Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008

This is a Hoosier tomato, born and bred in the farmland of Indiana. I looked very closely, but I did not see anything that would indicate that this tomato had an affinity for basketball (which is a sure sign of a Hoosier if I ever saw one). But, I am sure that when I am not looking, there is a faint flicker of TV light coming from my veggie garden due to these tomatoes watching replays of Bobby Knight games.

I also scoured the internet but could not find why these tomatoes were name “Hugh’s”. While I am fairly certain it is most likely the name of the original grower, his or her history has been lost to time and all that remains of their lagacy is a pale yellow tomato.  Let’s see if it is a worthy legacy.

The description from the company I got it from reads:

Heirloom variety from Indiana in the 1940’s. Tall, heavy plants grow very large, 1-2 lb., beefsteak tomatoes that are pale yellow, thin-skinned, with a touch of pink on the blossom end. They are very meaty, and delicious seemingly bursting with summer sweetness. Truly on of the absolute best yellows. Indeterminate. 85 days.

The Beauty Pageant:

Size: Large. Easily 1 – 2 pounds.

Shape: Typical beefsteak.. Slightly oblong and squared up. Lumpy and bumpy.

Color: A pale yellow both inside and out. The only exception is just a kiss of pink in the meat and skin at the blossom end.

The inside: Very meaty tomato. Thick cores with sliver thin chambers. Gel is not loose and holds up well.

Texture: Just a little mealy. This is another one that holds together well, but is soft to the bite.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: This tomato has a strong flavor but with low acid. It has a sweet undertone with a more complex tomato-melon dominate flavor. But, as I said, no real “bite” due to the low acid. The flavor is delicate though because of this. It would have a hard time standing up to other flavors.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt makes this a sweeter tomato but absolutely kills that complex melon-tomato flavor.

Cooking Thoughts: This is certainly a candidate for a side dish tomato. A great one if the acid in tomatoes bothers you but you enjoy the flavor of tomatoes. Frequently, low acid tomatoes are also low taste tomato but this one is good. Structurally, it would be good on a sandwich, but you would need to be careful what you paired it with as it has a hard time standing up to more powerful flavors.

Growing Notes:
Healthy, large plant but I have only gotten 3 ripe tomatoes off of it this year. I have read that this is a late performing tomato, but in my garden, late is not a good thing. If this tomato does not start producing soon, it will have taken up a lot of space for very little return.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
Probably not. Don’t get me wrong, this a fantastic yellow tomato and I would recommend it to anyone who likes tomatoes, but I like tomatoes with acid so this is just not a tomato for me.

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008

Yet one more black for me to try. This one was sent to me to try, so I did not really choose it but as I am a black tomato fan, I am looking forward to it. One should never look gift black tomatoes in the mouth, or roots, or leaves or…

Anyway, let’s see how gift tomatoes taste.

The description from the company I got it from reads:

Heirloom from Russia. Sweet black taste in a medium sized, brownish, maroon/ purple fruit. This is one that has gotten recent attention in tomato circles. Indeterminate 80 days.

The Beauty Pageant:
Size: About the size of a baseball.

Shape: Mostly round.

Color: Burgundy with green shoulders. One thing I noticed is that this is a really shiny tomato.

The inside: Small core and thin walls. The gel is super tight, almost like a stuffer tomato.

Texture: Due to the thin walls and small core, there is not much meat to have, but what is there is pretty smooth.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: The gel carries the taste of this tomato. The gel it great. Nice tangy and smoky flavor, like you would expect from a black tomato. Unfortunately, the meat is pretty bland. Even more unfortunately there is not much gel in each tomato. The result is an initial burst of flavor which fades quickly to mush then returns on the aftertaste. Odd sort of roller coaster flavor.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt helps draw out the flavor of the gel so that it is there the whole time instead of fading. The salt does dull the flavor a bit but not too much.

Cooking Thoughts: This is a tough one. No good for sauce unless you keep the seeds. No good for slicing for a side dish or sandwich. You really could just use them in salads.

Growing Notes:
This one is just not producing ripe tomatoes, which is a little late in the season. But other than that, it is a healthy plant with plenty of tomatoes.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
No. The gel is great, but I need a whole tasty tomato.

