Week 13

In the Share

Fields of Buckwheat abuzz with the honey makers

• Lettuce
• Eggplant
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Onions
• Scallions
• Beets
• Chard
• Garlic
• Cucumbers
• Watermelon
• PYO Flowers
• PYO Beans
• PYO Tomatoes
• PYO Hot Peppers

New this week

• Greens
• Broccoli

PYO Tomatoes

Sometimes I grow weary of blogging about cover cropping, irrigation, weather and our place in the local farming community.  When this happens I get the urge to write something a little lighter, a little more fun and a lot closer to a passion we all share.  In that vein, today I wish to review a subject close to all our hearts: our eight varieties of PYO tomatoes.  We will consider taste, texture, appearance, versatility and vigor of all our PYO tomatoes.  After today you’ll be U-picking with greater purpose and direction and hopefully enjoying more of what you find.  So without further adieu…

       Mt. Magic, Juliet, Yellow Pear, Sunpeach, Black Cherry, Sungold, and Jasper

Mountain Magic

The largest of the PYO tomatoes that we grow, Mt. Magic is sometimes called a “cocktail” tomato.  We love it for its resistance to late blight but everyone can appreciate the balance of sweet and savory and the versatility that this tomato brings to the table.  Small enough to snack on right off the vine but large enough to use in salads or recipes, Mt. Magic fills many roles.  This tomato has a firm texture and skin of medium thickness.  If you are ever in a hurry, Mt. Magic fills up a quart container faster than any of our other PYO tomatoes due to it’s large size and heavy yields.

Indigo Cherry Drops

Each year we try a limited number of new crops varieties.  Sometimes we are looking for improvements to the varieties we have grown in the past and sometimes we are just looking for something novel to give our members something new and interesting to try.  With its deep purple skin, Indigo Cherry Drops fell into the “novelty” category when we picked it out of the catalogue; however I’m pleased to say that it holds up very well in terms of eating quality.  Slightly smaller than Mt. Magic, this tomatoes largest claim to fame comes from its high anti-oxidant content.  It has good tomato flavor and texture and should be harvested when it turns from green/purple to almost fully red.

Juliet

This mini plum has great disease resistance which means it will probably be around long after the Sungolds have succumbed.  It is thicker skinned, firmer and less juicy than most of the other PYO tomatoes and it is quite savory.  This makes Juliet an excellent choice for pickling, canning, salsas, salads or kebabs. 

Yellow Pear

This one falls solidly into the novelty category.  Yellow Pear is an heirloom variety and it definitely has an eye catching appearance but while it looks amazing, with its lemon yellow skin and perfect pear shape, the eating quality leaves a lot to be desired.  I would describe it as mealy and insipid.  Try this one if you’re the sort of person who, when told that the milk has gone off, insists on smelling for yourself.  I suggest using it for decoration only but please let me know if you come up with anything better.  Make sure to try this one out this season because it won’t be around next year.

Sunpeach

This pink cherry tomato isn’t just a pretty face.  Sunpeach is very sweet and juicy with lower acidity than some of our other varieties.  It is marketed as the “less tangy sister” to the Sungold cherry tomato, to which I would also add that it is larger and slightly thinner-skinned.  All in all this makes for a cherry tomato that both looks gorgeous and possesses excellent snacking quality.  Make some room in your quart container for this one.

Black Cherry

Although calling this cherry “black” is a bit of a stretch I can see why they didn’t go with “brown” cherry.  While it’s mottled, almost muddy, red/brown/green skin might not immediately appeal to you, the true tomato connoisseur will appreciate the deep savory flavor packed into this cherry.  Black Cherry is very rich and tomato-y but it isn’t trying to appeal to your sweet tooth.  It is a nice counter balance to some of the more saccharine PYO tomatoes we offer.     

Sungold

I doubt I need to say much about this one.  If you don’t like tomatoes you should probably try a ripe Sungold and then do some serious re-evaluating .  Instead of reviewing this tomato here are some tips to better enjoy it.  1) Walk AT LEAST 2/3 of the way down the row before picking your first Sungold. 2) Pick only DEEP ORANGE Sungolds unless you have a taste for the unde ripe, 3) Don’t just pick Sungolds.  Seriously.  You will enjoy these little packets of sunshine more and your PYO experience more if you diversify. 

Jasper

Usually disease resistance comes at some expense to flavor but this just isn’t the case with Jasper.  This very tiny, thin skinned beauty is all sweetness and it has great texture as well.  Although it is often over looked, the small size and thin skin make this the ultimate snacking cherry tomato.  How good is it?  I had to get up in the middle of this paragraph and head out to the field to do a little more “product research” on Jasper.  I can now confirm that it is my very favorite PYO tomato.  You probably wouldn’t like it though, don’t even bother trying it.  Why don’t you give those Yellow Pears a try?