Ripe tomatoes at last

Tomatoes! We've finally got some tomatoes! If this were July, we'd be thrilled. But it has taken until September to finally see a ripe tomato. Well, better late than never. These black cherries will be sitting in a salad by later tonight.

Some of the beefsteaks are coming along too. Maybe by the time we're back from vacation next week, an heirloom Cherokee Purple (above) or Brandywine (below) will be ready to pluck. 

We're still waiting for Aunt Ruby's German Greens (below) to ripen. They get to be a deeper shade when they're ready to eat.

All told, we won't get much of a harvest, but for all the trouble of growing these puppies from seed to vine, at least we'll get a small taste of deliciousness for fall.

Kellogg's Breakfast tomato, perfect for dinner!

This beauty is known as Kellogg's Breakfast tomato. The orange heirloom is definitely our stand out this summer. It's sweet and juicy, with just the right amount of acidity and bite. We picked this 1.8 pounder two weeks ago. It was a tasty treat with mozzarella and basil, a sprinkle of olive oil and some pepper. Perfection! 



Kellogg's Breakfast for dinner



Siamese tomato



First tomato of 2012 is too big to pick!



Separated at birth

Our first tomato of 2012, a Black from Tula heirloom variety that we picked on July 11, was so big that we could not get it off the vine without cutting it in half! And we still lost the branch that the tomato had engulfed as it grew! The fruit ripened well ahead of usual for our urban garden, thanks to the unusually warm spring. Last year, we picked our first ripe tomato, a Cherokee Purple, on July 28th.

Tomato surprise



Seed packets from Tomatofest.com

 This is a season of experimenting for NYC Gardener. Every year for the past six seasons, we've planted Brandywine and Cherokee Purple tomatoes along with several other varieties like Aunt Ruby's German Green and Chocolate Stripes. Last year, we didn't even buy new seeds, opting to repeat 2010's choices. This year we're going rogue. We have skipped our standard bearers all together to try out six new varieties. We went to our favorite heirloom seed site TomatoFest and looked through dozens of descriptions for tomatoes that might be just as delicious but easier to grow. I do love the Brandywine and Cherokee beefsteaks, but they take a long time to mature, so the plants are not as productive as they could be. The fruit gets so heavy on the vines that they're at risk to the windy conditions we get on our terrace. Heavy rain often causes cracking. So, this year, we decided  to go for varieties that mature a bit earlier and grow a bit smaller. We love green heirlooms, so we chose Green Zebra, a tomato served at Alice Waters' Chez Panisse. We wanted a Roma tomato to make great sauces and the Pantano Romanesco sounded like a hearty and flavorful option. We also picked one of Tomato Fest's top 10 for 2012, the Black from Tula, a Russian import with a smokey flavor. We didn't entirely turn our backs on the beefsteak. We're trying out Neves Azorean Red, "the ultimate sandwich tomato," advertised as tasty, disease resistant and productive until a frost. The only repeat is the Angora Super Sweet cherry, which we planted a few seasons ago and very much enjoyed. Last on our list is Kellogg's Breakfast, an orange beefsteak that came as a bonus from Tomato Fest. It's said to be sweet, tangy and nearly seedless. If all goes well, we should have a bang up crop. Even more amazing, all our plants are out in their pots and basking in the fresh air, more than a week ahead of our usual schedule. So, here's to a season of change!

Tomato in the pot