No ripe 'maters for me yet, seems to be a little behind the pace of last year when I had them starting in late June. I was bragging about it then. This year my plants are doing great and are very big with plenty of green fruit, but unfortunately nothing has blushed yet. Should have some very soon from my Early Girl and Large Cherry Red though. Black Krim has some good sized ones but will be a while, and Brandywine is lagging as it just recently finally set fruit. I'm dying for some home grown tomatoes.

This cloudy weather isn't doing them any favors, though my lawn enjoys the rain.

Uh .... no.

The earliest I've ever gotten a ripe tomato was the third week of July, but my plants went in about a month later than usual this year, so I'm guessing it could be late Auguast this year.

There are marble sized green tomatoes on a few of the plants though - Black Plum, La Roma II, Big Red, and Pink Beauty.

Fruit set on all my tomato plants but they're ripening slowly. And they were late getting out because of the chilly spring. So much water though that the bigger fruits are cracking a bit.

I've eaten a handful of Sungolds. I too set out several plants with small tomatoes on them, and the plants are smaller than their compatriots. But some of these initial tiny tomatoes are now full-sized - hopefully, starting to change color soon.

This is not shaping up to be a banner tomato year.

You decided on those big ol' Large Red Cherries, Jeremy? I don't think you will be disappointed with them. They aren't early and not real modern, restaurant garden salad types but you just can't beat the production from those big plants! Good flavor, too!

No, this won't be a banner tomato year . . . Just an incredibly cool start here. I don't know for sure, tho'. I remember another cool spring that, at least some of the varieties just shrugged off and they did real well.

Steve

Nothing red yet, but some Juliets (grape tomatoes) are full-size and ought to be turning in the week.

Ha - yes Digit I think it was you who suggested those to me last year. Saw them at Paulinos and figured I'd have to give them a try. The plant is prolific to say the least, a good foot taller than any of the others, and has lots of green tomatoes so far. I'm interested to see just how big they get before they ripen. Hopefully when it warms up again later this week a few will start to blush. Kind of wish I had planed a Sungold to go along with it for something to snack on while I wait!

I am happy to report that this evening, I found three ripe 'Vorlon' (Cherokee Purple/Prudence Purple cross). These were split from the rain, hastening their ripening, but with some judicious surgery, I managed a first salad.

I am fairly sure that I'm still only working my way thru those fruits that began in the greenhouse weeks & weeks ago but - it is nice to have 'em! Suppose to be 92F tomorrow! That will be the warmest so far this year and we nearly had another 60F morning low . . . It IS warming up!

The very first slightly-larger tomato came off the vines today - Buisson. This is kind of an interesting little tomato. The fruits must be in about the 4 ounce range. There was a somewhat misshapen one that we ate and another that went in to the kitchen counter for a day or 2.

The plants are small and I remember Jali talking about them a couple of years ago - how they survived a Colorado hailstorm. The plants maybe able to take hail bouncing off of them but I can assure you that a ripe fruit couldn't!

No, this isn't your soopermarket tomato. You know, the fruit you can bounce off the linoleum! Drop one of these little babies and it is - splat!

Nice flavor . . . we sold some of these plants last year and had people coming back and asking for them. Had a few for them in 2011. I've got 3 or 4 in the garden, too.

Last year, I looked up the name, Buisson. Was satisfied to learn that there's a is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris with that word as part of its name. Then, I became a little more curious about it and checked with a translation on Babel Fish. Turns out that it means simply "bush" in French. The commune's name might be something like Heathfield or Spennymoor in England. And, the tomato variety might just be a "bush tomato."

I am more pleased with the little guys the more I see (& taste ;o) of 'em!

Steve

Yesterday, we went through the garden and picked 3 dozen-ish ripe tomatoes of all sizes and varieties, from the plants with tiny fruit set out in the last week of May. This is the earliest I've had any significant quantity of ripe ones.

On this scale, it does seem that having fruit on the plants when setting them out doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference in vigor/size of the things now - it varies all over the map. But generally, the plants with the ripe fruit are smaller.

But I"m eating lots of tomatoes 2-3 weeks earlier than usual. So we'll see how the season ends up, if there are enough for the big canning operation.

