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#1
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flavorless homegrown tomatoes
We bought a home last summer that came with 2 nice raised veggie beds.
Previous owner had kindly planted one of the beds in tomatoes - Early Girl and a beefsteak & when escrow closed we enjoyed some of the best tomatoes I've had in years. Rotated beds this year and planted those varieties as well as a Brandywine, Legend, Caspian Pink, and Sungold. Soil in the beds was identical - good soil with some organic amendments. Planted good healthy starts 5/15 and happily watched them overgrow their cages and load up with tomatoes. First to ripen have been the Legend and Early Girl which are perfectly plump and nicely red, but almost tasteless. Both are missing that extraordinary deep, sweet "gardeny taste" that only a fresh, homegrown, vine-ripened tomato achieves. They aren't bad, but they're sure a disappointment when your mouth is ready for the real deal...Only the Sungold have any flavor(they're a big hit), but way too little to make the BLT of my dreams. They get plenty of sun - weather's been nice and hot for a good month 80-100 degrees every day and they get watered at the roots regularly. Anybody have any ideas why the flavor just isn't developing? NT |
#2
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"ntantiques" wrote in message oups.com... We bought a home last summer that came with 2 nice raised veggie beds. Previous owner had kindly planted one of the beds in tomatoes - Early Girl and a beefsteak & when escrow closed we enjoyed some of the best tomatoes I've had in years. Rotated beds this year and planted those varieties as well as a Brandywine, Legend, Caspian Pink, and Sungold. Soil in the beds was identical - good soil with some organic amendments. Planted good healthy starts 5/15 and happily watched them overgrow their cages and load up with tomatoes. First to ripen have been the Legend and Early Girl which are perfectly plump and nicely red, but almost tasteless. Both are missing that extraordinary deep, sweet "gardeny taste" that only a fresh, homegrown, vine-ripened tomato achieves. They aren't bad, but they're sure a disappointment when your mouth is ready for the real deal...Only the Sungold have any flavor(they're a big hit), but way too little to make the BLT of my dreams. They get plenty of sun - weather's been nice and hot for a good month 80-100 degrees every day and they get watered at the roots regularly. Anybody have any ideas why the flavor just isn't developing? NT The first fruit from a plant isn't the best. Also, ease back on the watering while the fruit is maturing and ripening as that will concentrate the taste. |
#3
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ntantiques said:
First to ripen have been the Legend and Early Girl which are perfectly plump and nicely red, but almost tasteless. Both are missing that extraordinary deep, sweet "gardeny taste" that only a fresh, homegrown, vine-ripened tomato achieves. They aren't bad, but they're sure a disappointment when your mouth is ready for the real deal...Only the Sungold have any flavor(they're a big hit), but way too little to make the BLT of my dreams. They get plenty of sun - weather's been nice and hot for a good month 80-100 degrees every day and they get watered at the roots regularly. Anybody have any ideas why the flavor just isn't developing? One thing about Early Girls in particular (not sure about Legend). They will *look* red ripe but need an extra day or so on the plant to be 'properly' ripe. An occasional foliar-feed with liquified kelp (or the use of a fertilizer which contains kelp meal) is good insurance against slight deficiencies in trace minerals. And I agree with FDR, flavor usually improves through the season, and too much water 'dilutes' the flavor. My best-tasting 'sandwich size' tomatoes (this year) have been 'Anna Russian' and 'Stump of the World.' -- Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast) Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced. (attributed to Don Marti) |
#4
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On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 06:53:03 GMT, "FDR"
