Tomato Tidbits; Why do we do all this?

“This year, there really is going to be a $64 tomato,” said Franklin County Master Gardener Linda Secrist, referring to this less than stellar tomato growing season in the northeast.

It’s been a strange year.  We welcomed many first time veggie growers and the topsy turvy gained popularity.

But in the midst of oddness and disappointment, I’ve heard bits of good news and anecdotes that explain why gardeners will tackle it all again next year.

It’s a quest for that great tomato flavor.

Sun Gold cherry tomatoes. Very sweet

“If you have a good tomato sandwich, that’s all you need,” said Bob Robertson of Hagerstown, MD, at the recent Franklin County Master Gardeners tomato tasting.

Devotion to that perfect tomato taste causes gardeners to go to great lengths.

Daniel Gasteiger of Lewisburg, PA, author of the fab vegetable gardening blog, www.smallkitchengarden.net is the most devoted tomato gardener I’ve met so far.  And he’s part of the good tomato news; he’s had a slew of tomatoes this year.  He estimates harvesting 27 gallons of tomatoes with more coming yet.

Gasteiger starts plants indoors, in part, with seeds saved from last year’s tomatoes.

“I started tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, and later, winter squash on the ping-pong table in my basement.” He said.

One of the four varieties of tomato he grows, is a very special oblong Italian tomato that was given to him by a neighbor near Lewisburg. Gasteiger was given the fruit from which he dried the seed.  He describes it as pepper shaped. The unknown variety is his fav for paste. This is the first year Gasteiger has grown this tomato.

“I thought it was a determinate variety. Turned out to be indeterminate, a fast grower,” says Gasteiger. “ Vines now over 8 feet tall. Fruits tend to be large, almost no seeds and gel; just meat. Turns out they’re very tasty.”

Gasteiger's neighbor's tomato that he now grows, Photo courtesy Daniel Gasteiger.

Supported by a creative wood structure (take a look at his blog for details) in the largest of his gardens, his 68 plants loaded with fruit are neatly groomed and completely sucker free.

Tomato season literally takes over Gasteiger’s dining room.  His dining table is covered with gallons of tomatoes that he ripens inside.  He does this to avoid cracking.  He sorts them by states of ripeness in preparation for canning.

This year, he has luckily avoided the blights that wiped out some growers tomatoes, but he did observe what he amusingly calls, “trench foot.”

Part of his garden is bordered by a hill.  For the first time, he observed that plants closest to the hill, were less vigorous.  Coupled with the large amount of rain in the Northeast, and extra water running down the hill,  he surmised, those plants had too much water surrounding their roots and this stunted the plants development.  Hence, the trench foot.

But even with trench foot, Gasteiger’s harvest was bountiful; as have been others.

Local CSA’s have avoided the worst of this season’s plagues and will be able to offer their members tomatoes with locally grown taste.

Gasteiger tested the topsy turvy. See his blog

Amy Leber, with Shared Earth Farm in Mechanicsburg and Beth Weaver-Kreider  with Goldfinch Farm in York, report that their tomato harvests will be good.  Spiral Path was able to provide some beautiful tomatoes for Highland Garden’s Tomato Fest. (post on that soon)

So what keeps tomato gardeners out in their gardens each year?

“I grow for one thing only. Flavor.” said Master Gardener Ray Eckhart of Blue Ridge Summit, PA.

Eckhart explained that for many years, tomato plant breeders had forgotten to breed for flavor.  They bred for things like yield or the ability to ship well. Luckily in the mid 90’s that trend started to reverse.

He said home gardeners have fewer restraints on their choice of which tomato plants to grow,  since they don’t have to be concerned about yield or shipping.   If home gardeners want to grow a plant that produces few fruit but that has great flavor, we have that luxury.

And it’s that luxury that gets us out there with our shovels each spring.