Interesting - mine are unfortunately a few weeks later than usual here in Denver. Just a few days ago picked my first ripe Early Girls which should be ready to be eaten in the next day or two. I think all those afternoon storms have been robbing them of their usual sun.

jeremywildcat, your Early Girl is earlier than mine. I got a bunch of green fruit but nothing looks like it will ripen anytime soon. My other varieties have only recently set blossoms. It's slow going over here and I am getting impatient.

We, read my kids, had our first ripe tomato today - three Super Snow White.

Nearly ripe: Burning Spear (xone) and Carol Chyko's Big Paste (xtwo).

I also have some ripe yellow, smallish tomatoes that are supposed to be Black Mammoth. Not sure what happened there...

I had my first SunGold yesterday--one that fell off the plant, and my first two Sweet Baby Girls today--one that fell off and one that didn't! I have more cherries that are "mostly" ripe, and I'm forcing myself to wait a few more days till they're really, really, really ripe before I pick them! But all my larger tomatoes aren't even starting to blush yet! Still, compared to last year, it's lookin' like it's gonna be a pretty good year! Plants looking good, and tomatoes developing on almost all of them.

I'm waiting! I'm waiting!

Skybird

Still waiting. Might have peppers before toms this year...

Dan

I've already had a few Big Jims, Dan. Still no toms for me either. lol

Sweet banana peppers and Anneheims won the race here. Sweet baby girl cherry gave me a handful this week and a few more handfuls are orange. I'm making myself leave them be till they are red.
The other toms have lots of fruit set, but are sure taking their time to ripen!

Barb

I've been picking 3-4 a week for around 3 weeks. Not going to be many till around Sept 1st. I would of picked my first one in June if the hail hadn't wiped out all of my early ones. I will start picking peppers in 7-10 days. Jay

Wow! Peppers before tomatoes! Not here!

The pepper plants are older than the tomatoes, too. They are flowering a little . . .

The tomato plants have lots of flowers but the plants are still quite small. The Mystery Girl plant doesn't look so great and was beset by flea beetles earlier in the season. I don't see how it can amount to much. What I'm now thinking is that it is a Stupice - the potato leaf variety offered by the seed source. The fruit on it are not ripening as early as I'd expect for Stupice, however.

I picked 2 more Buisson. The plants are so small that I am beginning to lower expectations. The New Big Dwarf plants had some seriously deformed fruits that I pulled off. The prospects for any overwhelming tomato abundance doesn't look so good right now.

I would really, really like to be more positive . . .

Steve

My friends in Wenatchee area saying the same thing - no heat crimping the style of their veggies, Russian vars of toms bearing but that's it. I should have a couple peppers here this weekend, but toms not coloring up at all.

Dan

My peppers this year are wonderful, and I'm eating fully ripe, thick-walled "Gypsy" peppers now anytime I want to go out and pick a few. I started the seeds in Feb, used a different potting soil "Fox Farm" which has a fair amount of nutrients in it, and was able to set out foot-high, flowering plants.

The ones in containers this year are chugging right along, but these ones are Jimmy Nardano's and halapenos. Its too early to compare the results with the garden ones, both are doing pretty well.

Yesterday for dinner was a huge bowl of chopped tomatoes, onions, peppers, and basil, bit of salt to bring out the juice, bit of red wine vinegar to keep it all honest, olive oil, diced extra-sharp cheddar, and crusty sourdough bread. My kids will eat that stuff by the quart.

David,
A local nursery started carrying the Happy Frog organic fertilizer from Fox Farm and a few of their other products. So far I've been very impressed with everything I've used. Like the Happy Frog tomato fertilizer a lot better than Tomato Tone. Jay

I have been using Fox Farms Grow Big this year, and really liked it as well. I used Happy Frog last year, too. I'm in agreement, I think their products are outstanding.

I didn't know they had different blends, threw out the bag so I don't know what I used. But I did use what ever it was, I think 'Happy Frog', for tomato seedlings as well, seeds started 15th March, and that was stronger than I need - by the last week of May, the plants were three feet long, and I had to lay the pots on their sides so the stems wouldn't wouldn't break, ended up burying most of the stem.

Sort of like Jack and the Bean Stalk. - Dude!!! Look at that thing grow!!!!

Oh, I am happy to report that my first Early Girls are starting to blush. Yea!