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008

I was thinking when I bought this that the name might have something to do with being as big as a bear claw (which would be a valid observation as they are huge) but now I am thinking that these were named for the fact that every one of them that have come off the plant looks like it was ravaged by a bear claw.

This is an ugly tomato. Cracking is a severe problem and beyond that slugs seems to be extraordinarily attracted to them, so often times I have had to pick them a bit green just to keep the slugs at bay.

The description from the company I got it from reads:

This pink tomato comes from Ben Quisenberry, tomato collector from Ohio. If you are looking for large, tasty tomatoes, add this one to your list to try. Seed company states that this plant will yield large plants and large tomatoes, one pound or more with excellent taste.

The Beauty Pageant:
Size: Huge. I have only had one “small” one and that was around a pound. The others were much closer to 2 pounds.

Shape: Mangled in a round sort of way.

Color: Vibrant, deep pink.

The inside: Solid tomato. Despite the fact that this is a huge tomato, there are probably only 20 seeds inside. The core is nearly as big as the tomato itself.

Texture: Soft, but firmly so. I know that makes no sense, but the tomato holds up to cutting well, but you can take a bite out of it no problem. The meat is a little grainy but not too bad.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: Solid tomato flavor, but not a lot of tang to it. More like a low-acid tomato.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt brings out the tomato flavor even more.

Cooking Thoughts: This is a sandwich tomato if there ever was one. Slices well, but bites easy. No messy gel and solid tomato flavor in each bite. It would also be good for sauce as there would be little to no de-seeding necessary.

Growing Notes:
This has produced well for an heirloom beefsteak. As noted, slugs have been a serious problem with this plant. The plant is also large, so you would need to plan for that when growing.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
Probably not. Plain Jane tomato and I want a wild child.

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008

Mmmmm… Chocolate. The mere mention of chocolate is enough to turn most women into La Femme Homer Simpson. So, when I found a tomato named Chocolate Stripes, how could I resist?

And my, my, my, my, my did it come off the vine looking like a million bucks. Sure, Some have looked like a super model who had gone 3 rounds with La Hoya, bent and pushed out of shape, but you could tell that there was some real beauty in there. The color is truly beautiful. If it tastes half as good as it looks, it will be a winner.

The description from the company I got it from reads:

This is another boat shaped, u-shaped tomato. Its shape is similar to Purple Calabash. Plants yield a plentiful crop of 3-4 inch, mahogany colored fruit with dark, olive green-striping. Seed company says that these fruits have a “delicious, complex, rich, sweet, earthy tomato flavor” with makes this tomato a “black” by looks and taste. Indeterminate, 79 days.

The Beauty Pageant:

Size: They range from just under a pound to close to 2 pounds..

Shape: When they grow normally, they have a nice round shape, but it seems as though this plant is prone to fasciation so many of the tomatoes come out in a mangled U shape. Tend to look like it was a punching bag when it does that.

Color: As mentioned, fantastic color. Dark red, almost brown color with striking green-gold stripes.

The inside: Like many too pretty things, this just fell apart under slicing. The gel is plentiful and very wet and can hardly keep itself together. The core is thick but the walls were thin, so when this was sliced, many times the walls fell apart without the support of the tomato shape.

Texture: Very soft but smooth texture.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: Damn it, I should have known it. Much like the stereotypical buxom beach blonde, you can look at it all day long but the minute someone opens their mouth, there is not much there. Watery, weak flavor. There are some hints of sweetness and tomato flavor, but it washes away quickly.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt cranks up the sweet quite a bit. There is still just a hint of tomato flavor in it.

Cooking Thoughts: This tomato is so sloppy, that the only thing I can think to do with it is to sauce it or juice it. It is too watery for anything else.

Growing Notes:
Leggy plant but it has not produced a lot of tomatoes so far.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
No. I need more than a pretty face. Lovely to look at but disappoints on the tounge.

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008

I ordered this tomato again, because last year the plant apparently could not deal with the rigors of living and commited suicide. It failed to thrive and died for no reason I could determine so I am chalking it up to a fragile mental health. There is normally one of them every year.

But I was anxious to try one of these tomatoes. After all, I am a wine lush, so a tomato named “Vintage Wine” is right up my alley. So I requested one that had a healthy outlook on life and it has done beautifully this year. Let’s hope they taste as good as they have produced.