wrote: "ntantiques" wrote in message Tasteless tomatoes The first fruit from a plant isn't the best. Also, ease back on the watering while the fruit is maturing and ripening as that will concentrate the taste. I have whined here before that we've had a monsoon season rather than a summer, and I can attest to the fact that the excess watering has made a lot of the larger tomatoes tasteless. That could be in part because I'm bringing them inside and letting them finish ripening on the counter, but too many of them split if I don't. The smaller tomatoes split less and have better taste. Right now I have a Mortgage Lifter,a Box Car Willie, some volunteer yellow current tomatoes, and a Peron Sprayless still producing tomatoes, and one Druzba that is growing, but not producing well in the heat. The yellow current tomatoes and the smaller Peron Sprayless have the most flavor right now. Although, I did bring in a *huge* Mortgage Lifter for lunch today, and I'm hoping it has good flavor. We had almost 6 days with no rain, so I was able to leave it on the vine. Penelope |
#5
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I had a similar thing happen some years back. After a few decades of having
moved off the farm, I got tired of the tasteless tomatoes I got at the store, and thought I'd dazzle myself and the grandkids with some real, down-home, field grown tomatoes and the flavor I so keenly recollect. So we went to the nursery and got 6 little plants, prepared a place for them and lovingly tended them until we finally got our prizes indoors and could eat them. Guess what? They tasted EXACTLY like the ones I buy! I found out the reason later, the tomatoes you buy, have been specially bred and hybridized in order to permit shipping and handling. In order to get them from the field to your table, they've been bred to be more robust and firmer, and to ripen without sun in transit if necessary. Notice that I didn't mention anything about flavor and taste. And this section of California is a huge tomato growing area. So the seedlings that show up in the nursery are the same ones they use to grow those "red-things" that look like tomatoes that we eat. Fortunately, the cherry tomatoes were just fine. Since then we send for seeds of what's known as heirloom tomatoes. There are a number of places on the web from which they can be obtained. We do that during the winter, and then setup trays to grow seedlings in the spring, timed for planting as soon as the soil and climate allows. Now we enjoy GREAT tasting tomatoes... Obviously, markets being what they are, and as diverse as those can be...YMMV. Dusty San Jose "ntantiques" wrote in message oups.com... We bought a home last summer that came with 2 nice raised veggie beds. Previous owner had kindly planted one of the beds in tomatoes - Early Girl and a beefsteak & when escrow closed we enjoyed some of the best tomatoes I've had in years. Rotated beds this year and planted those varieties as well as a Brandywine, Legend, Caspian Pink, and Sungold. Soil in the beds was identical - good soil with some organic amendments. Planted good healthy starts 5/15 and happily watched them overgrow their cages and load up with tomatoes. First to ripen have been the Legend and Early Girl which are perfectly plump and nicely red, but almost tasteless. Both are missing that extraordinary deep, sweet "gardeny taste" that only a fresh, homegrown, vine-ripened tomato achieves. They aren't bad, but they're sure a disappointment when your mouth is ready for the real deal...Only the Sungold have any flavor(they're a big hit), but way too little to make the BLT of my dreams. They get plenty of sun - weather's been nice and hot for a good month 80-100 degrees every day and they get watered at the roots regularly. Anybody have any ideas why the flavor just isn't developing? NT |
#6
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Dusty Bleher wrote: I had a similar thing happen some years back. After a few decades of having moved off the farm, I got tired of the tasteless tomatoes I got at the store, and thought I'd dazzle myself and the grandkids with some real, down-home, field grown tomatoes and the flavor I so keenly recollect. So we went to the nursery and got 6 little plants, prepared a place for them and lovingly tended them until we finally got our prizes indoors and could eat them. Guess what? They tasted EXACTLY like the ones I buy! I found out the reason later, the tomatoes you buy, have been specially bred and hybridized in order to permit shipping and handling. In order to get them from the field to your table, they've been bred to be more robust and firmer, and to ripen without sun in transit if necessary. Notice that I didn't mention anything about flavor and taste. And this section of California is a huge tomato growing area. So the seedlings that show up in the nursery are the same ones they use to grow those "red-things" that look like tomatoes that we eat. Fortunately, the cherry tomatoes were just fine. Since then we send for seeds of what's known as heirloom tomatoes. There are a number of places on the web from which they can be obtained. We do that during the winter, and then setup trays to grow seedlings in the spring, timed