The "Corner Office" Is Done...

Today's haul includes 3 Cherokee Chocolates, 3 Italian Market Wonders, 3 Piccolos, 2 Black Plum Pastes, Micro Tom, Red Robin, and overripe Old Ivory Egg, Salisaw Cafe, Stupice, Arkansas Traveler, Kellogg's Breakfast and Blue Fruit.

I watered the back yard last night, which included the tomatoes to be planted.

This morning, I found a tomato underneath a chair in the bedroom. That sneaky Manchester Terrier...

The “Corner Office” in the front yard is basically done. There's a couple of blooms on Green Grape and the front yard Black Krim still looks rather healthy, but at a cursory glance there's no tomatoes in this area of the front yard.

The Old Ivory Egg plant is getting huge...

Looking For Houses...

Saturday's haul included 20 Piccolos, 9 Stupice, 5 Paul Robesons, 3 Kimberly, 3 Salisaw Cafes, 3 Cherokee Chocolates, 3 Old Ivory Eggs, 3 Husky Cherry Reds, 3 Red Currants, 2 Chocolate Stripes (one 6 ounces), Green Grape, Aker's Plum, Golden Jubilee, Arkansas Traveler, Black Krim (8 ounces, front yard), Black From Tula (7 ounces) and Red Robin.

I had to put in a support for Old Ivory Egg, as it was getting too big for the cage. Also, I added support to Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter.

My wife and I spent most of the day in Oxnard, Santa Paula and Fillmore, looking at houses for her parents.

While driving around, I got a call from our friend from Florida that moved back to SoCal. They're back in town and would like to meet us next weekend. We'll make it work!

However, a close friend that was in the wedding party is moving from SoCal to – you guessed it – Florida! Oh well...

Like a broken record, the Manchester Terrier picked off another Aker's Plum. This one wasn't salvageable...

Harvested Blue Fruit Today!

And today's harvest includes 9 Black Plum Pastes, 6 Piccolos, 6 Salisaw Cafes, 5 Stupice, 4 Red Currants, 4 Cherokee Chocolates, 3 Green Grapes, Black Krim (back yard, 7 ounces), Aker's Plum, Italian Market Wonder, Arkansas Traveler, Old Ivory Egg, Red Robin, Jaune Flamme, Paul Robeson, Lime Green Salad (from the “koi pond”), Husky Cherry Red and a new tomato: Blue Fruit!

We succeeded in keeping our Manchester Terrier from picking a tomato last night – we were pretty diligent in watching him. However, when I was picking tomatoes in the front yard, he nabbed one.

I almost picked a few tomatoes, including Carbon and Polish Pastel but decided to wait a little longer.

I propped up Evan's Italian Plum, another plant that is tipping over due to the weight of the tomatoes on the vines.

Harvested Front Yard Black Krim!

And today's harvest includes 12 Piccolos, 8 Red Currants (raising the total to over 1900 for the year), 7 Salisaw Cafes, 6 Stupice, 6 Black Plum Pastes, 3 Cherokee Chocolates, 2 Green Grapes, 2 Black Cherries, 2 Sioux (one 6 ounces), 2 Paul Robesons (9 ounces, 7.5 ounces), 2 Lime Green Salads (from the “koi pond”), 2 Kimberlys, Red Robin, Zhezha (back yard), White Bush, Italian Market Wonder, Black Krim (11 ounces, back yard), Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter, Red Yellow Cap (10 ounces), Black From Tula, Husky Cherry Red and a new one – a front yard Black Krim (7.5 ounces)!

There's a tomato on Chocolate Stripes that's maturing. I took another look at Old Ivory Egg and the two ripening tomatoes don't look all that different than two days ago.

I met with a friend of mine for dinner last night and gave him a bunch of our tomatoes. He was very grateful for them.

Our Manchester Terrier didn't eat breakfast this morning. For this dog it's a big deal. It means he's probably munching on our tomatoes again...

Harvested Back Yard Black Krim and Zhezha!

This morning's harvest includes 10 Cherokee Chocolates, 6 Black Plum Pastes, 6 Red Currants, 4 Piccolos, 4 Salisaw Cafes, 3 Kimberlys, 2 Green Grapes, Stupice, Prairie Fire, Black From Tula (6 ounces), Thessaloniki (6 ounces), Husky Cherry Red, Lime Green Salad, Red Robin and two new ones – Black Krim (back yard) and Zhezha (back yard)!

Again out back yard numbers are higher than the front yard numbers – 26 to 18.

Thessaloniki had pulled to the west during the day, so I staked it up against a long thin green pole. In the morning I noticed that one of the main stems had broken. This is probably due to the initial leaning and not due to my repair work.

