We are eating tomatoes until they are coming out of our ears. Tonight, as an appetizer, Sue and I tasted a big plate each with slabs of 12 different tomatoes. My canker sores have canker sores. But...are they delicious. Highlights of tonight's tasting were the first Bisignano #2 and Giant Syrian (my sickly plant managed to pump out a few pathetic specimens, but..yum!), Dwarf Wild Fred, Lillian's Yellow, Summertime Gold, and the star of the plate, Summer Sunrise. With the exception of Little Lucky (they are coming, but are really testing my patience), Anna Russian (also so close - the first few had a date with the photographers), Cherokee Purple (the deer, in their sole attack of the year, snagged a big cluster of fruit on the very day the photographers were to arrive), Green Giant (please hurry up!), Yellow White, and a handful of Dwarf project varieties, we've tried them all.

I've already got seed saved from 70 different varieties. That leaves 30 or so to go, which is pretty good for the end of July. I'd love to save seeds from eggplant - each of my plants has one large fruit with a big black "X" - but have to wait for the fruit to turn a golden color, which indicates that the seeds will germinate next year.

The sweet peppers are beginning to show their ripe colors.  Chocolate Bell is going chocolate brown, Candy Corn, I am delighted to say, changed from cream to orange to red (as hoped). Amethyst and Fire Opal are fading from lavender to....we shall see. A few of the super hots went red and seed was saved. And there are 60 odd colorful, small pot ornamental hot peppers in a riot of colors that need to be attended to for seed saving.

For those seedling customers who are reading this blog, I've got some questions.

If you are growing any of the Big Boy F2 plants, what kind of fruit sizes, shapes and colors did you get?
If you are growing Arkansas Traveler from me, did you get a purple, or pink?
Is anyone experiencing results different from the descriptions?
If you are growing Abraham Lincoln, what sort of fruit did you get? (size/color)
What did you think of Lemon Drop/Tiny Tim Yellow/Egg Yolk cherry tomatoes?
If you grew Cherokee Green from me, how did the fruit turn out?

Somehow, most every tomato variety growing in my side yard or driveway gardens has ripened, and most tasted and squeezed into labeled cups for seed saving. It seems just yesterday that the healthy plants loaded with green tomatoes were teasing us. Now, each day brings fairly sizable pickings, and we will be breaking out the canning jars within the next few days. 

I am really happy with the overall garden performance and health of the vast majority of plants. Spacing the plants, getting the grow bag dwarfs out of the center of the driveway, more frequent watering and feeding, and regular removal of lower diseased foliage all seem to be helping, and the impact of favorable weather can't be minimized.

The best tasting indeterminate varieties so far are Don's Double Delight, the lovely red tomato that is supposed to be Cherokee Green, Lucky Cross, Cherokee Chocolate, and, especially, Stump of the World and Ferris Wheel. Cherry tomatoes Sungold (of course), Mexico Midget, Lemon Drop and Egg Yolk are all wonderful. Waiting to taste over the next few days are Anna Russian, Bisignano #2, Nepal, Peak of Perfection, Big Boy, Lillian's Yellow, both Halladay's and Mullens' Mortgage Lifter, with Brandywine, Little Lucky and Green Giant, Polish, Yellow Oxheart, Giant Syrian a bit further away from picking. 

Outstanding tasting dwarfs have been Beryl Beauty, Sean's Yellow Dwarf, Jade Beauty, Boronia, Sweet Sue, Emerald Giant, Summertime Green, Perth Pride, Blazing Beauty and Sweet Scarlet....but Summertime Gold, Mr. Snow, Summer Sunrise, Wherokowhai, Wild Fred and Rosella Purple await sampling.

There really haven't been any huge surprises - it seems to be a season where the tomato variety's inherent flavors are showing (or not showing, if not present) pretty well. Varieties that are struggling with disease, or gave up the ghost, are Favorite, Golden Queen, Polish, Giant Syrian, and Magnus (among indeterminates), and Tasmanian Chocolate, Sleeping Lady, Sweet Adelaide, Chocolate Champion, Big Green Dwarf of the dwarfs. Both of my Abraham Lincoln plants are showing instability of the USDA strain - smallish pink fruit (instead of the hoped for large red), and Yellow White has an affliction where all fruits get grayish mottling on the blossom end.

