Tomato Fall Harvest

Today is the first day of fall, September 22nd.  The daily temperature is (°20C/°68F) and the tomato plants are still full of unripened green tomatoes slowly ripening on the vines. It has been a good year for tomato production and time has come to give you some observations and feedback on the 6 varieties in my garden.

Fresh from my garden

Better Boy Hybrid was a heavy hitter. It is my biggest plant, 6 feet tall and full of big tomatoes. The orange tomato in the basket is half ripened but it gives you an indication of size. I understand why this hybrid variety is one of the most popular in North America. This is my first year growing this variety. One note: when growing this variety from seed, approximately 30% of the seedlings succumbed to a disease. However, the surviving seedlings grew without any problems and produced lots of tomatoes. If you are interested in a high tomato production with big tomatoes for your sandwiches, this is my recommendation.

ULTRA BOY HYBRID has been on my grow list for many years. The tomatoes are not as big as Better Boy hybrid, but they are great tasting and an early producer.

BRANDYWINE HEIRLOOM a non-hybrid plant (you can save the seed for the next year) was my first attempt with an heirloom variety. This pink variety in the basket is medium average in size, more susceptible to odd sizes, uneven ripening with green stripes at the top. The interior had fewer seeds and had a softer sweeter taste and made me think of the wine connotation. The plant was a slow starter but caught up to the size of the hybrids, but did not produce as many tomatoes, as expected.

CHEROKEE PURPLE HEIRLOOM was also slow to grow at the seedling stage and once it hit the ground running. With time, the plant took off and produced huge tomatoes, some hitting the scales at 2 lbs. However, I noticed when the flower clusters formed, many flowers were dropped leaving only 1-2 flowers to develop into tomatoes. That could be genetics? Or may be the high summer temperatures that cause flower drop? As with the Brandywine, some shapes were irregular with uneven ripening. I also noted the tomato splitting where the flower formed. This is definitely genetics along with the dark purple colour that is produced. When sliced the tomato has a red colour! I has a great taste and I will grow them again next year. 

Great colouring and taste

CHOCOLATE SPRINKLES HYBRID GRAPE TOMATO is a relatively new and small variety sold in small packages of 10 seeds. As you can see below, it is a beautiful tomato with green and orange colours. With few seeds and great taste this tomato is great for snacks, salads and the BBQ. Stick them on a bamboo stick and put them on the BBQ. They will not explode like other cherry toms and WOW the sugar content explodes on your plate! This will be my go-to small tomato for next year.

SUNRISE BUMBLE BEE CHERRY TOMATO was my selection for my upside down hanging tomato plant adventure. As I covered in a previous post growing plants upside down is time consuming (watering) because of the small soil capacity of the pot.  This cherry tomato is very sweet tasting and full of juice. However, I found the skin to be tough. I'm not sure if this is genetics or stress related due to the small pot. I let the plant dry out and left the tomatoes on the vine to ripen out as you can see in the photograph.

MY OBSERVATIONS: 
Growing a variety of tomatoes can be interesting and full of adventure. Tomatoes don't need to be perfect - cut away the blemishes and enjoy. The organic fertilizer that I used in the spring planting has increased production. A top dressing of home made compost was applied in early July.
Organic composted tea from farm manure was also watered into the soil.

Good luck with your harvest, my friend.