Tomatoes Gone Wild

It’s the end of the July in Maryland, and what a weird growing season it has been! I am finally seeing “real” sized tomatoes ripening in the garden. Although it has been a tight race and I thought that the Cherokee Purple was going to win, it looks like true to name, “Early Girl” is going to be my first ripe tomato. However, it looks like the birds had started finding the Cherokee, so I pulled it when I saw what looked like a beak mark so that the fruit can finish ripening inside. For the past week or so, I’ve been enjoying my cherry tomatoes, although my husband has been teasing me because the cherry tomatoes that have ripened have not made it into the house except for yesterday. I’ve been getting a few ripe ones a day, anywhere from 3-5, so they have just been eaten standing in the garden (the best way to enjoy a tomato). The cherry tomatoes I grew this year are “Sun Golds” and taste very sweet. I would say they are definitely a hit. The plant is full of them, and they are awesome. I’ve also been snacking a bit on my green beans and getting a few of those daily. I’m now going to wait to harvest them until I can get a good 2 servings. I think I may be pulling them a bit early, but boy have they been good! (Worth all of those nights slug hunting, let me tell you).

But in any case, I wanted to do an update on my wild surprise tomato plants. The one growing in the rocks (See my post called “Life finds a way”) has definitely thrived. I caged it, and it now has it’s first fruit. I can tell by the fruit that it was one of my favorites from last year, the “Juliet” tomato. As an added bonus, this plant and the new wild ones growing seem to be the healthiest plants growing this year! I’m loving it. I haven’t mentioned it, but I also have a wild “tomato bush” growing near where I kept my vines and rotting plants from last year. The bush is really about 3 different tomato plants that I’m just letting grow wild like the vine it is. And they are starting to produce fruit as well. I’m hoping to be up to my ears in tomatoes this year, and happy that I decided to start canning this year. Mmmm homemade tomato sauce and salsas!!! 🙂

Here are some pictures of the tomato plants:

My Wild Tomato Plants:

Wild Tomato Identified...

...As a Juliet plant

Another tomato vine growing in the rocks...

What kind of plant will you be?

My Tomato Bush

With Type 1 fruit

...and Type 2 Fruit

And for tomato lovers… Tomato Porn (enjoy):

Sun Gold tomatoes

Juliet

Pink Girl

Early Girl

Lemon Boys - starting to turn yellow!

Brandywines continue to grow bigger

Celebrity Tomatoes

Cherokee Purple-- a much abused fruit

Mr. Stripeys

San Marzano plum tomato

I’ll post when I pick and weigh the Early Girl!