Tomato Time Is Near

The number one vegetable planted by back yard gardeners is the tomato.  Some of us see more than the garden in front of us, we have a bigger picture in our mind.  We envision the pantry shelf filled with dozens of quart jars, waiting to be called on during the winter as a base for soup, stew, chili and marinara sauce.  Every year I tell myself I'm not going to plant as many as last year, but for the past several years it seems I haven't been listening.

 

I will say this in my defense, five of the eighteen tomato plants are strictly for canning purposes.  The San Marzano has very few seeds and makes a delicious sauce.

 

This Franchi Red Pear, new for me this year, supposedly has even more flavor than the San Marzano, so I planted two of them.  The tomatoes remind me of French purses, with cute little tucks starting on top, billowing slightly down the side.

Rather than Roma, I opted for two Juliet plants.  They are half the size of a Roma, still with few seeds and dense meat.  That would be my five canning plants.

Spicy Tomatillos are another favorite.  I grow the Pineapple variety because I love that little bite of fruit in a salad.

 

Besides tasting great, Green Zebras are so pretty growing on the vine.  It's an Heirloom, so I'll be saving seeds for next year.

Sungold, my husbands favorite, is one of the small cherry type varieties.  Now the hard part...be patient and wait for everything to ripen.