Joan Swenson: With tomato varieties, this year's fat and juicy is next year's limp and tiny
| Monday, Jul 28 2008 05:31 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 06:12 PM
Bits and pieces on gardening …
Our tomato harvest has slowed a bit after weeks when my husband was picking a big bowl of tomatoes daily.
They’ve been delicious, particularly several varieties we haven’t grown before. While I have long loved Brandywine tomatoes for their size, pink color and thick flesh, we found two interesting tomatoes I want to make sure we plant again next year: Black Krim and Cherokee Purple, which have produced unusually beautiful, flavorful fruit. Both of these tomatoes are dark red, almost maroon, with greenish “shoulders.” Even when they are ripe, the shoulders of the fruit remain dark green.
Both are considered beefsteak tomatoes but they probably did not reach true beefsteak size because of Bakersfield’s heat. Still, the flavor — richly “tomatoey” and even a bit salty — and dense consistency of the flesh of both varieties made them summer favorites at our house.
Less tomato “jelly” and the thick flesh kept sandwiches from turning soggy.
After enjoying these on sandwiches, we were less impressed with smaller longtime favorites such as Early Girl, which we had in abundance and have been most useful in salads.
Meanwhile, Brandywine has not provided us with any fruit this year and our Mortgage Lifter tomatoes, famed for their size, are still green and not particularly huge.
Growing tomatoes is a gamble every year, or so it seems at our house. A good tomato this year may turn out to be a so-so tomato next year, depending on weather and changing conditions in the year (more shade, worms, etc.), so my husband recommends overplanting and expecting some tomato failures.
CAT PROBLEMS
A reader, Carmen, writes to ask, “What could I use on my flower beds that would keep the cats away and keep them from messing it up?”
It’s a tough problem to solve. When I plant annual flowers from seed, I lay down old wooden trellises or wire fencing to make it uncomfortable for cats to sit on and dig in the soil. I keep the trellises in place until the plants are tall enough to withstand the cats. I saw that one gardener in my neighborhood had stretched chicken wire under shrubbery near the sidewalk, presumably to foil the cats.
But in areas where I have had shredded bark to keep the soil cool and moist, the cats made a smelly mess of it. A cat was even using the pea gravel in my side yard as a bathroom stop.
I don’t know of anything that keeps cats away. Perhaps some readers have solutions that don’t harm the felines. Send your e-mails to jswenson@bakersfield.com.
SPIDER MITES
Dry weather and dust create the perfect environment for spider mites to thrive. In other words, Bakersfield in July.
Spider mites are a member of the arachnid family and they create webbing, but it is not used to snag bugs. Instead, spider mites suck plant juices, giving it a spotted appearance. This is often why hollyhocks in Bakersfield can look sickly in late summer and when you see them at the coast they look lush and healthy. The pest also feeds on tomato plants and other vegetables and can be a problem in stone fruit trees.
The sometimes extensive webbing and careful examination with a magnifying glass can help you identify spider mites. Hold a piece of white paper under a plant which you suspect has a spider mite infestation. Tap the plant and then look closely at what falls on the paper. Spider mites have eight legs and are pale brown in color.
Although some beneficial insects prey on spider mites, they may not offer complete control.
Chemical controls will kill beneficials and not necessarily wipe out the mites. Instead, rinse off the plant regularly to knock off mites and webbing and keep the plants watered well.