The description from the company I got it from reads:

One of the very few pastel-hued tomatoes. A favorite of gourmet grocers, with attractive, 1/2 lb., pale pink fruits set off by golden stripes. This tomato has a very mild flavor, that is still elegant, sweet, and very tasty. Tall, plants with potato-leaved foliage. Indeterminate. - 85 days.

The Beauty Pageant:

Size: A medium sized tomato. The size is pretty consistent on the fruits.

Shape: Wobbly and lumpy. Also, the skin seems to be very thin and is easily damaged on the vine. While the skin color is lovely, almost every tomato comes off the vine with healed over damage spots and cracking lines..

Color: Pretty pink with gold stripes.

The inside: A block like, thick core and thin walls. The seeds are on the larger side. The gel feels pretty loose but holds up well.

Texture: A very firm tomato. I know this is ripe, but it is nearly as firm as a green tomato would be. The meat is a bit mealy.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: Strong tomato flavor with a solidly tangy backbone. Not quite sour, but it is tangy enough to make you want to pucker a little.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: The salt cancels out the tanginess and downplays the tomato flavor, which leaves this with a pretty bland flavor.

Cooking Thoughts: Being a firm tomato, this would be good for people who like chunky tomato sauces. The strong tomato flavor and the tanginess would also do well in a sauce and would hold their flavor well for people looking for low-salt recipes.

Growing Notes:
A good, productive plant and the tomatoes are spaced out, so I get 1 or 2 tomatoes every few days rather than a whole bunch all at once.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
No. The texture turns me off. Flavor was pretty good, but it is too solid of a tomato for me to be wild about it.

We interrupt our Tomato Tastings to bring you news of Hanna’s life…

I don’t often share the intimate details of my life with this audience. You may know when I lose a dear one or that my children have started school. But beyond these small details, my garden blog is dedicated to… well… gardening things.

Today, I need to share with you one of the most difficult decisions that I have ever had to make in my life. And I can say that with 100% honesty. Nothing was harder than this.

Several years ago, my husband shared with me that he had wanted to join the military. Like any sane wife, I said “Absolutely not.” After all, babies are hard to raise and I certainly did not want to be raising them by myself if I could help it.

But babies grow up and this year they are all grown up enough to go away to school, for the entire day. My husband did not ask, but did look at me imploringly with very convincing puppy eyes. (He has amazingly convincing puppy eyes.) And after saying no like at least 20 more times, I finally said yes.

And so my husband and I decided that he would join the National Guard reserves. After a massive diet and exercise program, a small letter writing campaign, and 2 months of back and forth with a lovely recruiter who seemingly goes only by the one name “Santiago”, at 11:15AM today, my husband was sworn in as a member of the National Guard.

He will leave me April 7, 2009 for a little over 6 months for basic and specialty training. In this current political climate, it also means that it is inevitable that he will be called up for active duty where he will eventually be away for much longer.  Right now, I consider basic to be the training wheels version of deployment.

Since this is a gardening blog, I have to relate this back to gardening, right? Well, what it comes down to is that I will be losing half of myself. While my husband is not an active gardener, as many couples will tell you, your other is an essential part of your garden regardless.

They may do the heavy work, they may lend a helping hand in the creation of yard and project and they may even be an active participant in building a garden masterpiece. But the most important part is that they are an ear. They listen patiently to your triumphs and tribulations, no matter how trivial. They understand that your need to vent about vine borers and slugs is essential to your mental gardening well being. They happily open their mouths and accept the communion of our gardens, whether it be a freshly picked zucchini or a still warm tomato. They understand us. That is what a gardener spouse does better than anything in the world.

And I will lose mine right at that most important time of spring. For the gardening year 2009, I will turn to ask him to mow the lawn or try this fabulous tomato and I will find that he will not be there. He will be in Missouri, doing drill or shooting a gun. Which is so far from my garden on so many levels…

So where does this go? Why did we do this if it hurts so much? Because at the end of the day or a lifetime, a person should be able to stand up and regret only the things they did, not the things they did not. The one hope is that in living like this, you have nothing at all to regret when everything is said and done.

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008

So I bought this tomato because I thought, “Gee, how cool, a Japanese tomato.” Stupid me. Despite all evidence to the contrary (mainly the NAME), this tomato is actually a Russian tomato.