Overall, though, out of 110 or so plants, nearly 100 are still going strong...far better than my experience last year at this time. How are things going with all of you?  Drop me an email or post a comment!

This week's tomato photography was essentially the culmination of my gardening efforts of the season to date - doing what I could to keep the plants healthy and cross the fingers for ripe fruit on as many as possible for date XX - XX being July week of the 21st. A magical combination of good weather, relatively low disease and pest incidence, timely and generous help from some of my tomato friends, a few heirloom growing Farmers Market vendors - all led to a very successful week. (Actually, the deer finally nipped me - just a bit. A nice, big Cherokee Purple growing in a straw bale vanished the night before the photo shoot....and the following night, bites appeared in a huge nearly ripe Yellow Oxheart in our driveway garden).

Kip and Marcie, chosen by Storey to do the fill in pics from this summer, were here on a hot, muggy and occasionally showery (but ultimately perfect) half day on Tuesday. I drove to their Richmond studio for an additional day of photography on Wednesday, and was delighted to meet Carolyn from Storey. It was all great fun (in an odd twist, I didn't get to taste a single tomato....that particular task was handled by the Richmond bunch yesterday - I eagerly await their opinions!).

I remain on call to provide any long distance opinions on which tomato for which category, color definitions, and the best orientation for slicing. Mainly, I am taking a big, deep breath of relief. Except for some final editing, a few additions and corrections and modifying some picture captioning, my attention turns from the book to dealing with our harvest - yesterday I picked an awful lot of gorgeous eggplant, then did a sweep of the tomato plants and found quite a lot going on there as well. The two pics below speak for themselves.

Today I will spend time on the sweet and hot peppers, because things are happening there now - final ripe colors are showing up, and mysteries are getting solved at last....and the seeds for future projects are emerging (yes, a bad pun!).

I want to thank those garden friends who pitched in when needed - Nancy and Reitzel came through with Giant Syrian, Cherokee Green and Halladay's Mortgage Lifter....Lee's, Linda Johnson, and Wise Produce vendors at the Raleigh Farmers Market, along with various vendors at the Chapel Hill market, were the source of additional varieties that augmented or reinforced my own efforts.

It's been a really enjoyable past few days....my brother Kent, his wife April and their girls Devin and Olivia just spent a few days at our home as a beginning to their vacation. We packed lots of good eating and conversation into those few days - I think that our three cats were a bit shell shocked having their quiet lives (and run of the house) perturbed, but they also seemed to enjoy the attention (even shy Sam!). Tonight they all decided to take a nap while Sue and I ate dinner.

Tuesday and Wednesday are big days for me...first a visit by photographers to finish off some catch up book photography here, then I am off to Richmond to join them in their studio for what should be the last of the photography (well, there may be some last minute pics taken at the Storey facility in Massachusetts, but I won't need to be there for it - just any really late ripening tomato varieties that would either be mailed to them, or from the plants I sent to them in the spring).

Tomorrow's photography means that there are ripe tomatoes hanging on the plants. It is not easy to see a perfect looking Mortgage Lifter or clusters of Sun Gold at risk of a deer attack, but hopefully the sprinklers will do their work and tomorrow morning I will be able to breathe a sigh of relief! It will also help if the rain stays away, but that may be asking for too much - we will just have to do what we can do!

Once that part is done, there is much to harvest - squash, beans, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes of course - it is pay off time, and we can't wait!

OK - sure we had lots of rain, but the plants are already looking thirsty, so off I go to water...but first here are some pics from our morning paddle at Falls Lake.

First - wow, the heat the last few days has been amazing...and in North Raleigh, we seem to have a no-rain zone set up. The advantage of course is dry tomato foliage - meaning relatively healthy tomato plants, especially compared to recent seasons. But I am watering twice a day - at around 9-10 AM and again at 2-3 PM...which gets the plants through the blast furnace of the afternoons. 

I love this time of watching tomatoes ripen - not only do we get to taste them, but the inevitable surprises show up. There are a few head-scratchers this year, but that makes things interesting.

