Our Black Krims have been ripening nicely, and our yellow pear have been doing so for some time now. It took awhile for the plants to take off, but they are doing nicely now :^) The part of our yard we are growing them get sun most of the day, except we started noticing the change in the position of the sun - they may be getting a bit more shade now due to the angle of the sun behind the houses, etc. Sure hope the sun keeps 'em ripening awhile longer!!

I feel a little like Joe Btfsplk from Dogpatch showing up over here, Kid.

No, the plants don't look like they did 3 weeks ago but that's because there are lots of tomatoes on some of them. Green tomatoes . . . .

I've actually got enuf little gold cherries that there are still a few of the ones picked 2 days ago on the kitchen table. But it is mostly that we don't want another deprived of a tomato if a sudden hunger sweeps over them. It wouldn't have taken much of an indulgent whim to have finished off the little bowlful even 2 days ago.

Almost surprising that they actually made it as far as the indoors . . .

Steve

Aug 7, and really bummed about the lack of ripe tomatoes here.

Is it possible to be MAD at plants?

IÂm not having much luck with the tomatoes so far this year either! Have been able to pick just barely enough cherries a couple times for a salad.

IÂve gotten just a few SunGold and Sweet Baby Girl cherries, but they just donÂt seem to have "enough" flavor this yearÂstill hoping that will improve. And IÂm trying Juliet, an oblong, large cherry for the first time this year, and it doesnÂt have much flavor AT ALL. And itÂs definitely not "mushy," but itÂs also definitely not "crisp!" Just kind of blah! And have been able to pick less than a half dozen! And of the fruit that IS forming, the "clusters" are abnormally small on all three of them this year! Just a few tomatoes in each bunch. Last year there were lots and lots in each bunch

I picked a couple StupiceÂagain, not much flavorÂand theyÂre not much bigger than a large cherry! Only about 1½" in diameter.

I picked ONE Bloody ButcherÂsame size as Stupice, but maybe a little more flavorÂmaybe!

Have a few green tomatoes on Mortgage Lifter, but no sign at all of ripening yet! At least they are bigger than the other two, but at this rate, they are definitely NOT gonna be lifting any mortgages!

And I tried a new yellow and a new orange this year, KelloggÂs Breakfast and Yellow Brandywine, and neither has any fruit at all yetÂnot even green ones! WhatÂs up with that?

IÂm assuming the heat was part of the problem with the lack of fruit, and they do seem to be blooming more now that itÂs moderated a little bit, but no matter what happens from here on out, this is definitely NOT going to be a bumper crop year for tomatoes for me! IÂm still hopeful that theyÂll develop more flavor as the summer progresses, but itÂs been disappointingÂafter waiting all winter for that incredible, unmatchable, to-die-for home grown tomato flavor, I donÂt have anyÂyet!

I sure hope thereÂs SOMEBODY around here whoÂs having a GOOD tomato year!

Skybird

P.S. DonÂt get mad at them, COS Maters! They might become even more obstinate!

Interesting how this all works, we just canned some tomatoes yesterday and were wondering if we could keep up with them. All of a sudden they decided to produce prolifically.

Dan

I think Skybird pretty well described it. I have a row of early, determinate tomatoes that I wanted to try. The whole bunch is pretty much useless. Little dinky fruits and way late. My all ways good stupice plant got too close to some roundup and got pulled. I still have hopes that the indeterminate ones will ripen up, but I usually get messed up with disease about this time of year.
KennyP

Wondering if you can "keep up with them," Dan? IÂm gonna be over in your part of town in, uhhh, well letÂs say about two hours! ;-)

Seriously, IÂm glad to hear somebody is finally getting some good production! Hopefully that bodes well for the rest of us!

Keep thinking BIG, ripe, juicy tomatoes, everybody,
Skybird

Things a bust so far here in Boulder for the tomatoes and the peppers. Have gotten a few sungold, the cherokee purples, bloody butchers and amish paste have set some fruit but are languishing, and the opalka and brandywine are just sitting there. Growth has been good for the last 2 weeks, but I'm not holding out much hope for a good crop.

Even worse on the pepper front. Only one has set any peppers - an ancho, I think - the rest are just now coming into flower.

OTOH, the basil is doing great this year, so I've been putting pesto on my pizzas, rather than tomato sauce!

