The plants here range in height from about 4' to about 7'.
Two tomato plants in the cold frame bed. The plant on the left is the Matt's Wild Cherry. Boy, that plant would take over the whole bed if I let it! The plant on the right is a Cherokee Purple, seed compliments of Daphne.
Bed #3 contains 4 plants. A Purple Calabash, seed compliments of Emily, Eva's Purple Ball and a Cherokee Purple and Black Cherry, both seed compliments of EG.
Bed #2 also contains 4 plants. A Paul Robeson, seed compliments of EG, Cherokee Purple seed compliments of Thomas and a Cherokee Purple and Pineapple both seed compliments of Diana.
As you may have noticed, I have 4 Cherokee Purples from 4 different sources growing here at the house. They are our favorite eating tomato and I was not happy with our previous seed source. So, I got seed from 4 different bloggers and I'm doing a little experiment. I will post on that later in the season.
Beds 2 & 3 from another angle.
Black Cherry Tomatoes
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
Paul Robeson Tomatoes. You can't tell from the picture...but these babies are huge!
Purple Calabash Tomatoes
Last but not least the first....
ripe CP of the season (seed from Daphne)...weighing in at 4 oz.
The first tomato last year was a CP. It was harvested exactly one week earlier and weighed twice as much. We aren't complaining....how could you with a nice ripe CP on the 1st of July???
Oh Lucky YOU!! A ripe tomato so early is wonderful. I'm at least 6 weeks from a tomato. I hope it tastes as good as it looks. Enjoy!
ReplyDelete:)
The first tomato is always a great promise for the things to come. You have a lot there to look forward too.
ReplyDeleteI didn't plant CP this year and the blogs all buzzing about them. I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on the different vendors. I have Matts WC too, they are just starting to get going. Let then season begin!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't complain about a big ripe tomato! No ripe CP's here yet, but lots of green ones. We have ripe Sungolds and Supersweet 100s. I am hoping for an Early Girl soon!
ReplyDeleteCP very beautiful. So many varieties you are growing. We are in winter now and the only tomatoes that survive and currantly producing are yellow currant and yellow pear cherry tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteI am also curious about the CP seed trial. I am growing them for the first time this season.
ReplyDeleteGotta love the Matt's WC. They are indeed wild, but boy do they produce.
Enjoy your first tomato! Mine are a long way off :-(
Oh my! What a prize for the 4th of July! Enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteNice! Your plants look so healthy! You are going to make many a blogger envious with these!
ReplyDeleteSue, I'll post on the flavor after we eat it. Hopefully your tomatoes will ripen sooner rather then later!
ReplyDeletejohanna, We are really hoping for a good tomato harvest this year...I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed!
tami, We just love the CP's around here. The CP experiment will be interesting.
Villager, It was not the variety that I expected to ripen first.
MKgirl, well at least you are getting some winter tomatoes to enjoy!
Ali, The CP trial is interesting already. The first to sprout and the biggest wasn't the first to ripen. I'll share the details when I have all the details to share. Yes, you gotta love the Matt's!! We have been enjoying ripe ones for two weeks now. They are also great to dry...just like candy but better!
Marcia, It was definitely a prize! "The Italian" is so excited I even got a big kiss for that one! He actually has dreams about tomatoes :)
APGal, The tomatoes are looking good so far....I just need to keep "The Italian" happy!
ReplyDeleteThat's a beauty of a first tomato of the season. Well done!
ReplyDeleteWe have a couple of Sun Golds ripening up but they are the one off first ones and it may be a bit before more come behind it. We have lots of green tomato fruit on the vine but nothing close to cracking color yet. Several weeks probably before that happens - but in the meantime we may get some Sun Gold cherry tomatoes to keep us from being too anxious about it.
Oh I am jealous. Those cherokees look good. I would have eaten that right up.
ReplyDeleteI'm just going to go into my room and pout. Maybe even cry a bit. With the exception of that Bloody Butcher, my tomatoes are going to be very late this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura, I don't know how long before we have another ripe CP...but we have lots of MWC and the Black Cherries are starting to ripen too. At least you have some tomatoes to eat while you are waiting!
ReplyDeleteJane, I would have eaten too if my husband wasn't a man who has tomato dreams!! You think he would be dreaming about me!!
Granny, I think that you are a bit too old for pouting! You will have some more maters soon!!
Robin, I most likely won't see a tomato until the end of July. I hope. This year has had some strange weather to say the least. My tomatoes are still in the bloom stage. Rutgers are a little later tomato to begin with so they always come in a little later but are strong and healthy plants that hardly ever get disease or even bugs. I've grown them for the last couple years and have been very satisfied with them. I'll have to be satisfied with roadside stands and farmer markets for a month. They are in full swing now even though the local gardens are not quite producing the stands are bring the first of harvest in from Missouri which is a couple hundred miles to the south. It's still more local than California or Florida.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day in the garden.
Beautiful CP tomato, and I can't wait to see those Paul robes later....
ReplyDeleteYou're going to have a good haul of tomatoes
ReplyDeleteFantastic! The Paul Robeson weren't very productive for me this year, they look like they might like your climate better :)
ReplyDeleteRobin, I grew Paul Robeson for the first time last year and not only did they grow better than the rest, they also tasted the best. Plus, they look really cool on the inside! I've got several on 2 plants this year and can't wait.
ReplyDeleteDavid, Although your tomatoes are going to be awhile, at least you can buy some semi-local tomatoes to keep you happy!
ReplyDeleteEG, I can't wait to see how big those Paul Robes get and how they taste. I had no idea they would be so big...thanks!
Sue, We are really hoping for a good haul this year. I ran out of canned tomatoes half way through this past winter.
Erin, Those Paul Robes are just amazing! I hope that they taste as good as they look!
Vic, I am so happy to hear that they are a great tasting tomato...now they better hurry up and get ripe!
What a beautiful array of tomatoes you have..I'm waiting for some ripe plums to show up, they seem to be the fastest growers..Waiting is the pits :o(
ReplyDeleteI just hate waiting too! I think us gardeners tend to get a bit impatient when it comes to our crops. After all that hard work we want it now!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the different varieties of tomato plants. It's a good thing I don't like fresh tomatoes or I would end up with just a tomato garden with all the varieties I would want to grow.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you will have quite a large harvest of tomatoes really soon.
Congrats on your mato! I think last year CP was my first to ripen too. Yummy! I have serious tomato envy!
ReplyDeleteThat's a beauty, congrats, all I got are cherry tomatoes, no slicer or paste matoes.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I never liked fresh tomatoes until about 11 years ago when I tasted some fresh heirlooms with olive oil & basil. Ever since that day, I can't get enough of them. They are nothing like the ones my mother used to grow.
ReplyDeleteHolly, We ate that tomato today on fresh baked bread...boy, it was good!
Mac, It was tasty...now we want some more!
I'm glad it ripened early for you. Last year it was one of the first in my garden too. Which is weird since it shouldn't be. It isn't an early tomato. I wonder how many strains you really have. My seeds came from Dan. I wouldn't be surprised if Thomas got them from Dan too. And I think EG and Dan traded Cherokee Purple tomato seeds at one point. It would be interesting to know if they really are different lines.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I have been keeping notes on all 4 plants. It will be very interesting to see if they taste any different and how well each one produces. I have had CP's in the past that I was not happy with and some that were absolutely wonderful!
ReplyDelete