I've picked the following tomatoes thus far:

Livingston's Favorite - medium red fruit, premature ripening due to blossom end rot, for seed saving, not yet tasted
Polish - nice large oblate pink fruit, picked partially ripe and sent to my publisher for book photography...can't wait to taste the next ripe one!
Don's Double Delight - red fruit with gold vertical stripes, good sized - not quite ready to eat yet.
Cherokee Green - my first disappointment, a prematurely ripened fruit due to BER shows that it is a red - so likely grew out a crossed seed. Fortunately, a gardening friend shared one with me from my seedling that is correct - so I just got unlucky. Lee's Produce at the State Farmers's Market has spectacular Cherokee Green for sale - it is the best tomato we've eaten this year, by far.
Magnus - two nice fruit partially ripe (pink) from a dying plant (Fusarium Wilt), so packed and sent for photography.
Ruby Gold - a large, bicolored beauty picked today, but yet to be tasted.
Matchless - a few smaller oblate red fruit picked, with good flavor. 
Tasmanian Chocolate - nice medium brown fruit picked today, needs a few more days.
Dwarf Kelly Green - a few medium sized green when ripe fruit picked, sampled - nice, but needed another day to get fully ripe.
Sleeping Lady - the plant is starting to struggle, but is producing lots of medium brown fruit with a nice mild tomato taste.
Dwarf Arctic Rose - impressive medium sized pink fruit with a really good flavor for such an early dwarf variety.
Iditarod Red - smallish to medium round red fruit with a pleasant mild flavor, with lots on the way.
Perth Pride - nice round purple medium sized fruit have a snappy, tart, delicious flavor - really doing well this year.
Big Green Dwarf - having some health issues, but producing medium oblate green fleshed when ripe fruit with a yellow skin and a mild, pleasant flavor.
Chocolate Champion - along with Magnus, my most diseased variety - medium chocolate colored fruit, yet to taste, a disappointment. Those who got seedlings from me are hopefully having better luck - let me know!
Rosella Crimson - healthy, picked two nice medium fruit, but sad to say, it is not crimson - but purple. It seems the pink color is proving stubborn to stabilize. I've yet to taste but expect it to be excellent. I'd love to hear how others who are growing this are doing with it - especially if you are getting pink fruit.
Sweet Scarlet Dwarf - the fruit are not nearly as large as I expected, nor the flavor as intense - but the plant hasn't exactly thrived. This is a promising variety from our project that is on the way, but may need more selection based on my results.
Lemon Drop - a nearly white cherry tomato, I really like the flavor - not quite Sun Gold, but no slouch, either.
Egg Yolk - a buttery yellow cherry tomato, I like this as well. This is probably the best yellow cherry tomato I've tasted.
Tiny Tim Yellow - much smaller, the size of Coyote, and a pale orange - the jury is out on the flavor - I need to sample more.
Arkansas Traveler - ah, this is a mystery!  I grew it from seeds from a friend - and the seedlings were a mix of Dwarf and indeterminate. I have a dwarf growing and hasn't ripened yet. My first ripe fruit was smooth, round...and purple! A garden friend who got a plant from me is getting lovely round purple fruit with great flavor, and his daughter is getting the expected pink. What are others finding who received seedlings from me?
Sun Gold - performing as expected - just delicious (and I have four plants!).
Mexico Midget - tasty tiny red fruit, just as I expected.
Coyote - small (slightly larger than Mexico Midget) nearly white fruit, on the sweet side.
Kangaroo Paw Yellow - the plant is among the least healthy but it managed to put out a small yellow tomato that is nearly heart shaped. A few more fruit are ripening that seem more round - jury is out on this one.
Saucy Mary - a dwarf work in progress, my two plants are showing green fleshed, medium sized fruit that is dark and light green striped - one is more oval, the other more slender Roma shaped - firm, mild, good flavor.
Jeremy's Stripes - another dwarf work in progress, picked today - smooth round dark/light green striped fruit tending to a more yellow background color - will taste soon.
Mint Streaks - not a dwarf but an indeterminate (it is hard to tell in this line when young seedlings), the fruit looks much like Jeremy's Stripes - was not a knock your socks off tomato flavor wise, and the plant has some disease issues.

So I've picked fruit from 32 plants so far. A few plants went down to disease prior to fruiting, including Dwarf Peppermint Stripes, and a second Dwarf Black Angus, with a few more on the watch list.

As far as the Green Ghost eggplant project, it has yielded fascinating results.

