Well here we are in August of 2010 and I must say that this has been a mainly miserable Summer so far in the Bay Area if you are a tomato grower/lover..After the shaky start to last's years growing season, I thought I had it all figured out and started my seeds late and did not bed plant a single tomato until the first week of June.
That seemed fine and I had wind breaks on all 36 plants, which started to thrive...Then WHAM! the coldest July on record in the Bay Area for the last 30 years, couple that with high winds and fog for thirty straight days and most gardeners are weeping at the horrible outcome of their beloved tomato plants.
Not to be deterred, I have withheld water, covered plants in most danger of 50degree evening temperatures and scathing winds and still have my hopes relatively high that we will still have a bounty to share with friends.
So, as for any tips that I have - HUH! the jury is out in this whacky climate, but I will say that the plants that seem to be doing the best are in a place close to a retaining wall that reatins a lot (OK Modicum) of heat and is relatively protected from these fierce winds which usually blow in May - climate change...Only nutty people would believe that this is a natural phenomenon.
Thus far - August 9th, we have picked only 5 tomatoes from the Russian Black tomato which was a gift and not seed started - still yummy, oh so yummy.. So even though we may have to wait until July next year to plant, I feel confidant that unless the weather worsens in August, we will be enjoying fine Heirloom tomatoes this year until December.
Here are the tomatoes that we planted and grew from seed this year - All are listed in previous posts with links to their heritage...My favorite is still the Super Snow White, a ping pong ball sized white tomato with a powerhouse of Super Sweetness that lasts and lasts.
Armenian, Aunt Rubies German Green, Aussie Heirloom, Big White Pink Stripe, Brandywine, Bulls Heart, Carbon, Clint Eastwood's Rowdy Red, Corne De Bouc, Gary Ibsen's Gold, Great White, Italian Tree, Japanese Black Trifele (another Karen Favorite), Mandarin Cross, Marmande, New Zealand Pink Pear, Rutgers Improved, Super Snow White, Sweet Orange Roma, Sweetie, Wapsipicon Peach (fuzzy tomatoes very cool looking), and Yellowstone
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