Starting tomatoes this year

As the White Rabbit declared he was late, so am I. Last year, I started in late January and now, 'tis early March. As I did last year, I soaked the seeds in water for an hour before placing them in potting soil.

The seeds I chose (and who knows what germination luck I'll get) were: Black Krim, Momotaro (hybrid), Sungold (hybrid), Paul Robeson and Brandywine Sudduth. I personally collected the seeds for all except for the hybrids which came from Kitagawa Seeds.

2012 Tomato Post-morten

Pineapple Tomato

Momotaro Tomato

The tomato plants have been pulled up and composted, to come back next year as soil.

To recap, this year, in my limited space, I grew several Black Krim, several Momotaro, several Pineapple and two Sungold cherry tomato, one in the garden and one on the balcony.

Overall, it was a very good tomato year in that we did not get the usual coastal fog in the summer, not a even a hint. This means, tomatoes, plant and fruits, were happy.

The SunGold on the balcony was a bust, however. It only gets a few hours of sun every day, at the most four hours a day, not enough to produce a health plant. I did get some cherry tomatoes but not enough to warrant the space, as I had it in a 15 gallon pot. I'm not doing this again for 2013.

For next year, I would have fewer Pineapple, perhaps just one plant rather than three. They produce very large fruits that are 'okay' in flavor and not great. I would prefer to use my limited space for another beefsteak, maybe a Sudduth's Brandywine, if the weather holds true to 2012. Also on my wishlist would be a Paul Robeson. So I would keep one plant but add a Sudduth's Brandywine and a Paul Robeson for next year.

The Black Krim were fantastic. They started early and ended late. It stays for next year. The SunGold is always a monster overachiever. It stays for next year. Momotaro is a faithful heavy producer of gorgeous sweet tomatoes. This also is a 'go' for next year. The only negative, and this goes for the SunGold as well, is that it is a hybrid. That means, I don't save seeds as the next generation is unstable.

I'll start seeds in February and March 2013.

tomatoes one block from the beach

Selected tomatoes from my harvest today. This Momotaro looks simply gorgeous. This year, I have only planted four varieties: Black Krim, Momotaro, Sungold, and Pineapple. I planted seeds the end of January this season. I nurtured them inside on a east facing window and then later I acclimated them on my balcony throughout our colder months.

Momotaro, a hybrid, and Black Krim, a Russian heirloom, do well here one block from the beach. However, Black Krim has peaked. I only have a few left while Momotaro is probably close to its peak. Looking below, the center one is Black Krim. Notes to me for next year: plant more Black Krim. I crave Black Krim's smoky and slight salty taste. These I can eat as is, like an apple. They are best, in my opinion, sliced, drizzled with a good extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with a good salt.

The Pineapple Tomato comes from a tomato I bought at the local Farmers' Market a few years ago. I saved the seeds. The last two years, they did not do well at all. They are not well-adapted to growing next to the beach. This year, we have had sunnier and warmer days. This will be the first year I have tomatoes.This one is just beginning to show its true color, which is yellow with orange mottling throughout.

The Sungold is a hybrid. I have only one plant, as it tends to be an overachiever.

First Momotaro

The first Momotaro.

Tomato update

Let's see. I have green Momotaro.

These Momotaros grew in a bunch.

I have green Sungold.

I have green Black Krim.

I finally have Pineapple tomato blooms. These are blooming later than all others. Very photogenic, I might add.

I spied a small Pineapple tomato. The first!

Lastly, the Sungold on the balcony in a pot seem to be ripening already. We have had a few, and they are delicious.

Green tomatoes

I've got tomatoes developing on nearly every tomato plant. The one exception is Pineapple, which seems to be just flowering now. This one is most definitely NOT a cooler climate tolerant tomato and represents my little experiment for trying to grow a regular tomato in a cooler climate. To help them, I did plant them in the sunniest warmest parts of my plot. We'll see if we get any fruit at all because in a month or two, we will get the coastal fog flowing in around noon time. And, of course, this doesn't make for optimum tomato growing.

Sungold

Black Krim

More Black Krim

Momotaro

Sungold on my balcony (in a pot)

Starting Tomatoes for 2012

This year, I started my tomatoes from seed on 1/23/2012 and 1/24/2012. I chose these dates taking into consideration that last year, I had started in March, which was simply too late. The year before, I started in December, and that was way too early.
I also chose the tomatoes very carefully, taking into consideration our cool temperature climate; this year, they are Black Krim, Momotaro, SunGold and Pineapple. No others because I find I have too many seedlings each year and not enough space. The Black Krim, a cooler climate tolerant tomato, should be perfect for our one block from the beach climate. As for the Pineapple, I think it won't do that well since it seems to prefer sunnier and warmer places so this is my challenge for the year. SunGold does well, since it is a cherry. The Momotaro does okay but I like this tomato and don't want to give up on it.
I harvested the Black Krim and Pineapple seeds directly from the tomato. The Momotaro and Sungold are hybrids and came from the Kitagawa seed company.
This year, I decided to soak the seeds in water for an hour, a new step but I don't know if it made a difference.
 
Germination rate was 100% except for the Pineapple seeds (50%).


