finally, a Beefsteak

[digitS']

It is exactly 8oz, I discovered after getting it home :

That weight is all that I require in a tomato for a beefsteak designation. My standards might be low but, at least I have some .

Rainy's Maltese and there are few more besides the 3 in the photo on that plant - not many tho' :/. I've got a new-to-me Kellogg's Breakfast that is loaded! I'm delighted about this - having no experience with KB and fearing that our season wasn't long enuf for this variety. Still, the plant is small . . .

It is just before noon right now and the temperature has just reached 60F. I had intended to run the sprinklers under this cloudy sky but the 20mph wind gusts made me decide to go back in late afternoon and hope for better conditions.

While picking the cherry tomatoes, I realized that I was reaching completely over the plants to harvest on both sides. I don't remember every doing that before! The plants are that small. I'm just lucky that I've got about 60 of them, all together .

I'm also lucky that it was super year for salad veggies, the onions are doing well, and I will continue to enjoy digging into the potato patch. Elsewhere, things are tiny and kind of sparse. But, I'm lucky to have that beefsteak !

Steve

 

[lesa]

That is a beauty! Looks like it is very happy, nestled on that rock mulch you are using!! I've had a few slicers, finally. Boy, they sure taste like summer! What will use all those cherries for, Steve? I like to dehydrate mine. Enjoy!

 

[vfem]

Lovely!

KB is on my list of one's to try as well.... glad to hear it's doing you some good.

 

[thistlebloom]

Wow Steve, nice tomato! I would give a lot to see a color other than green in my tomato patch...sigh...
I'm holding out for a long Indian summer and maybe some freakishly hot days for the rest of the regular season.
I do have "a" melon in my patch, but I'm not going to be planning any meals around ripe ones!

 

[digitS']

. . . What will use all those cherries for, Steve? I like to dehydrate mine. Enjoy!

I bought DW a dehydrator because she was talking about them . . . let's see, Christmas before last. She has yet to use it . She did ask me to grow Sweet Chelsea this year because she like to freeze those larger cherries.

The 60 aren't all cherry tomato plants - fortunately. Unfortunately, there appears to be some very unproductive beefsteaks in the line-up. Dagma's Perfection looks like one of those. I talked with someone who grew them in 2010 - after I'd put some in my tomato patch. He wasn't at all impressed with what they turned out. I'm wondering if the plants will average more than 1 fruit each .

The New Big Dwarfs have a lot of deformed fruit on them . I put quite a bit of hope and expectations on Perfection & Dwarf. It is a darn good thing that I've got the tried-&-true backing them up .

Steve

 

[momofdrew]

I am GREEN with jealousy that is a beautiful tomato... all my tomatoes are GREEN GREEN GREEN

 

[skeeter9]

Ooh, that's a beauty, Steve! How did it taste?

 

[digitS']

Skeeter, I had 2 Tiny Beefs to go with it.

They weren't the sad thing that I showed you in your "Finally a tomato" thread. They were smaller than 8 ounces and smaller than an average Early Girl. There are indeed some larger Big Beefs on the plants - they just haven't been the ones to ripen :/.

Anyway, DW said that we could do a taste test. She went with the mild Rainy's Maltese which was no surprise. Despite being small the Big Beefs have a lot more flavor and those were my choice.

There was another nice Maltese ripe (nearly) this afternoon. I almost put it on the scale because it is bigger than this 1st Maltese. However, it isn't a 1 pounder that I could brag to Greenthumb about so . . . I didn't get out the scale. I'm a fan of Maltese, not so much because I'm in love with the variety. It's more that I'm in love with DW and, it's her favorite. Early too!

Steve