for planting as soon as the soil and climate allows. Now we enjoy GREAT tasting tomatoes... Obviously, markets being what they are, and as diverse as those can be...YMMV. Dusty San Jose "ntantiques" wrote in message oups.com... We bought a home last summer that came with 2 nice raised veggie beds. Previous owner had kindly planted one of the beds in tomatoes - Early Girl and a beefsteak & when escrow closed we enjoyed some of the best tomatoes I've had in years. Rotated beds this year and planted those varieties as well as a Brandywine, Legend, Caspian Pink, and Sungold. Soil in the beds was identical - good soil with some organic amendments. Planted good healthy starts 5/15 and happily watched them overgrow their cages and load up with tomatoes. First to ripen have been the Legend and Early Girl which are perfectly plump and nicely red, but almost tasteless. Both are missing that extraordinary deep, sweet "gardeny taste" that only a fresh, homegrown, vine-ripened tomato achieves. They aren't bad, but they're sure a disappointment when your mouth is ready for the real deal...Only the Sungold have any flavor(they're a big hit), but way too little to make the BLT of my dreams. They get plenty of sun - weather's been nice and hot for a good month 80-100 degrees every day and they get watered at the roots regularly. Anybody have any ideas why the flavor just isn't developing? NT Kudos to you Dusty for showing your grandkids what a real tomato tastes like. So sad that we're raising generations that think those miserable hockey pucks from the supermarket are actually tomatoes. Boy are they missing out. Appreciate everyone's input - we'll try lightening up on the watering for a bit and leaving the tomatoes on the vine for an extra day or two. We bought our starts from a marvelous small nursery just down the road that grows its tomatoes from seed, focusing heavily on heirlooms. It's the same place last year's great tomato plants came from, so I'm guessing the problem is with me and not the plants. At least I've escaped "wilt," which has been a problem in the Eugene area this season - my guys are healthy as horses - and those little bitty Sungolds sure are delicious. NT |
#7
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#9
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On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 09:42:59 -0700, "Dusty Bleher"
wrote: I had a similar thing happen some years back. After a few decades of having moved off the farm, I got tired of the tasteless tomatoes I got at the store, and thought I'd dazzle myself and the grandkids with some real, down-home, field grown tomatoes and the flavor I so keenly recollect. So we went to the nursery and got 6 little plants, prepared a place for them and lovingly tended them until we finally got our prizes indoors and could eat them. Guess what? They tasted EXACTLY like the ones I buy! I found out the reason later, the tomatoes you buy, have been specially bred and hybridized in order to permit shipping and handling. In order to get them from the field to your table, they've been bred to be more robust and firmer, and to ripen without sun in transit if necessary. Notice that I didn't mention anything about flavor and taste. And this section of California is a huge tomato growing area. Tomatoes in San Jose? Come to Los Banos and environs for a huge tomato growing area. But, don't move here. We have too many of you people already. ) Sue Dusty San Jose "ntantiques" wrote in message roups.com... We bought a home last summer that came with 2 nice raised veggie beds. Previous owner had kindly planted one of the beds in tomatoes - Early Girl and a beefsteak & when escrow closed we enjoyed some of the best tomatoes I've had in years. Rotated beds this year and planted those varieties as well as a Brandywine, Legend, Caspian Pink, and Sungold. Soil in the beds was identical - good soil with some organic amendments. Planted good healthy starts 5/15 and happily watched them overgrow their cages and load up with tomatoes. First to ripen have been the Legend and Early Girl which are perfectly plump and nicely red, but almost tasteless. Both are missing that extraordinary deep, sweet "gardeny taste" that only a fresh, homegrown, vine-ripened tomato achieves. They aren't bad, but they're sure a disappointment when your mouth is ready for the real deal...Only the Sungold have any flavor(they're a big hit), but way too little to make the BLT of my dreams. They get plenty of sun - weather's been nice and hot for a good month 80-100 degrees every day and they get watered at the roots regularly. Anybody have any ideas why the flavor just isn't developing? NT |
#10
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