Nice - get those in a paper bag asap! Had a few Early Girls now - I really do enjoy the taste of those, seems like the idyllic garden tomato taste. Large Red Cherry are great as well, and can't wait to try my first Black Krim that was picked yesterday. Brandywine is way behind for some reason.

This weather lately has been perfect so they're getting caught back up.

Had the first tomatoes a few days ago--two stupices and a mutantly-small red delicious, but the flavor was pretty good, and they turned red outta nowhere. We've actually got peppers nearly ripe all over the place--had a couple gypsies, some bananas, and hubby cried over the heat of the first Hungarian hot wax at dinner Wednesday. I have plants taller at the end of July than I've EVER had, and some even have tomatoes on them... when they come in, I'm gonna be SWIMMING. Interestingly, none of my grape or cherry toms are turning! What the heck?

Have to say like others we have had peppers first.Been enjoying 4 or 5 types.Pablono, sweet banana,jalapeno,Black Hungarian, red cayannes I have started picking for drying.Looks like the thai's are coming in next.
First sungolds turned over night here about the 22nd of July.Right after I I mentioned they sure are slow this year.I have had toms out since the end of April.The garden toms are so much smaller plants this year then last year but they are getting loaded.The greenhouse toms are going to be scary when they start ripening they are loaded.
Mary in Montana

Got my first today! A Big Beef. My plants are loaded, but the 3 Romas all have BER. Good thing I have 8 other varieties! :D

I've gotten about a pound of small Costoluta Genovese so far, and the Sweet 100s is setting fruit very generously now. It's tall enough that I need to set the cage extender on that one.

The Cherokee Purple is a bit shyer this year, but even that has a few greenies on it now. I haven't picked any peppers yet, but see plenty of small fruit on both anaheim and ancho plants, so it won't be long.

First of the Dana's Dusky Rose! One-half pound on the nose . . .
{{gwi:1213332}}

Not quite there but it should be ripe this weekend.

Steve

Picked my first ripe tomatoes today!!!

Ignore the date stamp. This was taken last week at the community garden, when they were just starting to show some color. It's Black Plum. They are smaller than I had hoped, but are quite a few of them.

I also picked a Thai Pink Egg, and there are a few tomatoes that are almost ripe here at the house as well. Need to get more batteries for the camera, then I'll post some updated photos.

Bonnie

Looking back thru these posts, kind of brings a smile to my face. Perhaps, some of us are still waiting for a ripe tomato. That's not funny.

I've now had 2 Big Beefs, you should have seen the 1st one! Silly little messed up thing - it was only about twice the size of a cherry!

I feel real lucky to have Sungold. It is not only a very tasty cherry but very early. My plants are small after our cold PNW spring and early summer but there are a few Sungolds every time I go into the tomato patch.

I remember when the only cherry I grew was Large Red Cherry. That old heirloom makes a large plant and it wouldn't ripen 1 fruit until about now. I didn't know for years and years that other cherries were earlier. BTW - the 1st modern cherry I grew was Sweet 100. You should know that here in 2011, August 20th - I am still not getting very many of these to ripen. They aren't nearly as early as Sungold.

I don't know how much fruit size makes a difference but plant size certainly seems to. Those Buisson are small plants and the very early Bloody Butcher is too. Early Girl, which has now started to produce in my garden, isn't a very big plant.

It isn't absolute, however. Goliath makes a larger plant and is usually about a week earlier than Big Beef. Because of the small size of things this year, it is hard for me to know about the new-to-me varieties. I have already picked a Kellogg's Breakfast! I'm very happy about this. It isn't quite ripe but I was afraid I'd be looking at the plants the week before frost and still waiting for a taste of the fruit.

Not so! There's another KB out there that has already begun to change color. In fact, there are lots of fruit on 1 of the 2 plants I have. The 2nd one may be getting a little late afternoon shade which might not be best for it. Still, Sweet Quartz is right over there beside it and I've had a steady supply of almost pink cherries from those plants for weeks!

The Wow! cherry is over there also. I don't quite know what to think about that rangy variety. I tasted a 1st fruit this week and really thought, "Wow!" I'll need more than 1 to make up my mind about it.

The SunSugars are also kicking out a few golden cherries. I really, really like those but I'm glad I've got Sungold too.

Steve

Great pics there! I always enjoy seeing those.

