Sunday, October 26, 2008

Sweet Sweet Fall Tomatoes

Nothing in the world is better than the taste of the first bite of the first tomato of the season. I ate my first tomato from my fall garden this afternoon. It was a large cherry tomato and I sprinkled it with sea salt. Yummm.
Now, I have a confession. I hide the first tomato or three from my family and eat them myself. I don't share. I am careful to check them everyday and make sure to pick them just before they are fully ripe. Then, I hide them in a bowl of hot peppers that no one else will get into. I know it is wrong, but I can't help it. Trust me, if they found them first I wouldn't have a chance.

One of my vines is producing deformed fruit with black spots on them. It is not blossom end rot and it does not look like cat facing. Anybody have any idea what is going on? The vine looks just fine. Sorry about the blurry picture, again.
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18 comments:

  1. You deserve the first--you are the gardener and making sure they are good enough to serve--right?? :)
    Maybe the black spots are from too much water. (my mother always told me that when I had black spots!)

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  2. Meadowview, I am pretty sure they have not been overwatered. You know how little rain we have had lately so it is all done by hand. I don't generally have a heavy hand with the water hose. Also, it is only on this one plant. I think it is a cherokee purple.

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  3. Your temps must still be quite warm to be able to grow tomatoes in October Deb. I don't blame you for saving the first for yourself. :) I don't know what the blackspot thing is all about. It was a weird year for tomatoes. My cherry tomatoes produced very few fruit & then the I ended up with blossom end rot.

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  4. Racquel, I didn't get any tomatoes this summer. Wait, there was the one with blossom end rot. If the weather holds out, I will have a fall bumper crop. Then again, there is always next year.

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  5. You are hilariously devious! Fortunately, for Hubby he doesn't have any competition around here for fresh tomatoes or he'd probably resort to similar tactics. ;)

    Cindy

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  6. Good for you--eat up! It does a body good. Some people around here believe the first offering should go to the one who toils in the dirt.

    I would have said your black spot is from watering also except you know more than I do. I read something recently that said watering at the same time of day will keep them from splitting.

    Anna/flowergardengirl...blogless at the moment. I killed another blog. I'm so good at that. It froze up on me and is holding my information hostage.

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  7. She who does the work should reap the benefit first! Especially if there are only a few precious fruit available.

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  8. Debbie girl .. you are as naughty as I think you are .. tomato horder ! .. I only have to hide them from hubby .. number one son would go up in flames if he ever ate anything healthy .. JEEZ !
    That is strange about the weird fruit distortion .. perhaps it is tomato REVENGE ??? LOL

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  9. Cindy, The monkeys use similar tactics when the broccoli starts to come in. Just wait around for that rant in a few of weeks

    Hi Anna, it is good to hear from you. Don't you think hiding them in the hot peppers is taking it a little to far?

    easygardener, thanks for having my back. I am really glad my monkeys don't read this blog, or I would never get a tomato again.

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  10. Joy, maybe it is the ugly duckling tomato. I have a couple of sisters who won't eat tomatoes. Weird huh?

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  11. I think hiding your first tomatoes in the hot peppers is genius - and not going too far if there are other first tomato snatchers in the house! Do your fall tomatoes taste different from the summer ones? (I'm assuming you have an earlier crop)

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  12. Kris, The fall tomatoes taste the same, but the skins are much thinner. I have not blogged about it in a while, but I also hide chocolate all over the house.

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  13. Deb - I'm reasking my tomato question to you from over at my place:

    Is a summer crop failure followed by an autumn crop the usual kind of thing for Texas, or do you usually have 2 crops per season?

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  14. Usually we have a mid summer harvest and then a fall harvest. During late summer the tomato plants do not set fruit because of the heat(above 90 degrees at night). Indeterminate plants will produce twice. Determinate plants produce once and need to be replaced in order to get a fall crop. This year I did not get a mid summer yeild because I put my plants in too late.

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  15. I'm with you on the joys of fall tomatoes. Our summer crop was ruined by early and unrelenting 100 degree days, so this fall batch is special!

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  16. Same here diana, I didn't think Austin was as bad as the dallas area, but it sound like you had the same thing happen to yours that happened to ours.

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  17. I putting my tomatoes in ground this weekend. Growing summer tomatoes in Florida is very risky. I agree, those that work the land deserve the first picking.

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  18. Rusty, Our season is ending and yours is just beginning. It is so interesting to read along with other gardeners around the country and see the differences between our growing conditions and seasons.

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