Tomatoes are Temperamental

It is the middle of August...and I have green tomatoes. Not just one or two, but LOTS of green tomatoes. See how pretty and green they are?

The reality is that tomatoes need warmth to ripen. You can have 20 sunny days in a row, but if it is not warm enough, no tomatoes...then again, if it is too warm, the blossoms will drop off without forming fruit...again, no tomatoes.

And what can we learn from this situation? Tomatoes are temperamental. I know, you didn't want to hear that...you are holding out hope against hope that your tomatoes will buck the odds and be fabulous. And maybe they are, but I can guarantee one thing, if they are, you are working at it.

Here are my little lovlies (purple Roma's) back in the greenhouse...don't they look soooo innocent and full of potential?

If I were to compare tomatoes to a flower that I thought took a similar amount of work, I would say they are a pretty fair match for roses. Tomatoes are affected by various rots, wilts, fungi and critters. They are heat sensitive, they sprawl everywhere and the vines can become so heavy they topple the cages. They are stinky. Yes, I said it, they stink. Not the tomatoes so much, but the vines. I am growing a Sungold cherry tomato that smells to high heaven! Almost more than I can stand...

We take all kinds of steps to nurture the little guys. Start them early so they have time to fruit, use red mulch to increase the likelihood of fruit, surround them with walls of water...you name it, we've done it. Of all of my veggies, these guys take up the greatest amount of resources.

Why in the heck do I grow them? Good question...I guess because there is nothing better than a big bowl of fresh cherry tomatoes, parm and cukes with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar...topped with sea salt and freshly ground pepper...My mouth is watering all ready. It is that kind of experience that pushes me to grow my own, to get the tomato at just the right moment so I can experience nirvana...

And for now, that dream is holding me. It has been warmer here and will be warm this week, so I may see tomatoes yet...sigh...In the meantime, hop over to my Portland Foodie blog for recipes for green tomatoes.

Hopefully, you are all participating in the weekly food fest at Dinner Tonight and Away to Garden. It is a lot of fun and a great way to share your favorite gardening and foodie tips. Each week a new topic is selected, this week's topic is...you guessed it...tomatoes!

Comments

[Farmer Jen]

So far I have only harvested a handful of ripe Peacevine Cherry tomatoes and a few very small Burbank Red Slicing tomatoes. It has been plenty hot here in the Sierra Foothills, but the tomatoes are ripening very slowly this year. Lots of tomato worms out there eating my tomato vines and even some of my unripe tomatoes!

[Oregonian37]

I've had mine ripen to red almost overnight with a good hot spell.:)

[Rebecca]

I picked my first fully ripened Moby Grape tomato yesterday. Plucked and popped it in my mouth, hot et al. Sweet and yummy and now even more anxious for the others! I suppose with this heat spell we're in, I'll be seeing more soon...I hope!
I'm finally, for the first time ever, getting little Mortgage Lifters appearing. In the past the blooms shriveled and died. I understand now how persnickety tomatoes can be.

[katek]

Amazing coincidence! I was just lamenting about my green tomatoes. There are many of them and not one is showing any sign of turning red. Not even the slightest tinge. Luckily, we've got a stretch (fingers crossed) of hot weather predicted. Today has been great - finally some of the summer heat that we usually have in July, but didn't get this year.

Hope you have some hot weather and the tomatoes do their thing.

I'm looking forward to reading the Portland Foodie on Wednesday! Must make a note of that - am not doing much blogging lately. Have taken to photographing flowers with my new camera. Need to start writing again!!!

[Curmudgeon]

Those stinky Sungolds are the only ones that are ripening here. We've been eating them for about a week. Nothing else is even hinting at red. We're due to drop into the 60s and 50s with rain for the next 3 days.

[Dee/reddirtramblings]

Jean Ann, I hope you got some red, ripe tomatoes out of that bunch. I must say you are correct about fussiness. Perhaps tomatoes and roses are distant cousins somewhere in their family tree.~~Dee

[Andrea]

Some tomatoes are extra fussy, such as San Marzanos. Takes them forever to ripen, and even when they appear perfectly red and ripe they may actually be white on the inside. While we still love the San Marzanos, we also like grape tomatoes. Not fussy and prolific producers.