The 2012 Tomato Line-Up

I gave a run down last year on the tomatoes we planted, so I think it’s only fitting to give this year’s crop its props.  Here we go, in no particular order:

Gardener’s Delight:  (heirloom) Small and grows in bunches; very sweet.  They are also very productive.

Great White Beefsteak: (heirloom) Last year we got a plant from our neighbor, who thought she forgot seed them this year.  Luckily, she was wrong.  We have at least two in the garden.  Mild, sweet and has meat that can look like a peach.

Caro red: (heirloom) Another, “Opps, I forgot seed this”, but “wrong”!  We ate the first one last night and it was delicious.

Cornue des Andes:  (heirloom) Shaped like peppers, these tomatoes turn bright red and can be pretty heavy.  An excellent sauce and cooking tomato, but a little too mealy to eat raw.

Noir de Crimee: (heirloom) From the “purple” tomato family.  Excellent raw, thin skin, and lots of meat.

Prince Noir: (heirloom) Another purple tomato, but smaller than the Noir de Crimee. Rich and sweet.

Roma: Well-known Italian tomato use for sauces.  Many of my Roma seedlings got sick, so we only have two plants that I am fiercely coddling.

Russian: (heirloom) This is a very large, tasty, and juicy tomato.  These seedlings fared well, so we have many in the garden.

Beefsteak: Classic round, and red.  This doesn’t have as much character as some of the other tomatoes, but it works when mixed in sauces.

Tomatillos: This green Mexican tomato is used to make salsa verde.  I don’t like them raw in salads, which is how Christophe ate them until I came along.  They are very rustic and grow well with other plants.  I’ve never seeded them; they sprout from fallen fruit the previous year.

Meet the lineup!

We have a lot of tomatoes in the garden, and sadly for the season, many of them are still green.  Due to the summerless summer, our tomato count is extremely low; normally, I’ve given up counting at this point of the year.  Each year, we plant our usual stock of tomatoes and each year we try a few new varieties.  This year’s lineup consists of eleven different varieties, ranging in color from white to purple, most of them are heirloom.  This year, we planted 70 different plants.

The Usual Suspects

Gardener’s Delight:  (heirloom) Most people assume these are cherry tomatoes when they see them, but they are not.  They are not acidic and teeter on the edge of being candy they are so sweet.

Noir de Crimee: (heirloom) So far, this is my favorite tomato.  The purple color throws you at first since it will never turn red to signal ripeness.  Thin skin, lots of meat, and best raw.

Prince Noir: (heirloom) Yet another purple tomato, but smaller than the Noir de Crimee.  It is sweet, rich, and also has a thin skin.

Great White Beefsteak: (heirloom) A large tomato that ripens to a golden yellow color.  Mild and sweet and we ate one yesterday that had a melon-like flavor.

Caro red: (heirloom) Big, round, and orange.  I like this tomato because it is very versatile and makes a complex sauce.

Cornue des Andes:  (heirloom) Shaped like peppers, these tomatoes turn bright red and can be pretty heavy.  An excellent sauce and cooking tomato, but a little too mealy to eat raw.

Voyager: This is a gnarly tomato that is a bit too acidic for my tastes.  It was tried last year and again this year for good measure, but will not be rejoining the line up next year.

Beefsteak: Classic round, red, and meaty tomato that is very productive.  Not as tasty as many of our other tomatoes, so I use it as volume in sauces.

The Newbies 

Roma: Well-known Italian tomato use for sauces.  Curious plants that don’t grow very high and fruit that grows in clusters.  Better for cooking than eating raw.

Russian: (heirloom) Our friend brought us one a few years ago and we kicked ourselves for not saving some seeds.  This is a very large tomato, very tasty and juicy. Has earned a spot on the “Usual Suspects” list for years to come.

Beefmaster: These are supposed to get huge, but they are nowhere near ready yet.  I do like the smooth, pale green skin they currently have.

And that our lineup this year, but as you can see, we’re still holding out for some sun and high temps to get them to where they need to be.  If not, I fear we’ll be swimming in green tomato jam all winter.