Most of the tomatoes are ripening now, which is a good thing because the temperature dropped to 4 C last night. Frosty nights are drawing near. It wasn’t a great year for tomatoes here. I think this was due to the rainy summer we experienced, with a paucity of the hot, sunny days I associate with tomato season. Still, we have enough to enjoy for a few weeks.
The dark tomatoes are Indigo Rose. They were on the small side, but perhaps in better weather they might have been bigger. This new variety was bred at Oregon State University for the antioxidant potential of the purple anthocyanins in the fruit. It is very plum-like, both on the outside and when sliced, with an orangy interior. It is open-pollinated, meaning you can save the seeds for next year.
The orange tomato is Indian Moon. This variety produced attractive, blemish-free fruit, but I only got a small number of tomatoes from my plants. For an orange tomato, I preferred Persimmon, which I grew a couple of years ago and reported on here.
The red tomatoes are Sub-Arctic Plenty. I grew them last year too. I had a better crop last summer, but the plants still did pretty well this year. I wrote about Sub-Arctic Plenty here.
The green tomato is Michael Pollan. It’s an indeterminate developed from Green Zebra. For a novelty tomato, I thought it did pretty well. It can be hard to tell when green tomatoes are ready to pick. These got a bit of an orange glow when they were ripe. It adds a nice shot of colour when sliced with other varieties on a plate.
Proving that taste is a personal thing, I liked the Michael Pollans the best, and thought the Indian Moons were a bit bland. RailGuy, on the other hand, liked the Indian Moons best and thought the Michael Pollans were bland. Go figure. You’ll have to grow them yourself and decide what you think. All together, they did make a very pretty, colourful platter.
I also grow Persimon and would say it is one of my favorite. I expect not only is taste personal but the same variety is probably different from year to year given the different growing conditions. Even from time to time. Last night we had slices of Marvel Stripes with oil and fresh garlic and I thought I should have been kinder to Marvel Stripe in my review!
It looks like you have plums mixed with the tomatoes. I suppose the “plums” are Indigo Rose. Does Michael Pollan eventually turn red or does it stay green? (The plate is very nice too!).
Mmm, oil and garlic Marvel Stripes. Sounds delicious. I like feta on tomatoes, too. I made some of these tomatoes into tomato soup, with a simple recipe I discovered last year. A treat with fresh bread or scones. (See Last of the Summer Tomatoes) The Pollans pretty much stay green, just a touch of orange. The Indigo roses are VERY plum-like. Worth a try, just for fun. I missed growing a beefsteak type tomato this year. I like them for freezing for winter stews and pasta dishes. Maybe Brandywines next year.
we found our first two ripe Tomatoes as we were covering the vines – we depend on chance donations of plants for growing Tomatoes, and this year chance came in a bit later than optimal
Beautiful platter! The zebras really set off the other three varieties. We’re still experimenting with finding any variety that will ripen for us.
Just now with lunch I fried up some green Early Girls that had fallen off their vines, and a Loblaws nursery “heirloom tomato” whose stem end was getting soft; these all came home from the allotment plot yesterday. The unspecified heirloom has olive shoulders and a brownish-red body. With a little maple sugar and apple-cider vinegar, greens and browns all tasted just fine!
Fred, I usually get a few volunteers springing up, but few are able to ripen before frost. You’re doing well if you got a few ripe tomatoes.
Dandy, Have you read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe?
No, ours weren’t volunteers, but brought from Toronto from a friend who can’t help starting garden plants, even though she lives in one room high in an apartment building. March is always so rushed for us, what with the end of the Federal Fiscal Year, that the Wood Frogs are out before we get anything started.
Yes, I have, and I loved it for the novel’s sake alone, but it really does merit bonus points for the recipe appendix!
Love, love your tomatoes!! We are just planting our winter garden.
Where we have been these last weeks everyone is VERY big on John Deere tractors. When I was in a local store they had JDeere napkins, plates, serving dishes, party invitations, etc. One style of napkin was very macho but the other, with the JDeere logo was pink and girly. Too funny!! I bought some for my girls game day. Love seeing your big IH.
Thanks for another fine set of posts.
Beautiful!! I would like to try some of those varieties next year.