Gardening Magazine

Tomatoes - a Harvest at Last!

By Mwillis
I had hoped to have a nice harvest of big Beefsteak tomatoes this year, mostly ones grown from a Facebook friend in Belgium who kindly sent me a big pack of seeds for not just tomatoes, but also peppers. If you want to see the complete list of varieties, just follow this this link ...
I won't bore you with the details again, but due to problems with compost contaminated by weedkiller, my harvest is very much reduced. However, I am finally harvesting tomatoes now, and that is a major milestone for me!
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
One of the big ones in that basket was "Larisa". I  have had only two fruits from my plant so far, but each one was over 300 grams.
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
The flesh of this tomato is a very pink shade of red, and very sweet. The shoulders of the fruits seem to be prone to remaining green
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
The other big tomato in my basket is the orange-coloured "Dynnye".
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
This particular specimen has a very pronounced heart shape. It weighed approximately 425 grams.
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
The yellow tomatoes at bottom right of this next photo are "Banana Legs".
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
"Banana Legs" looks like a yellow version of "San Marzano", but I regret to say that it is nowhere near as good in terms of texture or flavor. Of course this may be because the weedkiller problems have rendered it somewhat under par. In normal circumstances it might be better.
The small red tomatoes are "Maskotka", a variety that I have grown many times before. It's very reliable and produces exceptionally tasty fruit.
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
The medium-sized red fruits are "Orkado". In normal years these would be nice and round, but this year they are all "heart-shaped".
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
In every case, the pointed bit at the tip has not ripened like the rest of the tomato. This is definitely not Blossom End Rot, because the dark spot is not soft and squishy; it's dry.
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
Now what do you make of this enormous ugly beast?
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
This one is "Cherokee Purple". Not at all like the stylish regular-shaped fruits I had from this variety last year. Not only is this one a "double" - two fruits fused into one - but underneath it is dramatically "cat-faced":
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
As you can see, there are still a few bits that are under-ripe, but I decided I had to pick it anyway, because it was beginning to split, probably as a result of the sudden exceptionally heavy rain we had had the previous day.
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
It may not be pretty, but I'm sure it will be just fine when made into some sauce - all 536 grams of it!
Anyway, returning to the theme of this post, as indicated by its title, I'm going to end by showing you a photo of the inside of my fridge...
Tomatoes - a harvest at last!
That's a bit more like it, eh?!

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