I just couldn't wait any longer!

[TomNJ]

My tomatoes are late this year due to our cool wet June. Twice a day I rummage through the green jungle searching frantically for signs of red, but to no avail. Well I couldn't stand it any more, so this afternoon I jumped in the car and raced to the local farm market displaying the siren sign "Fresh Jersey Tomatoes, Fresh Jersey Corn"!

Sure enough, there spread out on a table in front of me were row upon row of big round deep-red Jersey beefsteaks, calling to me in their sweet sultry singing voices. I shuttered. I quickly filled a bag with the glorious globes and some ears of corn, and rushed home, constantly wiping the drool with my handkerchief.

Dinner tonight was on the patio. Thick slabs of meaty tomatoes, lightly salted, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with chopped fresh basil & oregano from the garden, then topped with thick slices of fresh mozzarella, more herbs, and more EVOO. Oil and tomato juices merged and mingled as they ran down my arms onto the table, followed by sweet butter dripping off the corn, and all washed down with a nice German Riesling Auslese. Ooooohhhhh mama!! My DW hasn't moaned that much since....well, we won't go there.

I still can't wipe this stupid grin off my face and just had to share this with all you good people here at Tomatoville. Please don't be mad at me. Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!

TomNJ

[Moonglow]

Thanks for sharing, Tom. And welcome to Tomatoville.

Joisey has a special place in my heart because I have cousins there. When I was growing up, I'd spend summers and holidays in their home that was on Brandywine Road. Of course I had no idea then that Brandywine and I will cross paths again.

It's pure LOVE meant to be. LOL

[TomNJ]

Thanks Moonglow!

I see you list watercolors as an interest and thought you might enjoy my website on the Victorian watercolor artist Helen Allingham:

www.helenallingham.com

TomNJ

[AZRuss]

Tom, great post, but curses to you!! It's getting close to dinner time here and your descriptions made me salivate. Alas, there is nowhere to go here to get fresh, ripe Jersey tomatoes. Pork roast will have to do.

[recruiterg]

If there was a Tomatoville Oscar for greatest post, you might take the cake.

Just finished dinner of fresh pesto pasta (homemade from the garden) and a salad of fresh tomatoes & cukes with dijon vinagrette and blue cheese. Unfotunately, Stupice is the only ripe tom in my garden. Can't wait for the good ones to ripen, but that may be a while. Weather has been very cool in MN this summer.

[Moonglow]

Originally Posted by AZRuss

Tom, great post, but curses to you!!

I agree!

Made me go to my tomato patch and I got stung by a bee! I guess it was worth it. Got vine-ripe Cherokee Chocolate.

Yum, pesto pasta, recruiterg!

Thanks for the watercolor link. Here's my fave.

[cottonpicker]

TomNJ...... yep, we're having "late" tomatoes here in SE PA also due to all the weird weather & rain!!! So far, I've only picked 2 Stump of the World , 2 Cowlick Brandywine & a Supersonic, a few Sungolds & a few Large Red Cherry tomatoes. Stump of the World is luscious! A keeper!

[montanamato]

I gave in this week too....I have lost about 70 plants to grasshoppers and the containers aren't looking very promising either...I bought a few Cherokee Purple earlier this week and have been enjoying BLT's and tomato avocado sandwiches with gusto...

Jeanne

[Wi-sunflower]

home that was on Brandywine Road

Considering the location in Jersey, the "Brandywine" the road was named after may have been a General during the Revolutionaly War, I think on the British side.

Not sure as my memories of US history are rather faint after nearly 40 years since high school. Not really important tho.

Carol

[Tomstrees]

have been picking cherries over the past week - in the same boat where we've got 1000's of greenie beefsteaks but none ripe - I bet next week as it will be 75 days dtm for most of them -

when/if we break down, we usually go to Wholefoods (good selection of heirlooms) or the local food market that's held in town here at work every Friday -

lots of heirlooms & I have bought them and saved seeds

[AZRuss]

Well, with the pork roast last night I discovered that garden fresh basil pesto is terrific on stir fried zucchini. Had to have SOMETHING from the garden after that post!

[Alberta]

Oh Stop I'm hungry now and I might have about 5 cherry tomatoes outside that are just about ripe. TomNJ that was a great post, LOL

Alberta

[barkeater]

Well Tom,

Being born in Sea Bright, raised near Red Bank, and a tomato farmer in Monmouth County 15 years full time, THE tomato capital of the world, I have to agree there is no tomato better than a Jersey tomato.

I heard the other day the Northeast is experiencing it's coldest and wettest summer since 1992. It was a year I'll never forget as my first tomatoes were over 3 weeks late. it was my only year farming where my first pick wasn't until August - August 12! On the bright side, and I pray it repeats the same this year, we had the warmest, driest September ever then, and bumper crops of everything until November 1.

BTW, I just got fresh Jersey sweet corn a week ago at Price Chopper up here, and it was heaven.

[TomNJ]

Yes Barkeater, we are known as the Garden State for good reason! Tomatoes and corn seem to love the Jersey coastal plain with its sandy loam soil and temperate ocean influence. The "Jersey Tomato" is famed far and wide!

June was indeed a washout, but July was somewhat better, with high temperatures averaging 83F and rain totaling 6.6". Still a bit cooler and wetter than average, but not bad, and my tomatoes welcomed it with open - ahh, branches!

I got my first red (paste) tomato today (August 1), at least two weeks later than normal - I'm usually canning in late July. If August comes in dry I may keep ahead of the Septoria and get a good yield. So far so good, and fingers are crossed!

I've got my eye on a large green perfect Brandywine (Sudduth) tomato and talk to it daily, being careful to not let it see the knife and salt shaker behind my back.

TomNJ

[tjg911]

great post tomnj!

gee sorry to hear about your drought conditions down there! in the rain forest of connecticut, we had over 11" of rain in july, that's 1/4 of an entire year's worth of rain in 31 days. we were, get this, seven one hundredths of an inch short of tieing the record for the wettest july on record from 1938. that's 1 minor rain shower!

despite my LB problems, i have picked a dozen tomatoes but only eaten 4 or 5 so far. only picked about 25 sun gold cherries so far and none have tastest like a sun gold but most are still sitting on the table. the best tasting tomato so far has been cherokee purple, it tatsted like.... summer.

tom