The very first ripe fruit!! Officially, Red Racer has produced the earliest fruit of the 12 varieties.

Not only is it exciting to see some truly ripe fruit (I say ‘truly ripe fruit’ because we did have some stress ripening that was followed by blossom end rot, inedible..) but this also means that the countdown has begun until I will begin my harvest of all 12 varieties. In three weeks time I will start harvesting all ripe fruit for 5 consecutive weeks and begin the record keeping that will go along with this next stage of the trial; I tentatively expect that day to be Sept 2nd. Data will collected on the fruit’s  weight, width and height as well as a count on the number of marketable and unmarketable tomatoes will be collected. A Brix reading will be taken for each plot do determine mineral:sugar ratios, while others topics such as fruit cover (by the leaves) and picking ease will also be recorded.

—

The Summer has yet to feel as though it has fully set in. For the most part, the days have begun cloudy and relatively humid  only to reach mid 70s at the peak of the day. Plenty of light and heat for growth but seldom is the long, hot and beautiful day that myself and the tomatoes both truly love. That being said, there are some happy and healthy plants in both of the plots. I have realized that I spend a fair amount of time focused and concerned with reporting on the struggling tomato plants that I have neglected to share much about the all stars. Varieties such as JTO 1007, Red Racer, Silet Z, and more are thriving during this summer, or so it seems. The 4 plants of JTO 1007 of plot 1 are nearly 6ft tall, just about as tall as I am. The tomatoes of JTO 1021 are large and plump in the classic kidney shape, and deeply green on the shoulders. The Silet Z variety is a low growing, determinate that is quite thick with leaves and needs frequent pruning to allow air flow through the base of the plant. The Mountain Merit of this trial is an averaged sized plant with a nicely rounded shape that will make for a good slicing tomato. Without going into detail on each variety, I will say that it has been a pleasure to see some healthy growth patterns through a majority of the plants.

This week consisted of the usual tasks, trellising, pruning, etc. as well as the repair of a bamboo post that snapped under the weight of the plants that were trellised upon it. I have continued following the progression of the various diseases in the field, most of which seem to have stalled during the warmer weeks. However, in the LB 21-7-4 variety, early blight has been crippling a majority of the leaves, leaving the plant with one less leaf to provide energy to the cells. The Crimson Sprinter group of plot 2 are losing more tomatoes to blossom end rot due to the disease that is afflicting it, which I assume to be Verticillium. (Still waiting for the results of this plant sample)

—

I have to admit that I have been dragging my feet on the varietal progression storage alternative but it is nearing the end of the quarter and I have a full plate, or maybe two. I have continued taking the weekly photos for my archive and will address the issue in it’s time.

As the time for harvest gets nearer and nearer, I will be watching for the changes in the plant and fruit, as they reach maturity. I look forward to being surrounded by tomatoes.

Happy growing.