I have to say that I'm still surprised at these low harvest numbers.

I had to rescue our poodle when I got home last night. He has a bad habit of trying to chew through his collar and yesterday it cost him. He had tried to chew through the leather collar and couldn't do it. Meanwhile, he had the collar with the metal clasp and id tag in his mouth for several hours. The sides of his jaw and parts of his gums were worn. It took me about five minutes to maneuver the metal out of his mouth and then remove it.

Last night I noticed our Manchester Terrier showing an interest in the ripening Aker's Plum. I shooed him away. Later on, my wife had caught him with the Aker's Plum next to him on the grass – he had filched it. Fortunately he didn't break the skin so it is still good and sitting on a plate to continue ripening.

This morning I caught him sticking his nose in Pierce's Pride. I immediately tied him up.

Because of last night's incident, I picked the back yard Zhezha about a day earlier than I would have liked. As you may remember, I almost lost the back yard Zhezha plant in April. It has come back to life but is only a couple feet tall, within easy reach of our Manchester Terrier. The harvested Black Krim was ready.

Also last night, our feral cat in the front yard was jumping around when we came home after dinner and errands (new collar for the poodle!). Turns out he had caught a mouse and was playing with it. The mouse got away for a bit when we accidentally distracted the cat, but not far enough away. Our neighbor across the street came out and was talking to us when we heard CRACK! -- no more live mouse. Both my wife and I chuckled a bit as we knew what it meant but our neighbor was too far away to hear. She came by, saw the cat tearing up the mouse and, well, she didn't hang around very long.

Ugh...That Manchester Terrier...

Today's numbers are: 13 Red Currants, 10 Salisaw Cafes, 8 Cherokee Chocolates, 5 Kimberlys, 2 Gregori's Altai, 2 Husky Cherry Reds, 2 Piccolos, Stupice, Sioux, Black Plum Paste, Black Cherry, Red Robin, Zhezha, Thessaloniki, Black From Tula (6 ounces) and Red Yellow Cap (one pound, or 16 ounces).

We picked more back yard tomatoes today than front yard tomatoes, 27 to 24.

Our Manchester Terrier picked off a large tomato last night. It looked like a Black Krim. But as I was picking the back yard tomatoes, I noticed a maturing Carbon was missing. I checked the organic waste bin and yes, there was a maturing dark tomato with three bite marks in it. It was about seven ounces in weight. From memory it was about a foot off the ground.

Later on I noticed the ground around the Carbon tomato plant had been dug up. The paper mulch was scattered everywhere. I had noticed a similar situation around the Lime Green Salad in the back yard and I think he picked one off there as well in the past.

The Harvest Disparity Widens...

Today's morning haul: 23 Red Currants, 5 Salisaw Cafes, 4 Husky Cherry Reds, 3 Cherokee Chocolates, 2 Black Plum Pastes, a Red Robin, Prairie Fire, Taxi and Green Grape tomatoes.

41 tomatoes overall. This date last year (no joke) 359 tomatoes. I believe the picture at the top of the KCRW posting of my interview with Evan Kleiman is an image from that day.

My wife started wondering last evening about this disparity. The only thing I can say is that we were at “high tide” this time last year while this year, the tide is still coming in. For instance, last year I started harvesting Jeff Davis on July 3. This year the plant looks great but there's not even a tomato on it yet due to the late planting.

Harvested Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter!

And this morning's haul includes 16 Red Currants, 7 Salisaw Cafes, 6 Husky Cherry Reds, 2 Black Cherries, 2 Cherokee Chocolates (which isn't Cherokee Chocolate, but I don't have a better label at the moment), 2 Green Grapes, a Jaune Flamme, Red Robin, Kimberly, Sioux, White Bush (yum!) and a new one, Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter!

To put this in perspective, this morning I've harvested 41 tomatoes. This day last year, 203. I have a pretty good breadth right now – I'm picking a lot of different tomatoes. What I don't have is a lot of depth – I'm not picking a lot per tomato. A lot of ones and twos per day. This will pick up as the month progresses.

Harvested Kimberly and Sioux Tomatoes!

I didn't pick tomatoes on the 5^th. Today I harvested tomatoes first thing in the morning.

Today I picked 42 Red Currants, 9 Black Plum Pastes, 4 Husky Cherry Reds, 4 Cherokee Chocolates, 3 Red Robins, 2 Piccolos, 2 Salisaw Cafes, 2 Green Grapes, a Paul Robeson, Jaune Flamme, Prairie Fire, a leathery Taxi (which my wife threw away – the Taxi tomato plant may be done), White Bush, Golden Jubilee and two new tomatoes, Sioux and Kimberly!