I grew our four seedlings from lot 12-24 - three of them are giving very pale green eggplant, with varying degrees of slender fruit shape. The fourth is yielding slender white fruit - so finally a reversion to the original parent, Casper - though with a more slender shape.

There are three seedlings from 12-32, and they are all distinctly different - the first is a thick long eggplant that is chartreuse green with a heavy purple streaky overlay. The second is a very long, slender white eggplant with heavy lavender streaking. The last is like the second but the background color is pale green.

Of the four seedlings from 12-35, the color is more consistent on all of them, with a pale green background and varying amounts of purple streaking. There is a bit of variation in the depth of streaking, and the shape - though they all tend to be teardrops. 

Finally, the Islander dehybridization project is also starting to reveal its mysteries this year. For the most part, the Amethyst plants are providing cream colored blocky bells that turn medium lavender - they've yet to turn to their final color. Fire Opal is more variable - the immature fruit are either cream or pale green, and the following color is either light lavender or in one case, remaining pale green...I eagerly await the final color. The Royal Purples are all thus far going from pale green/chartreuse to dark purple. The White Gold selections are either pale cream or pale cream with a slight green characteristic - and the Candy Corn are blocky cream colored at this stage.

Such fun!

We are approaching payoff time.  All of that planning, planting, weeding, watering, worrying...and here we are. I suspect many of you are mid-harvest. Most of my tomatoes went in during the span of May 12-18, so we are right around day 60.  This is what it's all about - reaching for the cookbooks, index cards, roasting pans, food processors - it's time to make those favorite recipes that define summer gardening, showcase great tomatoes, and satisfy the taste buds for year another year.

We are right on the cusp...tomatoes are coloring up on several of the dwarf varieties and even a few of the indeterminates. Thus far, we've sampled Mexico Midget (winner again at 37 days from transplant), Sun Gold, Coyote, Tiger Tom, Lemon Drop, and Tiny Tim Yellow among the cherry tomatoes planted (we would have tried Egg Yolk, but Buddy is pretty fast sniffing out ripe tomatoes on our deck - he is also responsible for the disappearance of the first Arkansas Traveler!). We've picked the following dwarfs:  Sleeping Lady, Iditarod Red, Dwarf Arctic Rose, Big Green Dwarf, Dwarf Kelly Green, Perth Pride, Sweet Scarlet Dwarf, Dwarf Mint Streaks and Saucy Mary. I picked underripe, but coloring, Polish, Favorite and Magnus, among indeterminate larger fruited types, to send to Storey for book photography. Ruby Gold and Cherokee Chocolate look to be next.

As always, there are a few disappointments, though less this year at this time than most previous years..more on that below when I talk about the season, and my approach, in general. Blossom end rot is showing up on a few varieties, but isn't at all rampant. Cherokee Green....just isn't. I was unlucky to grow a seedling that is a cross - one prematurely ripening tomato with blossom end rot is showing that my tomatoes will be red. Looking at the location of the plant that the seed came from, one guess would be Cherokee Green X Polish - this would give good sized fruit with yellow skin and red flesh - a red tomato. I will get the answer next year if I grow out saved seed. Giant Syrian has had a rough go of it, yet still lives, with a few good looking fruit - but it is my most unhappy living indeterminate. Magnus is my single near-disaster, as it contacted Fusarium Wilt - I will probably pull it soon. Yellow White is a curiosity - the fruit on the plant are turning grey prior to ripening, and I've had to remove and toss several. Tiger Tom is hanging in there, though a few leaders look to be Fusarium-afflicted - for the most part, it lives on.

As far as Dwarfs, there are only a few sad stories - Sweet Adelaide had the worst start, then caught on, but is failing to thrive and may need to be removed. Chocolate Champion looks awful - rampant Early Blight perhaps (hoping not Late Blight), but it is a goner. Big Green Dwarf is having its struggles, and Sweet Scarlet Dwarf is battling Septoria. Dwarf Peppermint Stripes died pretty quickly  and was removed, as was a second Dwarf Black Angus in the rear of the main garden. Dwarf Mint Streaks - not a dwarf, but came out indeterminate - is not long for this world...and Dwarf Beauty King in a bale has been battling wilt from the start, yet somehow lives on - same with Kangaroo Paw Yellow, which has little lower foliage remaining - I may get a few fruit then will toss it.  

