Not a pretty picture but hopefully tasty tomatoes! ![[whistle.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/87d24eb81ec6dc01d84f3d6c19fa9a357e90218e.gif "whistle"){kind=small}
Lucky you. I have like tons of green tomatoes…
Taking forever to ripen. I’m wondering if the 3.5-4 hours of direct sunlight is going to make them ripen slower 
I have yellow sungolds, yellow brandywine, purple cherrokee, green zebra, and black krim. The cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen and are throwing tons of buds. The yellow brandywine is moving along at a glacial pace…
Harvested the last of the tomatoes for this crop over the weekend. Took cuttings off of the best and are rooting them indoors for the fall crop. Harvest was about half of last year’s crop due to fungus problems (very common this year here and in Louisiana)
Cucumbers about done as well.
Big brace of eggplant developing. Fennel looks good. Purple and Green Tomatillos are starting to ripen. Hoping for a second crop of Chinese long beans and squash.
Why the Modern Tomato Tastes Like Cardboard
Researchers have discovered the answer to the often-asked question: What happened to the tomato’s flavor?
We enjoyed our first cherry tomatoes (5) in a salad. The plants are not as healthy as last year. The Black Prince look promising and hopefully will not taste like cardboard since they are heirlooms and not manipulated to be a pretty red!
Organic Tomatoes Have Higher Antioxidant Content Than Non-Organic
Differences in organic versus non-organic fertilizers is cited as the reason why organic tomatoes were found to have higher polyphenol content.
The Daily Mail sums up the research:
The team behind the latest study analyzed the chemical structure of the Daniela variety of tomato. They detected 34 different beneficial compounds in both the organic and conventional versions…However they found that overall the organic tomatoes contained higher level of the > > polyphenols. > > The scientists says this difference between organic and conventional tomatoes can be explained by the manure used to grown them.
Organic Tomatoes Have More Flavinoid Compounds
Ten-Year Comparison of the Influence of Organic and Conventional Crop Management Practices on the Content of Flavonoids in Tomatoes
Abstract after the fold. Full publication in html format is viewable here.
Abstract:
Understanding how environment, crop management, and other factors, particularly soil fertility, influence the composition and quality of food crops is necessary for the production of high-quality nutritious foods. The flavonoid aglycones quercetin and kaempferol were measured in dried tomato samples (Lycopersicon esculentum L. cv. Halley 3155) that had been archived over the period from 1994 to 2004 from the Long-Term Research on Agricultural Systems project (LTRAS) at the University of California-Davis, which began in 1993. Conventional and organic processing tomato production systems are part of the set of systems compared at LTRAS. Comparisons of analyses of archived samples from conventional and organic production systems demonstrated statistically higher levels (P < 0.05) of quercetin and kaempferol aglycones in organic tomatoes. Ten-year mean levels of quercetin and kaempferol in organic tomatoes [115.5 and 63.3 mg g-1 of dry matter (DM)] were 79 and 97% higher than those in conventional tomatoes (64.6 and 32.06 mg g-1 of DM), respectively. The levels of flavonoids increased over time in samples from organic treatments, whereas the levels of flavonoids did not vary significantly in conventional treatments. This increase corresponds not only with increasing amounts of soil organic matter accumulating in organic plots but also with reduced manure application rates once soils in the organic systems had reached equilibrium levels of organic matter. Well-quantified changes in tomato nutrients over years in organic farming systems have not been reported previously.
Francis,
I am a firm believer in organic grown tomatoes tasting better. Don’t know the chemistry but just from experience, they are so much better!
Cool. I just thought they were good articles. Here is a blog point from a really good chef that I worked for. He makes some points about “organic” stuff.
Toxic Tomatoes: What Urban Gardeners Should Know
Researchers find heavy metals in urban-grown veggies, point to tips on enjoying the health benefits with lower risks.
First Jaune Flamme was picked yesterday, but probably a couple weeks out from having most of the plants ready. Lost about 6 plants early on due to some sort of wilt. but everything looks to have stabilized and I still have 18 left that range from huge and healthy to medium sized and somewhat healthy (Most of those are in large pots next to the raised bed). Everything has set fruit and now it is just a matter of when it will ripen and how well they will last the season. From experience, short of a catastrophe, I know that I will have plenty of fresh heirlooms through September, it’s just a crap shoot which handful die of earlier in the season. I typically plant 2 of everything, so I think 12 different types this year. Went real early- this is the earliest I have ever been able to harvest, and the new drip irrigation system I put in with electronic timers is working really well. A couple years ago when we had a couple weeks of crazy 100 degree heat, my plants suffered big time, but this year they are flourishing in it. I love it, I tell my fiancee every now and again how responsible I am watering them every day at 8 am without fail 
Can’t wait for BLT season to start…
Anyone in the Northeast harvesting tomatoes yet? It seems late to me (but maybe I’m just impatient checking progress everyday!), but I’m still a week away for cherry tomatoes and weeks away for everything else.
Joe.
No Tomato…in the mid-west!! But plenty of green ones!! cant wait.
I’ve already harvest and eaten 4 yellow pear tomatoes and 4 black princes.
I’m getting a lot more yellow pears and black princes ripening.
My Japanese black trifele started to ripen over the weekend and my carbom just started today! yippe!
A few striped ones. My son also picked a 1.7 lb Cambells and thoroughly enjoyed it on a BLT. Litlle Lucky has been producing some great toms as well. Things are ramping up fast here. Harvested 35-40 lbs in the last couple days and there are many Juliets and Brown Plum out there waiting as well as carbon and Cherokee. Really loving it. This is early for me to be getting as much fruit as I am considering the dry weather here.
Ate my first Ananas Noir of the season today! So sweet! I wish I could get better yields but my Swiss Chards are growing like crazy and my tomatoes yield very low fruit
Our tomatoes are poor this year. Frustrating. How are your peppers, Zhi.
56% of US Now in Drought - Worst Since 1950s
Over 1000 US counties are experiencing drought conditions, with June 2012 being the 10th driest on record.
NOAA State of the Climate report states:
According to the > > US Drought Monitor> , > as of July 3, 56.0 percent of the contiguous U.S. experienced drought conditions, marking the largest percentage of the nation experiencing drought conditions in the 12-year record of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Drought conditions improved across Florida, due to the rains from Tropical Storm Debby. Drought conditions worsened across much of the West, Central Plains, and the Ohio Valley, causing significant impacts on agriculture in those regions.
We are nearly always in a drought. That is why we have postage sized gardens. The drought in areas where rain is the norm is devastating. Our thoughts go out to those who depend on crops to earn a living or grow their food.
My peppers are growing and have tons of flowers but they keep dropping. I better get more than 5 ghost peppers this yr!!