No one is quite sure why they named this a Japanese tomato, though some suspect that it was an attempt to bring a certain amount of sophistication to the table. I guess Yu-Gi-Oh has a whole different meaning in the Eastern Block than it does here.

The description from the company I got it from reads:

Attractive tomatoes are the shape and size of a Bartlett pear with a beautiful purplish-brick color; the fruit are perfect and smooth with no cracks. The flavor is absolutely sublime, having all the richness of fine chocolate. This was our heaviest producer for 2004. The plants produced loads of fruit all summer long. It has become a favorite with many seed savers and we are glad to be able to offer such a colorful variety.

The Beauty Pageant:

Size: The largest so far is the large one in the picture and is a little bigger than the palm of my hand. They seem to grow like nesting dolls with the one near the branch being the largest with the ones at the end of the stem being about the size of cherry tomatoes.

Shape: Pear shaped and shapely. Smooth with no outside issues.

The inside: Tight, central core with two cambers. Rather thick walls for a tomato this size. Gel is tight .

Texture: Very soft and silky. Smooth. The skin is a little thick, which is a bit distracting.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: It has that rich flavor that I love about black tomatoes. It is almost smoky and is reminiscent of a beef flavor with the tomato flavor. The skin provides just a little bit of sourness.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt does not really do this tomato any favors. That smoky flavor is still there, but it is downplayed and there is no other flavor that steps up to the plate to replace it.

Cooking Thoughts: I personally think this would make a great sauce, but it would be equally good served as a side dish, in a salad or on a sandwich. I don’t think you would want to use it for salsa as it has a flavor that is a bit different than someone might be use to from a typical tomato.

Growing Notes:
This is a nice productive plant. Healthy and going strong.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
Yes. I love these kinds of tomatoes. Black tomatoes are the panacea of tomato flavor for me and this black tomato has that flavor nailed.

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008

“Dr. Jones, hand over ze Green Moldovan… or ve kill ze girl.”

Really, the name sounds like some kind of rare green jeweled idol that could lead to the end of humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. But no, this is a tomato. A true Green tomato meaning that when it is ripe, it still holds onto its green color. What makes this green tomato even better is that it also has the “green” shoulders, that in a red tomato produces a “black” tomato. Here, it just make a green tomato even greener.

The reason I bought this tomato is because it is among the harder to find tomato varieties. The rare and elusive Green Moldovan. If the world ends while I am in possession of it, I’ll let you know.

The description from the company I got it from reads:

Bright lime-green fruit have a tropical taste. This variety has round, flattened 10 oz. beefsteak-type fruit that are beautiful when sliced to reveal their lovely neon colored flesh. A very rare heirloom from Moldova that has been a favorite of mine for years. It was one of the first green varieties I grew.

The Beauty Pageant:

Size: Small beefsteak. True to the description, there is no way any of the fruit on the plant will hit a pound.

Shape: Wobbly, like a child tried to mold a tomato shape. No side is symmetrical and all are a bit lumpy. Slightly smashed.

The inside: Thick core with two narrow chambers down either side. Gel is loose but not sloppy. I am certain that this is a ripe tomato, but I would not term the inside as “neon”.

Texture: Silky and juicy, which surprising as it holds up nicely to slicing.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: Sour with a good strong tomato backbone. I can see why the description says “tropical” as the sour is reminiscent of citrus fruit. But there is plenty of tomato flavor to balance it.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: The salt tones down the sour on the first bite so you get a just slightly sweet tomato flavor. But as you chew and then swallow, the sour returns and you are left with a nice sour/tomatoey aftertaste.

Cooking Thoughts: This is a jewel on the plate and slices nice. Definitely one for a side dish. Would be great in a salad or sandwich or in salsa for some interesting color. Not sure you would want to sauce these though. The green color would be alarming.

Growing Notes:
Not the most productive plant, mostly due to the fact that it is pretty self contained. It did not branch much, so would do well in a square foot garden or somewhere where space was at a premium. All of the tomatoes on this plant have cracked (as you can see from the pic) We have had an incredible amount of rain this season, but these seem much more susceptible than others to cracking.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
Yes. While it is not as productive as I would like, it sets itself up as a gourmet tomato. A tomato I would reserve for company, to wow the dinner guests. The fun color, complex taste and nice texture make a good combination.