Ian

My tomatoes are doing decent so far this year. The hybrid cherry tomato plant has been producing pretty good for about a month and alot more on the way. Hillbilly plants are producing a fair amount albeit they seem small. Alison Craig has had a good number of nice tasty fruit. Almost nothing yet from the Japanese Black but they are starting to blush. One of two Teresa Lonki has been doing well but the other nothing ripe yet. I can't complain.

I have a two-story brick house that defines the north side of the garden, so get earlier heat and wind protection (and special wind issues as well), so my microclimate is different than most, so my mileage varies from others. Peppers are excellent here, basil going well too.

Dan

I just found 3 ripe larger than golf ball sized Cherokee purple hiding at the base. They were quite tasty, if small. I have a half dozen baseball sized striped Heirloom, a couple are starting to blush. I'm getting good production on the Sweet Baby girl cherry, but they aren't near as tasty as past years. Beefmaster has a lot of small fruit, but if he doesn't hurry up I'll never taste them. Not a banner year for tomatoes.
Peppers are doing great! I've been picking Bananas, Big Jims and Annaheims for a few weeks now. Jalapenos and Mucho Nachos are kicking into gear finally.
Herbs are doing well, too. Rosemary, Basil, Sage and Thyme are all making their way into dinners.

Barb

Posted by gjcore . . . Alison Craig has had a good number of nice tasty fruit. . . One of two Teresa Lonki has been doing well but the other nothing ripe yet. I can't complain.

Alison Craig = Ailsa Craig. I knew of the onion but only recently learned of the tomato. Ailsa Craig is an island in Scotland, Wikipedia tells me.

Teresa Lonki = Thessaloniki. I've had trouble with the name of this tomato! I wanted to call it Niki but Jali refers to it as Thessa. Thessaloniki is a city in mainland Greece and home of the Thessalonians.

I have little doubt that both of these locations were named for women. (Today, their descendants are known as Alison and Teresa. ;o)

Steve

Hey, me too. I picked one beautiful Mortgage Lifter and it was so delicious I'm eagerly looking forward to the remaining 47 green ones to ripen.

I have tons of green Big Boys (picked around 4 ripe ones), Amish Paste and Yellow Pears, and not a ripe tomato in sight. :( What's up with that?

I did top and pinch remaining flowers as per advice I received here, so hope I will be sun-drying zillions of scrumptious tomatoes in September.

I have Mushrooms, yellow jackets and cherry tomatoes.

All this work and expense for...? :(

My brother was here visiting, and we made a gallon of tomato salad: diced up 'maters and sliced green onion. Salt to pull out the juices, olive oil, and crusty bread.

I woke up this morning and he was having some for breakfast.

Steve, Thanks for the corrections. I was going by what I had sketched on my "big board". I have so much written on my garden sketch that it's beginning to get hard to read.

I keep trying to get field mushrooms to take, I don't think I'm quite shady enough yet. There are neighborhoods in Denver that could feed an army with their mushrooms, and by gum I'm going to get them to go out here!

My 'Purple Calabash' are a little twisted and I'm hoping the later ones aren't so catfaced. Sort of annoying. And now the BH maybe wants either 'Bloody Butcher' or 'Stupice' to go as they are similar enough and she wants more paste toms for canning...always something to mess around with!

Dan

Gjcore, I think a documentary on heirloom tomatoes and their names would be fun!

Dan, my BH referred to Stupice as "Your Stupid Tomatoes!" I don't think that there was one that I brought in that wasn't deformed. For a small tomato, that was something of a surprise.

She said that she wasn't "too impressed" with my new tomatoes . . . That was cold, especially since about half haven't had a single ripe fruit! I think that Flammé still has a chance of bringing her around.

Good luck with the mushrooms.

S'

It has been a mixed bag here. Seems like a lot of issues this year starting with the late freeze, then the early hot spell in June, the insect vectored diseases and now the grasshoppers. I removed at least 30 fruit damaged by them last week. And already over ten this week. They seem to be hitting some plants harder. I sprayed the perimeter and the vacant areas last night with a commercial spray many market growers use. I didn't use it on the plants. I have ordered Surround WP to use on the plants. It looked like tonight I had cut the numbers down drastically. Found 3 more damage fruit on my Barlow Jap. They are eating on them 2-3 weeks before they should blush. Hopefully I'll get to taste one yet and also some Royal Hillbilly's. I would of done picked both if it wasn't for them. Cherokee Purple, Glick's 18, Pink Girl, Old Time Tasty and Dana's Dusky Rose have gave me several to eat on so far. Dana's Dusky Rose is a nice tomato. Sets fairly early and very good production. Jay