borghese
Grappoli d'Inverno
Chiapas wild
Red cluster pear (multiflora)

Make me an offer I can't refuse (3 seeds).

Show me your harvest day

As promised, this is the first of my intended meme on showing me your harvest. On a monday, I encourage other veggie gardeners to post their produce. To kick off I present to you the Winter Keeper Tomato. Here they are sitting on my kitchen counter.


Winter Keeper Tomatoes

For those unfamiliar with long storage tomatoes, they reputedly keep until New Years or Easter or some other far off tomato-less time. Often it is suggested that they are stored in idividual wrappers one layer deep not touching but Mapple Farms, my seed supplier, said he just kept his on a bowl in the kitchen and that sounded way easier. The type I have ripen from the inside-out which may be a common characteristic of long storage tomatoes but don't quote me.


Cut open winter keeper. On the outside it looked icy orange and inside, red.

Anyhow, last year something happened to my plant so this is the first year that I have to really experiment. They do appear to be ripening a bit more slowly than other tomatoes that I brought in and I have only had one rot on me but I suspect that the skin had been damaged. I picked them from the just off green to blush stage before frost in late September and they have an acidic but acceptable taste that is far superior to a supermarket tomato, however much less sweet than a vine ripened one.


Also harvesting:

The veggie patch is still going strong after our first true ground frost of the year. We have brassicas including tatsoi, broccoli, cabbage, kale and mustard; roots like carrots and beets and soon to come are the unusual roots (post next Monday); lots of greens like rocket, chard, mache, minituna, salad burnet and so on; and crops like celeriac and florence fennel.

The coldframes are up but the polytunnel has to be constructed again this week as we are expecting dips to -5C. Soon will come the snow.


Links

Mapple Farms - winter keeper (my variety)
Sand Hill Preservation Centre - various storage tomato types