Love Those Mouthwatering Tomatoes!

The Icon of Summer

Tomatoes and corn — the icons of summer.

I don’t usually grow corn as it takes a lot of room, water and fertilizer but tomatoes are a must have. Over the years I’ve had good luck and not so good. I’ve had volunteer cherry tomatoes come up and produce from early summer until frost. This year is so so, but better that the last two when rabbits ate every single plant!

Even my dog, Rascal, likes tomatoes! I was sitting on the deck overlooking the garden when I noticed him nosing at the tomatoes. Didn’t think he would hurt them. He picked two! And ate them!!

Heirloom Tomatoes

The thing that draws me to summer tomatoes, especially the heirloom varieties, are their juiciness and FLAVOR. Every winter when hothouse tomatoes are all that is to be had, I vow that I’m going to use apples and mandarin oranges on my salads because the winter tomato flavors and textures are so disappointing.

Sungold is usually a prolific and tasty cherry tomato and surprisingly three years ago I had really good luck growing San Marzanos. Since they are so prized for cooking, I thought they would be picky but they were easy to grow and disease free….at least that year.

My favorite variety is Cherokee Purple. This year grasshoppers attacked my Cherokee Purples when they were small and they have been slow to come back. But I have a few! They do pretty well where I live but they are a big plant and need more support than the typical tomato cage.

Who knew? Tomatoes and Sunflowers are a Match!

Not planned — but fortunate — and quite by accident — my tomatoes are growing alongside a huge crop of sunflowers that reseeded from last year’s planting. I worried that the sunflowers would overshadow the tomatoes but instead they seem to be doing well together and the tomatoes are using them as a support.

Tomatoes in the Kitchen

The things that can be done with tomatoes in the kitchen are almost endless. A simple tomato basil salad is wonderful.

Simple Marinara Sauce

I also like to just cut them up and throw them in a pan with some red wine, herbs (my favorites are oregano and rosemary) a little soy sauce and a bit of balsamic.

Cook it down until the tomatoes are soft and then run it through the Vitamix or you can use a food mill. Either way, I always leave the skins on while cooking. One — it’s too much time to peel them and two — the skins bring even more flavor to the sauce!

This particular evening I added some merlot sea salt that my daughter brought me from a shop in San Diego that she visited during a recent trip.

If you want an extra special sauce, roast the tomatoes first. Super easy to throw a head of garlic in the oven with the tomatoes and add it in as well.

The Winter Ahead

My experiment this year is going to be trying to keep some tomatoes growing over the winter. I started three new plants and set the seedlings in the ground to get going before the weather turns cold. I have hoop frames over two of my beds. When I’m ambitious and do winter gardening, I put plastic over the hoops. Kind of creating an in ground greenhouse.

Maybe — just maybe — I’ll have flavorful tomatoes this winter. I’ll let you know.