Yet - out of over 100 tomatoes, to have 4 struggling indeterminates and 9 struggling dwarfs - around 10% - I'll take that any season. As usual, the sweet and hot peppers and eggplant are really shining in their containers - the yields are going to be stunning. One other news item - I've made a few hybrids....and may be looking for people to help if they wish to play around next season - among them are two crosses with Sun Gold - with Mortgage Lifter (to see if I can get the Sun Gold flavor into a large fruited tomato), and with Sleeping Lady (ditto with a dwarf type). 

I made some significant changes this year that seem to be helping plant health and fruit set and yield - though it is only speculation, since each season is so different...it just could be that the weather this year is simply far superior to conditions the last few years.  Leaving more space between rows, more space between plants, pruning indeterminates to two main stems, growing dwarfs only where they can be securely staked (none in the center of the driveway this year), more frequent watering, and more frequent feeding - that's pretty much the laundry list of modifications for this season. 

And...finally.  The photographers will be around on July 21 for a few days to do some retroactive tomato photography for those varieties that we didn't quite capture well last year. It isn't the only opportunity, though - I just sent Storey some tomatoes just today (to arrive Monday) for that purpose - some early ripeners, just in case - and I will have a few weeks after July 21 to send any stragglers to them as well.

My tomato SOS list is shorter this year than last year - but may grow, depending upon how things develop (as I saw with Cherokee Green, I won't know until things ripen if I have what I hope for). However - if anyone is growing the following  varieties, and you have a spare fruit or two, we can work something out so I can have it for photography - drop me an email and let me know and we can discuss, if you are willing.

Highest priority list - these are the ones most at risk:  Cherokee Green (because mine is crossed), Giant Syrian (my friend Nancy and I are in discussion about this one - she has some nice ones coming along), Magnus, Yellow White, Tiger Tom

The following are in pretty good shape, so lower SOS level, but just in case:  Little Lucky, Anna Russian, Livingston's Favorite, Livingston's Golden Queen, Green Giant, Abraham Lincoln (from my seedlings - it is from the USDA and most like the catalog descriptions from 1923), Lillian's Yellow Heirloom. In all of these cases, my plants look good and there is good fruit set - but they proved the most difficult last year so I am just hedging my bets and lining up any possible back ups.

Thanks, all - and remember, if you want to stop by and peruse my garden, schedule a time - the upcoming week is pretty open, but the following week not.

And as always, some pictures - these are tomatoes to come from a run through the garden with my camera today.

Over the years seeds sometimes find a way into my pockets. The whole Hibiscus thing started in 2002 - my records indicate that seeds from a tall, yellow flowered Hibiscus called Abelmoschus manihot (aka Sunset Hibiscus) entered my collection. Some mention it looks like an Okra plant flower - I suppose it does. It winters over fine for me; at first I grew it in a large container, which I brought into the garage over the winter. Aside from its beautiful butter yellow flat flowers with a deep red center, it is notable for the extremely sharp, painful hairs that cover the green seed pods and stems...they are like fiberglass - and I've learned to handle the plant carefully.  We also have a container with a lovely dark red hibiscus that must be a sterile hybrid; it doesn't set seed pods, and some small worms just feasted on its foliage.

I added a lovely red flowered, very tall specimen, Hibiscus coccineus (Swamp Hibiscus) to the collection that same year from seed pods growing on a plant in a friend's yard - the leaves look like a rather magical plant that is finding great interest in Washington and Colorado, shall we say. It hasn't blossomed yet, but should any day now. Seeds of a white version - White Texas Star - were given to me at Monticello by a tomato friend Rodger in 2010 - it is also spectacular...I have no idea where it will pop up this year.

Two came into my collection from kayaking in Falls Lake and paddling up to plants with seed pods - I believe it is Swamp Mallow, Hibiscus moscheutos - we've often seen the white one in or at the edge of the lake...but a few years ago when paddling with my daughter I spotted one growing on land with pink flowers.  Yes, seeds ended up in my life vest....I've got two different versions growing this year.

Sure, I love to grow tomatoes - all vegetables, and lots of different flowers. For whatever reason, I've been captivated by these beautiful, easy to grow carefree specimens of hibiscus that sneaked their way into my collection through the years.

