Tomato Harvest 2011

I've finally tallied up the numbers and in order of greatest harvest, here goes:

23 oz   Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Helper* - beefsteak

16.25   Pollock

16 oz   Black Krim* - most tasty

14.5     Taxi

13.25   Black Prince

12 oz   Yellow Pear

9.25     Victoria* - tasty early producer

7 oz     Elfin Cherry

6.75     Principe Borghese

118 oz TOTAL

(7 lb, 6 oz)

What have I learned?  They are actually pretty finicky plants to grow. Even with my patio being 10 degrees warmer than ground level, I still needed my canopy to protect them from too much rain and sun. The self-watering system worked somewhat, and there was no way to tell if I had overwatered -- which may have caused some of the tomatoes to split -- since they like even watering.

Since I use most of my tomatoes for canning and/or eating, I will concentrate on growing just a few great tasting tomatoes next year and on increasing the yield.

And in case you're interested, I've saved seed from Radiator Charlie, Black Krim and Victoria tomatoes and will be growing seedlings for sale in the spring. Email me if you're interested in a plant or two.