Re: Slow ripening

Things are slow ripening here in NE Oregon with the exception of Stupice which has been producing since July 1. Usually Stupice starts producing in the second half of June.

Just picked my first ripe ones this week here in Bergen Co., NJ. It's just not hot enough for them to get ripe, I think. I've got plants that have had fruit on them for almost two months and should have started ripening at least two or three weeks ago.

Most of my plants are almost 7 feet tall. I have no idea what exactly they are, since they are volunteers from last year's crop of Sweet 100's. They look like grape-types, but they are the size of golf balls or larger. Imagine a cluster of five or seven or more of those all over the plants. I'm tying them up with butcher string because I think they are going to get damaged from their own weight if I don't use something relatively soft - forget about twist ties! The vines themselves are thick, thicker than anything I've ever grown, including Beefsteaks. Wierd plants for sure.

FWIW, we also have the mutant sunflowers from seeds I've saved over the past six seasons - they get over 15 feet tall, and branch out like a tree, constantly producing new, but smaller flowers in the apex of the branches and leaves. Between the tomatoes and the sunflowers and the giant zuchinni (also, strangely, unproductive this year), my yard looks like the rainforest...

Now I'm worried that it will hit 90 for a few days and I'll be up to my armpits in tomatoes - or red golfballs if they don't taste as good as they look...[g]

-=>epm

ah. I buy everything from Territorial, which is in OR, and Stupice is my early season mainstay. It is in full sun in SE MI, but it just started producing, and in fact after five Stupices I picked the first Costoluto and the first San Marzano (both main season toms). The Big Boys are not far behind. The Brandywine and (much to my suprise) the yellow pear are well behind.

I wonder why the Stupice do not get red tomatoes a full month ahead of the pack, as they are supposed to do. They have not been anywhere close to 40F, ever.

I've been picking cherry tomatoes in NYC for weeks, but all of my other tomatoes decided to wait and ripen over this weekend. Everybody is invited for spaghetti with my special scauce in Brooklyn! Yay! Jack

I'm finally getting tomatoes - and I'm making "scauce" too, but I'm strictly limiting the guest book. Don't want to spoil the neighbors.

(After picking a grand total of six tomatoes all summer, I picked a pint basket of them yesterday, and there is at least twice as much to be picked this morning. And, while I have no idea what these volunteers are, these suckers are GOOD, golf-ball-sized morsels of YUMMMMM)

-=>epm

Take 5 pounds of 'em and make tomato wine. I just sampled some that I made three years ago. Man it's tasty.