I plant the seeds into small containers.
 As the seedlings grow, I transplant into larger containers. Since I grow the seedlings indoors in my window, I find I need to cold-acclimitize the seedlings before taking them outdoors else they do not grow well. Our outdoor overnight temps drop to 50 F, which I think is pushing the comfort boundaries. The Black Krim have been slowly acclimitized outdoors overnight over a two week period.
Of the six Black Krim seedlings, one has already been given away, one will be given away to a local group, and the rest will be planted in my garden.
This Black Krim has already been planted into the ground.
 
I follow the instructions from here for the most part.

Finally the Momotaro ripens

This is one of my favorite tomatoes, the Momotaro. I grow it even though it is a hybrid, as opposed to an heirloom tomato, so I must grow it from seed I buy. My source is Kitazawa Seeds, a wonderful Oakland based seed company specializing in Asian plants.  I've been told I could use the seeds from the second generation tomato by a local grower but I'd rather not chance it. While the Momotaro is technically not considered a cool weather tolerant tomato, I still find it grows okay though not great here, one block from the beach. I bet it would probably grow better in a warmer area, such as more inland, but I do get a few tomatoes that look like this. Momotaro is a low acidity tomato with a beautiful pinkish hue.

There is a Japanese folk tale associated with the name Momotaro. It is about a boy who arrives inside a large peach.  Certainly the Momotaro tomato does resemble a large peach. The boy is a gift who brightens the lives of an elderly childless couple. One day, the boy, named Momotaro or peach boy, decides he must go on his journey, much like the hero's journey that Joseph Campbell wrote of, to face the ogres somewhere far away. Along the way, Momotaro finds helpers: the pheasant, the dog, and the monkey. When they reach the ogres, they work together to defeat the ogres. The ogres give up their treasure of gold to Momotaro. Momotaro returns home to his parents with the gold. Now they can live happily ever after.

Tomatoes this week

To summarize, they are all still green.
Black cherry tomatoes, still green.

Sungold cherry tomatoes, still green.

Japanese Black Trifele clump, still green.

Japanese Black Trifele, still green. These two tomatoes were the first to form in my garden. Online, I have seen maturity pegged at 74 days. We are now at about 76 days. Our cool summer weather probably increases the days needed to mature these tomatoes.

Momotaro tomato, still green.

Black Krim, still green. This one has ballooned out quite nicely.

Tomato update

New this week: Black cherry tomatoes.


Japanese Black Trifele tomatoes look the same from last week. Green.


Similarly, Sungold tomatoes plateaued in their growth but are still rather green.

Momotaro tomato continues to power through their initial growth.

The Black Krim tomato decides to blimp out.


Cluster of Japanese Black Trifele.

Tomato update

No change from last week, these Japanese Black Trifele tomatoes. I think they aren't going to grow in size anymore.

Sungold tomatoes. No photo of the plant today but it is growing like the plant from the Little Shop of Horrors without the teeth.

The one Momotaro tomato. Surprised to see its rapid growth.

Last week's Momotaro tomato.

New: a Black Krim tomato.

Tomato update

Update on the first tomatoes to form in my garden.I don't know exactly what they are because this plant started as a volunteer but I'm guessing Japanese Black Trifele because of the fruit morphology and leaves.

My Sungold cherry tomatoes this week.

I think this is the year of the Japanese Black Trifele in my garden. I started this plant from seed.

Spied the first Momotaro. This is one of my favorite hybrid tomato plants. It does 'just okay' in our foggy summer clime but I try to grow it every year anyway.

Dealing with gardening procrastination

Funny, it almost felt like a clock was ticking, this dire need to get the tomato seeds going. But I was procrastinating big time this season for some reason. So I ended up doing what usually helps me in the past: I broke the task into microactions.
Details
Step one: find those darn tomato seeds. Since they are buried somewhere in the back of my fridge, stored in a plastic box inside a plastic freezer bag, this might have turned into a project of its own. But I forged ahead and it was actually pretty simple and easy.
Step two: figure out which ones to use. The hardest step because I have so many to choose from and very little space to plant. I narrowed it down to six varieties.
Step three: find the pieces to the task. The sterile potting soil, the cups to plant them in, the wooden labels, and the containers to put the cups in. I finally found them hidden in the balcony storage.
Step four: fill the cups with soil and then water. I let them sit overnight to make sure the soil is not too soggy and not too dry.
Step five: plant the seeds, make the labels, and rewater.

A week after planting, I have 5 out of 12 germinating (I planted two seeds each, I am a gambler). This year will be a minimalist tomato garden. I'm hoping I'll have one of each in the end: Sungold, Japanese Black Trifele, Momotaro, Ace, Black Cherry, Black Krim. These are ones I know can handle being in a coastal garden where the summers are cold and foggy and the sun doesn't shine much.

I'll keep you posted on how many germinates in the end. The Sungold and Black Trifele have germinated first, one Momotaro next.

What do you do to deal with gardening procrastination?

Anticipation...

Green Black Cherry tomatoes

Green Japanese Black Trifele

Green Momotaro tomatoes

Green Stupice tomatoes

Green bean