I'm enjoying my Large Red Cherry this year as a change, but I miss the Sungold's sweetness. It will come back next year.

Early Girl has been the most productive, and Black Krim has done very well also, much better than Cherokee Purple did last year.

Brandywine grew massive but became diseased and I never got a single tomato. It had a few on the vine when I pulled it out but they never properly ripened so I had to throw them out. Did much better last year.

I might be mostly over the heirloom craze. I'll probably still plant one each year, but I think I'd rather have the hardiness of hybrids for the most part. Heirlooms have just been much more hit and miss for me. Next year I'm thinking Sungold, Stupice or Early Girl, some big hybrid, and a new heirloom.

In the same basket:

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I actually had 1 of these in the garden yesterday! This is Kellogg's Breakfast - I think David was saying that it is one of his favorites. And, thank you Jay for thinking that I might be able to grow and enjoy it. I can! And, do!

It was the 1st of the KB's, I'm sure there will be more. (The one in the garden ripened in the 90F heat sooner than the one in the kitchen. ;o) . . . a smooth, wonderful flavor!

Jeremy, Large Red Cherry was essentially replaced by Sweet Chelsea and by all the Sweet 100's that are in my garden. Still, I don't know if anything could match the production of LRC.

I worry about this reliance on hybrids. You know, we develop a fondness. Then what might happen - the seed company discontinue the line?

There will always be something new but that doesn't mean I want to have it take up space in my garden and miss welcoming back old friends.

Steve

Steve,
Glad you liked it and can grow it. It is my favorite yellow/orange variety.Your description is very accurate. After the hail I bought one so I would have one. The fruit are still small but should pick a few before frost. I'm trying several new varieties this year. Will be cutting down on new varieties in the future. I grow a few hybrids every year along with my op/heirlooms. I will start posting some of my thoughts out of my 2011 garden diary soon. Jay

I picked my first Sungolds and Sweet Baby Girls a couple weeks ago--and they really didn't have that much flavor! Since that fruit had set way early on, before all the rain and the heat, I was hoping they'd get better. They did! The ones I'm picking now are in the To Die For category! I'll always grow Sungold, but so many of them crack that you have to really watch them to pick them as soon as they crack or they start to rot on the vine! The Sweet Baby Girls, on the other hand almost never crack, which is wonderful as far as I'm concerned. Both of those are on my Grow Every Year list!

The only "big" one I've had so far was one Big Beef--which was not very big! It, too, was the fruit that was setting right around when I planted them out, and I was kind of disappointed in the flavor! There are a few more of the "early fruit" on that one that are almost ripe, and I'm "saving" them to take along on my vacation! Hoping if I leave them ripen all the way on the vine they'll have more flavor!

After that initial fruit set we got all the weather, and mine grew and bloomed but stopped setting fruit for about a month--except for the cherries and one other. So now I finally have fruit forming on all of them, but no color at all yet except for those few Big Beefs!

The Earl of Edgecombe kept setting fruit the whole time, has quite a few developing, and while none of it is ripening yet, it's looking like it's gonna be a winner at this point! Fingers crossed for good flavor!

I'm not sure what to think of my Kellogg's Breakfast! The fruit just started developing a couple weeks ago, but nothing anywhere near ripening yet. This is the third year I'm growing it, and last year it set fruit VERY late for me too! The year before I think it was one of my Failure To Thrive ones!

Mortgage Lifter is another problem! Definitely not lifting any mortgages here! Just started developing fruit a couple weeks ago, and I got virtually nothing last year. This might be the last year for that one for me!

Dr. Wyche's Yellow is a gold I'm trying this year, and it looks like it might wind up being too late for here! Developing fruit for a couple weeks, but nothing near color yet! We'll see!

And this year's looser! Delicious! Don't know if I'm gonna find out if it's delicious or not! Only grew it because I had seed for it! It finally just started developing the first couple tiny fruit, and I hope I get something big enough to eat, but......

At least all my plants are growing well this year! That's something to cheer about!

It's always interesting to me when I see other people having great luck with some of the varieties that just don't do anything for me! I know somebody said above that Delicious was doing well for them!

Even if a couple of them don't do that well, tho, I've already got last year all beat to heck! When everything really gets ripening, I'm gonna be in Tomato Heaven this year!

Skybird