Let's Play- "Name that Tomato!"

[asdjrocky]

Ok, I give up. I thought maybe a Roma, but they seem too big, then I thought a Mama Mia, but I just don't know.

What I'm really afraid of is these as some kind of tomato that doesn't turn red, and they've been ready for harvest for weeks now. So what's your guess?


They are about as big as my fist.

[MuseRider]

1. Hmmm

don't know but that reminds me, I need to go out and check the goats. Had them castrated this afternoon.

[asdjrocky]

2. I find myself laughing and cringing at the same time.

It's a rather strange experience.

[MuseRider]

3. That is exactly what the goats said.

It is a rather strange experience but so far no laughing. Naaaaaaaaaaaa.

[asdjrocky]

4. Guess it's true when they say...

Sheep go to heaven, goats go to hell.

[MuseRider]

5. Gotta love the goats.

Sweetest most ornery creatures I know. Hell? No, but right now I feel like I put them close. I don't like the way they are looking at me.

BTW, I would have said those were Romas.

[EstimatedProphet]

6. They look like Romas to me

And Roma tomatoes are determinate. They will all turn red at once. This may be why they've been ready for weeks.

[asdjrocky]

7. So on determinates, they all go red at the same time?

In other words, are these big guys just waiting for the dozens of little guys to catch up?

[EstimatedProphet]

8. So I am led to believe

I have the same thing going on too. From what I have heard, with Romas, they all ripen at once, then you can pull the plant up.

[asdjrocky]

9. Interesting.

So now I have to go find out which are indeterminate and determinate plants. I know my Variety 100's are indeterminate because I've all ready enjoyed a few cherry tomatoes, and more are turning red every day.

[NEOhiodemocrat]

10. Sure looks like Roma

they can get quite big if the conditions are right.

[Mind_your_head]

11. Here's some EXCELLENT information about tomatoes from ThomWV

I had tried to understand the difference between indeterminate and determinate tomatoes.....searched and read the 'blah, blah, blah' on the web ~ never really understood the differences between the two ~ until I read this post from Thom. Thom spells it out in a very simple/easy to understand way.

I printed his post out and put it in my 'gardening diary' for reference.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=246&topic_id=6916&mesg_id=7519

(If you read this ThomWV, Thank you very much for the info. I found it very useful/valuable :hi:)

--------------

In answer to your question, I think they are Roma tomatoes....and they are determinate (all ripen at once).

http://henryfields.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_12610

So your green 'maters are just waiting for their brothers/sisters to 'catch-up' and then they'll all ripen at the same time.

[Blue Gardener]

12. If you are planning on canning tomatoes, plant determinate

You want them to ripen all at once. If you're planting tomatoes to eat throughout the summer, plant indeterminate. At least that's what I've been told. Makes sense.

[asdjrocky]

14. Great info, thanks.

And I loved the pics of your garden. Thom was the best I've seen at explaining something fairly simple, that many people make more cumbersome than necessary.

[wildeyed]

13. I mixed up the labels on a few of my plants when I started them in the spring.

I *thought* I planted black plum, but I have come to realize in the past few weeks that it was actually yellow pear, a yellow cherry tomato heirloom. Since I already have a sungold plant, which is a similar type of tomato to the yellow pear, it is overkill, but oh well, nothing to do about it now.

[LiberalEsto]

15. Their names are

(left to right) Lucy, Ethel, Desi and Fred.

:spank:

[asdjrocky]

17. Funny,

I was thinking Richie, Potsey, Ralph and the Fonz.

[MuseRider]

21. John, Paul, George and Ringo. n/t

[Gormy Cuss]

16. It looks like a San Marzano type.

As I wrote before, it looks like the heirloom sauce tomatoes varieties. There are several different ones being sold in the U.S. Less likely it could be a striped Roman but IIRC those had faint stripes even when they were green.

Here's link with photo:
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?item=2866&source=e0407robs_hg_cm_2866

[asdjrocky]

18. Thanks for the info.

All I know, is I'm going to eat them.

[susanna]

20. And you should! Now you know why you grow them. :-) n/t

[susanna]

19. They look a lot like

San Marzano or Roma to me. There are Amish paste tomatoes that look similar, as well. I think the name "Mama Mia" may be a hybrid tomato marketing tool, so count me clueless on that; I tend to grow heirlooms.

If you're interested, the thing I'm glomming onto via your picture is that the plant "fruits" in compat clusters. They look a lot like my San Marzanos from last year, but most of my paste tomatoes have a similar growth pattern. I've done Romas and San Marzanos that generally fruit the same way...your photo looks VERY similar to those. Have fun and eat up!

on edit: spelling

[knitter4democracy]

22. I planted some of all of those this year.

We're canning the tomatoes, so I have Roma, Amish Paste, and San Marzanos. For eating, I have a Cherokee Purple, a few cherry toms, and an Early Girl. Those look a lot like the Romas I had last year that took forever to turn red but then did really fast and were ready for canning when I needed them.

[asdjrocky]

23. Well, then it looks like it's time to learn to can tomatoes.

Any good sites you could recommend? I've never canned anything before.

[knitter4democracy]

24. I use the Ball Blue Book. I got it at our hardware store.

They also have a canning kit of the pot and everything that's quite handy. Canning tomatoes is really easy, though it helps to have two people doing it, I think. I just found out about several books on BarnesandNoble.com by doing a search there and ordered a couple of them to see. The Ball Blue Book's salsa recipe isn't quite what Hubby likes, so I'm trying to find a new one.

Btw, paste tomatoes are amazing canned. Lots less water, easy to drain, and if you do them whole, you can moosh them with your fingers and get a better flavor than diced or whatever. I don't put salt in ours, but the flavor is better if you do.

[MuseRider]

25. It is so much fun!

A lot of work but it is so wonderful. I got a large guide from the extension office. It covered about everything you would want to can, freeze, dry or cellar and all the different ways to do it and why. Great resource and all for free (well your taxes pay for it).