Talk about six degrees of separation....some months ago my friend, Margie, met Alice Sharpe, Development Officer at Durham County Library, at an event - they talked gardening, and somehow my name came into things....Alice contacted me, and she, Joanne Abel (Humanities and Adult Programming Coordinator at Durham County Library) and I met for lunch in the spring in Durham. They introduced me to the Digging Durham seed library that was being established.  Now, hold that thought...

A few years ago, one of my tomato customers, Jenna, talked to me about the South Durham Farmers Market, and the manager at the time, Ben Filippo (currently food systems coordinator at the Carolina Farms Stewardship Association), asked me to stop by and talk tomatoes with some of the vendors and customers some Saturday. My wife Susan and I had a nice few hours at the market and met a woman who specialized in bees - and she had a folder showing educational programs run by Jessica Leff at West Point on the Eno. I contacted Jessica and am delighted to provide a handful of gardening lectures each year there.

About a month ago, Alice, Joanne, Ben, and Hope Shand (board member of the Seed Savers Exchange) met in Durham with Frank Stasio, voice of WUNC's The State of Things to discuss an upcoming show around the Seed Library, growing heirlooms, and stories. Which happened today - the background of the show, including the audio archive, can be found here. 

About a week ago, Anita from the show spent a few hours on the phone interviewing me in preparation for today's episode. This morning I gathered a few ripe cherry tomatoes to share with Frank and the staff (some of which had great stories, such as Mexico Midget and Coyote...and Sun Gold, not so much for its story but its flavor!) and Sue and I headed for the WUNC Studios near the Durham Bulls ballpark, next to Tyler's Taproom. 

Alice, Ben, and my wife and I arrived at the studio just before noon, got sound-checked (not Sue - she got to watch from an adjoining studio), and spoke briefly with Frank. We also got to meet the Triangle Business Journal reporter that kicked off the show, Lauren Ohnesorge. (In another serendipitous connection, Lauren interviewed me for a TBJ article that was published in 2013). Before we knew it we were on the air - Frank Stasio is a really wonderful interviewer, asking great questions and leaving lots of room for ample responses. I felt at ease for the entire segment, and my wife tells me that it went well (I've not dared to listen to it yet...that's for tonight, perhaps after a beer!).

Mondays are typically when I get back to my summer daily routine. What is remarkable is how time flies - I started things at 9 AM and didn't head in for lunch until after 1 PM. 

My day:  

Check on some eggplants that I am rerooting due to soil line rot on the stem - in this group are Rosita, a Twilight Lightning, a Green Giant, and New York Improved. They are all somewhat iffy...

Turn off the deer sprinklers in both gardens

Give everything a good feeding - that alone took 1 hour; I used a soluble balanced plant food - the blue one on everything but tomatoes, the red one on tomatoes (both Miracle Gro products).  I have a 3 gallon watering can so do it all by hand.

Harvest - today it was some tomatoes (Lemon Drop, Tiny Tim Yellow, Mexico Midget, Coyote, Tiger Tom, Sun Gold, Big Green Dwarf, Dwarf Arctic Rose, Sleeping Lady, Matchless and a prematurely ripening due to Blossom End Rot Hugh's.), and green beans...and a few blueberries (the birds have been careless - they missed half a pint!)

Photography and observation time follow - a walk around the yard with the camera, then with my hand held recorder, making verbal notes on progress - first the big garden, then the driveway, by crop.

I then armed myself with a pot of detergent and my scissors, and did the rounds of the tomato plants, removing all damaged, discolored foliage - typically lower foliage, and wilting stems. This is the psychologically most difficult part and causes the most anxiety - this is gardening truth at work - dealing directly with the good and the bad. Today's verdict - not too bad at all.

Two more tasks - a complete watering (it was near noon, searing hot and I wanted to get the containers plants in shape to make it through the afternoon), and some spot typing and pruning - remember, tomatoes grow up to 2 inches per day, and the plants get out of control quickly - and suckers appear just as soon as I turn my head!

That's it - lunch, shower, and an afternoon of photo downloading, blogging and transcribing the hand held recorder. That sums up a pretty typical day in the garden for me.

Now for some pics from the day's walkabout.