From now on, I'll try to harvest in the morning.

Harvested Aunt Ruby's German Green Tomato!

Tonight's haul: 78 Red Currants, 8 Husky Cherry Reds, 2 White Bush, 2 Red Robin, 2 Black Plum Pastes, an Italian Market Wonder, Green Grape, Garden Peach, Thessaloniki, Salisaw Cafe and a new tomato: Aunt Ruby's German Green!

Yesterday, Pierce College got up to 100 degrees. Today was hotter but I don't know by how much.

We're going to harvest a Zhezha in the front yard in the very near future.

I may not pick on the 4^th of July. I'll be at the Hollywood Bowl in the afternoon and evening. It will be a convenient time to adjust the harvest time from the evening to the morning. We'll see.

Three More New Tomatoes Harvested!

Today's harvest: 139 Red Currants, 15 Husky Cherry Reds, 2 Jaune Flammes, 2 Salisaw Cafes, a good sized Green Grape, Prairie Fire, Red Robin and three new tomatoes: Carbon, Italian Market Wonder and Golden Jubilee!

The 139 Red Currants is a lot. I haven't picked over 100 of any type of tomato before. And because of the numerical strength of this harvest, my prediction of converging numbers of tomatoes compared to last years totals was simply flat out wrong. We've now surpassed last June's totals of 1259 tomatoes, having picked 1282 (of which 1103 are Red Currants) this month so far.

My mother-in-law called to say that she had her first harvest yesterday! She picked an Early Girl yesterday and today picked an Early Girl and a Lemon Boy. All were good tasting. A thumbs up from me!!

While we're on good news, a colleague that moved to the east coast a couple years ago is moving back to SoCal by the end of July. A thumbs up from me and my wife!

June Tomato Analysis

This evening I picked 60 Red Currants, 3 Husky Cherry Reds, a Prairie Fire, Green Grape and Red Robin tomatoes.

The “cooling” trend continues, only getting up to 105. Yikes.

The Lime Green Salad in the “koi pond” had about 200 blooms on it. There are a few tomatoes poking out but about 85 percent are burned out, due to this intense heat.

We are ahead of last years tomato totals compared to this time last year. This year's crop is clearly dominated by Red Currant. By tomorrow, we'll have picked twice as many Red Currants as last year. Last year we planted Red Currant in a container, while this year we planted it in the ground.

Tomato totals for June 1 – June 22, 2007 – 491 tomatoes. Tomato totals for June 1 – June 22, 2008 – 750 tomatoes.

Last year, we started picking over 100 tomatoes as of June 26. On June 26, 2007, I picked 115 tomatoes from 14 different tomato plants.

So far, we don't have the breadth of harvested tomatoes like we did last year. As of today, I've only picked from five different varieties on a given day. For the tomatoes other than Red Currant, the most I've picked for a given day has been five.

In other words, we're ahead of last year's tomato totals due to the strength of the Red Currant harvest. But I believe the tomato harvest totals will start to converge again due to the low harvest of the other tomatoes.

Lime Green Salad, Aker's Plum Have Tomatoes!

Not much time for tomatoes these past two days.

On Friday, I had just enough time to pick tomatoes before going to a charity event. I picked 23 Red Currants, 2 Husky Cherry Reds and a Taxi tomato.

Today, I watered the front and back yards. While watering, I noticed the last Lime Green Salad and Akers Plum had tomatoes. Others may be on as well but I didn't look too closely in the heat of the afternoon. After watering I picked 30 Red Currants, a Red Robin and 2 Husky Cherry Red tomatoes. After picking I took a shower and babysat in the evening.

Only Enough Time To Pick 'Em

I didn't have much time in the evening except to harvest tomatoes – 3 Husky Cherry Reds, 25 Red Currants and one Red Robin.

The Red Robin was a surprise. While walking in the house I looked underneath the leaves and hey, there's one ready to harvest! In fact it may have been a day or two later than I'd normally harvest it.

I may have a big harvest of Red Currants tomorrow. There's plenty of orange tomatoes that may be ripe very soon.

Old Ivory Egg Has A Tomato!

When I got home from work, I harvested 23 Red Currants. I noticed a bug on Red Currant so I'll probably hit it with neem oil again.

There are two Patio tomatoes that are very close to being picked. A Micro Tom and one or two Husky Cherry Red tomatoes are orange. A Red Robin and Taxi tomato are starting to turn.

Also, Old Ivory Egg has a tomato on it! I'm surprised because that was the last tomato planted in the garden.

I put on latex gloves and worked on all the tomato plants.

Because of the Red Currant harvest we are only two tomatoes behind last years totals at this date.

