How to be a “Tomato Artist”

It’s tomato time here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.  The only advantage I can see of the hot summers we have been having is that the tomatoes love them.  Growing good, delicious, organic tomatoes is an art form and I have gotten good at it- actually a little too good. Frequently I get tomatoes over a pound and they aren’t even the beefsteak variety.  But, there are only so many tomatoes the two of us can consume. We have a freezer full now and they are still coming on. Finding the extra homes other than the compost pile has gotten to be too much effort.  Next year I will have to go down to three plants.  The varieties I grew this year….

• Sungold-  (cherry tomato- so sweet!)
• Amish Paste (Prolific and huge)
• Brandywine (the best slicer)
• Black Krim (great flavor)

Really, I can’t take all the credit for the success.  I’m just conducting a series of variables that I have figured out to be a good “Tomato Artist.”  I need to thank the following contributors to my bodacious tomato harvest:

• Quality heirloom tomato starts
• My partner for tilling the raised beds,  hauling manure, and installing a drip system
• The sheep up the road for their great poo
• The cows and horses down the road for the same
• Our composted kitchen scraps
• The earthworms and microbes for decomposing the above
• The earthworms again for aerating the soil and leaving their casings
• The farmer that raised the straw that I much with
• The rain
• The sun
• My own two hands for their labor in planting & tending

To be honest, I am feeling burnt out on gardening right now.  There is something so satisfying about growing your own nutritious and tasty food but it is work.  Usually this time every summer I swear I’ll take next summer off.  Knowing me, come spring the lure of fresh tomatoes with basil and dill will lure me back again.