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008

I grew up in hillbilly country. Cow tipping was not just a nightly pastime, it was a certified sport. I have often wondered if there was a difference between a redneck and a hillbilly. In my mind, hillbilly just sounds like a nicer person. Like Jed from the Beverly Hillbillies. Redneck are what you call a hillbilly when he is being an asshole.

So, when you have a tomato called Hillbilly, you hope that they mean it in that old fashion, barefoot and hayseed sort of way. Not the redneck sort of way.

This tomato at least comes by its name honestly, as it was developed a few centuries ago in West Virginia, the heart of hillbilly country. Nice people, few teeth.

This tomato was a rough one to judge on ripeness. Pictures on the internet range from deep orange with just a slight yellow marbling to yellowish-green with a slight blush inside. I went with my gut on this one.

The description from the company I got it from reads:

Hillbilly Tomato is an ancient heirloom from the hills of West Virginia. Fruits are large, mild with an unusual orange-yellow color streaked and mottled with red.

The Beauty Pageant:

Size: Smallish beefsteak. There are a few larger ones on the plant, but 1lb is about all any of them are.

Shape: Flattened and bumpy. Rolling shoulders and rounded bottom.

The inside: Classic beefsteak. Thick central core with multiple chambers around the center. Super tight gel and very little of it. Makes for a pretty dry cut tomato.

Texture: Firm, but not unripe firm. A little grainy.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: Whoa! That is a surprising tomato. I had read that they were sweet, but it tastes like they are more a piece of fruit than a tomato. I bet in a blindfold test I could convince someone that they were eating very ripe peaches or melon. It is that sweet. And very unexpected. The gel is sour, but there is so little gel that it has little impact on the flavor.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt just makes it sweeter. Almost too sweet.

Cooking Thoughts:This is a nice slicer and looks spectacular on the plate. Certainly a tomato you can serve as a side dish. Your dinner guests will be surprised as well. This is defiantly a tomato that will cause their tastebuds to do a double take. Not sure how much many people would like this on a sandwich though. Tomato taste is not really strong and you would have a completely different flavor combo. There is one thing that this tomato would be fun for and that is to serve with or as a dessert. It is sweet enough to easily replace fruit, so it might be fun to make a pie or serve with cheese.

Growing Notes:
Productive plant. Pretty self contained.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
Maybe. The flavor is pretty cool and I can’t wait till the next one is ripe so I can serve it to my kids. The problem is that the flavor is so sweet and so surprising that it will be difficult to do anything with it other than serve it as a “gee-whiz” sort of side dish.

Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2008

I bought these seeds in an effort to find a good early ripening tomato. Being in Cleveland, the growing season can fluctuate dramatically from one year to the next. This means that for the most part, you have to lay your bets on Mother Nature’s temper. Odds are pretty long that she will be kind, so investing in some short season tomatoes is a good idea. Manitoba promises to do that. Let’s see how we did with the tomato bookie this year.

The description from the company I got it from reads:

6-1/2 oz. brick-red tomatoes are smooth and slightly flattened in shape. Extremely productive and very early variety developed in Manitoba, Canada. Determinate. 60 days.

The Beauty Pageant:

Size: Medium/small. Slightly larger than a golf ball.

Shape: Smooth and round. Just a smidgen flat on the top.

The inside: Compact cells inside. Thick core, thinner walls. Rather large seeds in comparison to the size of the tomato.

Texture: Not mealy, but not really silky. I think the largish seeds contribute to that. It has tough skin.

Tasting:

Off the Vine Tasting: This is a sour tomato. It is a nice sour, like a lemon. No hint of sweetness.

Sliced and Salted Tasting: Salt adds some sweetness to the sour, which is a fun combination.

Cooking Thoughts:The sour flavor lend itself well to gourmet salad and appetizers. I don’t think you would want to use this in sauce or in salsa.

Growing Notes:
Productive plant. I am not so sure that it is as early as it claims to be, but it is early enough. Leggy plant, but tied up nicely.

Will Hanna grow this one again:
Probably not. Interesting flavor, but not the kind that I am looking for. On top of that, the very sour flavor would really limit what I could use it for in cooking.