More Tomatoes!

There are lots of new tomatoes noted this morning. All of them were quite small, but they were tomatoes nonetheless. In the order they were found, Kimberly, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Lime Green Salad and Red Yellow Cap have tomatoes.

For point of reference we have two Lime Green Salad tomato plants in the front yard, one near the curb and one in the “koi pond” (our signature area). The one with the tiny tomato is the one near the curb. In my internal front yard tomato document this is the first one listed. Thus, the one near the curb will be Lime Green Salad (1) and the one in the “koi pond” will be Lime Green Salad (2).

A Micro Tom tomato looked as if it may be slightly darkening. Next to it is Red Robin, which looks very happy in the container. It has another branch of tomatoes and now numbers at least a half dozen.

The only “koi pond” plants without tomatoes are Lime Green Salad (2) (understandable, it was planted April 26) and Snow White Cherry. I was a tiny bit worried about Snow White Cherry about a week ago. But since then the growth on this plant has taken off for the better. Also, I remember tomatoes arriving late last year for this plant but it ended up the second most productive tomato plant in the garden. In other words, no worries.

Visible Tomatoes and Planting Dates

Here's a list of tomato plants with visible tomatoes and their planting dates:

Patio (container) – February 26, 2008
Garden Peach – March 1, 2008
Husky Cherry Red – March 1, 2008
Red Currant – March 1, 2008
Taxi (container) – March 15, 2008
Micro Tom (container) – April 6, 2008
Red Robin (container) – April 6, 2008

Tomatoes planted in March that have no tomatoes:

Big Rainbow – March 15, 2008
Aunt Ruby's German Green – March 22, 2008
Zhezha (container) – March 22, 2008
Salisaw Cafe – March 23, 2008
Zhezha – March 23, 2008
Green Grape – March 27, 2008
Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter – March 29, 2008

Do I have a problem with some of these tomatoes? In my opinion, not at all.

Micro Tom and Red Robin are novelty tomato plants. They are actually so small, they're windowsill plants. So I discount those two plants for the purposes of analysis.

Big Rainbow has a very long time to mature, over three months. Aunt Ruby's German Green, Green Grape and Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter have similar maturity cycles, about 80 days. Two of these are large, beefsteak tomatoes.

That leaves the two Zhezha plants and Salisaw Cafe. These plants were from the first batch from seed. When planted, they were much smaller than the plants bought from nurseries (and if you've been reading, we almost lost the Zhezha in the ground). Their lack of size at planting time probably adds two to three weeks to their normal time to maturity.

In short, it appears that everything is fine. However, I may not see a tomato on a new tomato plant for a while.

Paper Mulch Added, Micro Tom Has A Tomato

I shredded today's, yesterday's and Saturday's newspaper in my shredder and spread it around the tomatoes in the front yard. It was tedious, and the shredder shut down for about an hour – it may have gotten too hot – but I think the shredded paper will help.

I put the shredding around the lip of the bowl, keeping at least one inch between the stem and the shredding.

I'll do that with each newspaper until I've covered all the tomatoes. As the shredding tamps down due to water, I'll probably start over and do it again. This will also force me to landscape some of the areas around the tomatoes, especially the ones in the back yard.

The high here in the last three days has been in the mid to upper 90's. As noted previously, the plants have grown. Red Yellow Cap and Gregori's Altai appears to have doubled in size in a week.

Micro Tom has a tiny little tomato on it. The plant itself is about the size of an egg (actually an egg is bigger - no joke). Red Robin has a second tomato on it.

My wife may fertilize some of the tomatoes that are blooming this evening.

Below are pictures taken of Red Currant last evening.

This plant took off weeks ago and it about four feet tall! In the first shot you can see some of the paper mulch laid down around the tomato plant. Also, it probably isn't noticeable in the shrunken image but there's at least five tomatoes visible in the lower left and center.

The second shot, taken from the opposite side, shows hundreds of blooms on the plant.

In the shot below, taken March 10, shows Red Currant on the left and Husky Cherry Red on the right.

Husky Cherry Red has tomatoes

While the plumber was doing some minor repairs in our bathroom, I took a look at our tomato plants in the front. Our Husky Cherry Red has tomatoes! The largest is about dime sized.

I took a look at the two recent plantings and they're doing fine.

Our sprinklers in the back, though, are hitting about a half dozen of the growing seedlings. In the long run, that's not good, as the plant's roots won't get deep. I'm not sure there's much we can do about this but I'll talk it over with my wife.

Anyway, here's the plants that are currently sprouting tomatoes:

Taxi
Husky Cherry Red
Red Robin
Red Currant
Patio