This was a big tomato year for us. Not only did we plant more tomatoes than ever before, our yields were huge! When all was said and done, we’d harvested ~170 pounds of tomatoes from 18 plants! For the first time we were able to eat fresh tomatoes for six months straight (our first harvest was a Yellow Taxi on June 9th and we ate our last indoor ripened tomato on November 22), give many away to friends and family and can up many, many jars of sauce, whole tomatoes and salsa!
Here’s how everything breaks down:
- Roma (4 plants) = 52 lbs 6 oz – So many Romas! One of the four plants produced at least half of our total…it was a beast and just kept cranking ’em out! For the first time ever we were able to put up ketchup and tomato sauce and these Romas were to thank!
- Cherry Tomatoes (3 plants) = 45 lbs 3 oz – We had one bi-color cherry, one yellow pear and one small sweet red plant. The bi-color cherry took up a lot of space and yielded a ton of fruit, most of it later in the summer. The small sweet red took up a fair amount of space as well and yielded a fair amount of tomatoes throughout the season. The yellow pear remained compact and only gave a few pretty tomatoes but it was in a pot and I think that hindered it’s growth.
- Yellow Taxi (3 plants) = 24 lbs 11 oz – These are still my favorite tomato. Of the three plants, there was one that yielded a considerable amount more than the others. The Yellow Taxis produce early and continually (although they are determinate and are supposed to only yield for a short time). They are consistent in their texture and size and make the best jam ever.
- Italian Heirloom (3 plants) – 23 lbs 6 oz – Our Italian heirlooms had a lot of promise, but the season just wasn’t long enough for them. The fruits were large and meaty, absolutely delicious. The vines were quite long and required lots of support…I’m glad I planted them next to the fence where I could easily tie them up.
- Cherokee Purple (1 plant) = 17 lbs 7 oz – I can’t believe I didn’t take any individual pics of these beauties! Our one plant did magnificently in a raised bed next to one of the supports to our backyard portal and easily trained up the pole. The only thing that slowed it down were the cooler temps of September!
- Orange Flesh Purple Smudge (2 plants) = 6 lbs 15 oz – I am in love with the way these tomatoes look! So beautiful, very meaty, incredibly tasty! As an Heirloom, they will require a longer growing season than I provided, so it looks like I’ll be starting these guys super early under our grow lights in 2013. Their potential was amazing, they just didn’t have enough time.
- Black from Tula (1 plant) – 6 lbs 13 oz – These tomatoes are very pretty and have a good (although acidic) taste to them, although they didn’t do as well as I’d hoped. I gave them a nice sunny spot and supported them against the fence, but they never got really perky. I’m unsure if these will make a second appearance in the garden next year.
- Barnes Mountain Yellow (1 plant) = 6 lbs 13 oz – Like the Orange Flesh Purple Smudge, I am in love with these Newbies to the garden, though they will need more time in the sun to fully come to fruition. The fruits this one plant did produce were massive, so yummy and incredibly meaty! These are the perfect slicing tomatoes for sandwiches!
Generally speaking, I’ve learned a few important lessons this year in Tomato Land:
- Sowing seeds early under the grow lights really pays off
- Moving huge potted tomatoes in and out of the house for a few weeks before planting out is a pain in the butt, but also really pays off
- Heirlooms require much more time, space and support than any other tomato varieties (see 1. and 2.)
- Heirlooms don’t ripen indoors very well so any green ones brought in at the end of the season should probably be eaten green or preserved as quickly as possible (they go from fine to mushy quite quick and it’s gross)
- A lot of my favorite tomatoes take up more space than I remember they will
- Planning is essential. You can’t just plop a tomato somewhere and expect to be able to contain it later because it will turn into a jungle overnight
While I am not really sure where all of our tomatoes will go in the garden next year, I am sure that there will be lots of them again! There really is no comparison to store bought tomatoes and the fulfillment that envelopes me mid-season is absolutely priceless! So many tomatoes!
xoxo
M
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What a wonderful summary–great job with your garden! I’m using raised beds, and plan to rotate the tomato bed next year so I’ve been adding eggshells (in addition to the leaves and grounds and compost) to rot over the winter to prepare the soil for next year.
Still haven’t invested in growing lights–I don’t see those pulling stakes and moving with us as easily as, say, a compost bin.
I made the most delicious fresh tomato pesto for a pizza using Yellow Taxi tomatoes from my farm share, basil, salted cashews and olive oil. I got the recipe from In Her Chucks. Licked the food processor clean. I love those tomatoes.
Good thing I put some up in the freezer!
Congrats on a wonderful tomatoe harvest, all your time and effort has really paid off. Oh to eat fresh tomatoes for 6 months is my idea of heaven …..
I would love to know more about how you handle your tomatoes indoors. Do you have a sunroom or something similar? You mention “huge potted tomatoes” and I wondered if you treat them like houseplants, or…?
Wonderful crops and pictures. Thank you so much for sharing!
Great tomato trials! We’ve given up on the yellow pear, have had problems with it also…
That sure was a bumper crop of tomatoes, Congrats! Thanks for sharing your experience, taking notes and filing for next year.
What a great review. We have such trouble with squirrels here if we don’t net. I love the Italian Heirloom and all of ours are heirlooms from seed savers. So the Taxi one is your very favorite? Where do you get the seeds and the orange ones? My heirlooms (especially the IH) actually are better if I pick them just before fully ripe.
Congrats on your success with tomatoes.
Cherokee Purple did well for you, I have had such bad luck with them the past 2 years I din’t bother to grow it this year.
Good to hear about your experience with tomatoes and learn of some varieties I haven’t tried yet!
I had my best tomato year (in certain ways) last summer, but it didn’t last long enough. I had good results with growing some heirlooms in smart pots out back on the concrete while the ones I put in the ground out front didn’t do jack ;( so they’re all going out back in smart pots next year. Now I just have to totally reconfigure the back container garden to accommodate the new strategy….