The Earliest First Tomato of the Year!

I try to record the first ripe tomato in my garden every year.  This year is a record - June 30th!  It's not even July yet, according to the calendar.  The thermostat on the other hand says differently.  It has been blazing hot in Portland, and it's not looking to let up any time soon.


To put this recent heat wave in perspective, I'm usually craving some sun and a hot day on June 30th.  It's usually still reliably 65°f and rainy right about now.  Fourth of July weekend is the first moment a Portlander can expect to see the sun - and she really looks forward to it.



This year, I'm really lucky to be escaping to the coast on the 4th.  I'm looking forward to the clouds and cooler weather - a complete reversal of my usual M.O.!

So, suffice it to say, the weather has been weird this year, and my garden has loved it so far, even though I have been wilting at times.  Without further ado, the much-anticipated photo of my first ripe tomato of the season.  They are supposed to be orange!

Sun Gold Tomato
I grow one of these plants from a start that I buy at the Portland Farmer's Market each year.  Sun Gold tomatoes are a cherry-sized variety that are orange, very sweet, and very early - they are tolerant of the cool spring weather we often have, but love the sun too.  They always ripen before my Early Girls.  The only problem I have with them is that sometimes they are TOO prolific - it's hard to keep up.  Also, they turn pasta sauce orange so it's a bit harder to preserve them.  I end up giving a lot of them away.  However, if you just plant one tomato, think about using this variety.  They are great in a salad.  I planted this one in late April, so it took about 60 days to mature, but I think it can mature in 45 if it's hot.  It's a good plant if you are starting your garden late (like now!).

For some more historical perspective, here is some of my tomato documentation from years past:

2014 - Mid-July
2013 - Mid-July
2012 - July 3rd
2011 - August 5th
2010 - July 23rd
2009 - July 17th
2008 - Sometime in September (I got my garden in late)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gluten-free Sourdough Discard Bread

Image
You’ve made your gluten free sourdough starter . What now?   The discard, or unused portion of the starter can be repurposed in a number of ways.  It’s the part of the starter that you don’t need to refresh or to use to leaven bread. You can throw it out, or you can use it to replace some of the flour and water in other recipes.  It adds a great texture and flavor to recipes, and it’s particularly useful for gluten free recipes. There’s something about gf grains that benefits immensely from the fermentation process. They become more flexible, more workable, and much tastier. In this bread recipe the sourdough starter lends the bread strength, flexibility, and flavor. Want a sandwich loaf recipe? Check out my  Yeasted Sourdough Sandwich Bread . Why is it not a regular sourdough bread?  This bread is considered a discard bread, or sometimes called a hybrid loaf, because it contains sourdough but it's leavened with commercial yeast. What does it taste like?   ...
Read more

Quick Yeasted Sourdough Sandwich Loaf Recipe

Image
Readers have been asking if they can bake the Gluten-free Sourdough Discard Bread in a bread tin.  The answer seems to be yes, it usually works.  However, I've created this new recipe that is more of a sandwich style loaf.  This recipe is a single rise recipe, so it's quick and easy. Need to create a sourdough starter? This is the method I use most:  https://glutenfreegourmand.blogspot.com/2021/10/sourdough-starter-ready-to-use-in-3-7.html Why yeasted sourdough?  Sometimes it's tricky to get a great rise out of sourdough when you're first starting out.  Also, creating a new sourdough starter creates a bit of discard that can be used up in other recipes to improve the flavor and texture of the product. This recipe adds a little baker's yeast to help the rise and get the loaf in the oven more quickly.  This is a sourdough discard recipe but you can use active starter if that's what you have.  Yeasted Sourdough Sandwich Loaf Recipe Dairy-free, c ont...
Read more

Mild Country White Sourdough Bread

Image
I gave up on producing a showy loaf a long time ago.  I always rolled my eyes a little when I saw photos online of perfect bloom or wide-open crumb.  "The mustard is going to just fall right through," I would think to my self disapprovingly, shaking my head a little. It turns out, I was just jealous. After a decade of gluten-free bread baking and recipe development, and through a collaboration with some other bakers, I've come up with a gf sourdough bread recipe that produces an open crumb, a large bloom, and sometimes, if I'm lucky, an ear.   The bread has a very mild, pleasant sourdough flavor and is very light in color. The crumb is very open but not too delicate.  It has a chewiness to the texture that I associate with a good sourdough bread.  The crust gets a nice browning and it toasts up nicely. And I don't mind the mustard falling through as much as I thought I would. Many thanks to Michael Hollesen who came up with the original version of this reci...
Read more