My first beefsteak of the season

[kenny_j]

A beautiful Vorlon, Cherokee PurpleXPrudens Purple. Hope it tastes as good as it looks. I grew a lot of potato leaf varieties this year. I Picked this one a tad early, not quite fully ripe, but it is supposed to rain tonight/tommorrow so I wanted to get it on the counter. Never grew this b4, not sure how much longer to wait b4 eating. I have been eating Kimberley for a while. The first few I ate seemed incredible, but I think that was because it has been almost a year since I had a good tomato. Now they don't seem quite as luscious. Same with the Jaune Flammee, first couple seemed heavenly, they are good but nothing compares to those first few after waiting all winter, spring and hafway into summer. The Vorlons seem to be producing a decent number of fruit. Excuse the rusty old scale, couldn't find my newer one, and I was anxious to get a pic.

[jennifer28]

This is a beautiful thing.

[JayPaul1024]

Congrats on your first tom of the season! I just joined this site about 4 days ago. Nice people here. I'm in Rochester, NY. Planted on May 15. I have 17 plants total, about 5 different heirloom varieties. About 30 fruit at last count. None close to ripening. I'd guess first ripened fruit will be had around mid-August. Cheer and enjoy your sweet harvest!

Jay

[kenny_j]

Jennifer, I posted this pic on Face book, and my guitar playing buddy commented "It isn't the prettiest thing, but how's it taste". Look at all the shades of purple!!! The slightly olive shoulders, the subtle striping, It's a beauty!!!
Jay, this year I had very large plants, started early, march 4, potted into 4.5 inch azelea pots. This was the 3rd garden, planted May 28-29. So 56 days!! And I think it is ready to eat, looking this morning it feels tender when I lightly press on the skin. BLT's tonite!!! This is proof enough for me to bust the myth that small plants will catch up to larger ones by tomato time. I have a spudakee that might be picked in a few minutes, before todays rain, that was looking close yesterday. After all the hours I put in this year, I am happy!!!

[PA_Julia]

This is a beautiful tomato!!

There's also something about an older analog dial scale with the tomato sitting atop that added to the overall feel of the photo you took.

Fantastic!!


Julia

[DRT0MAT0]

Hey Kenny- I'm not that far away, neighbor! Do you have a extra sammy you can spare? hehehe lol! I'm still waiting for a blushing tom.

[kenny_j]

Dr. Tom, just finished dinner. BLT's were great! I've got bacon left for one more, c'mon over. Where bouts are you?
We didn't get much rain so I watered then found two more biggies ready. An Anna Russian, and a Pink Berkley Tie-Die. We ended up eating these two. First time growing either. The AR was a nice tomato, not knock yer socks off, but nice. The PBTD was swollen and splitting and verging on over ripe, don't know how I missed seeing it. I would have to say it was close to knock yer socks off. Very rich, sweet with a nice bite also. I am no expert on flavor, haven't tried enough varieties yet, but as of today PBTD will be in the garden next year. AR depends on the rest of the season, has few fruit set, while both Berklies are pretty full. Haven't tasted the vorlon yet, but it has quite a bit of fruit compared to other biggies.

[lakelady]

Kenny, so far this year, Vorlon is my second favorite tomato, and I liked it better than the first JDs Special Ctex I had. Sweeter (imo). Vorlon has been a rockstar for me and I'm definately planting it again next year. Gave 2 to neighbors and they both thought it was the best tomato they ever had. Not that they know much about heirlooms, just taste. Now I just have to wait for the next cluster to ripen because I ate all the early ones . Hope you enjoy it!

[koshki]

Oh, yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!

[DRT0MAT0]

Originally Posted by kenny_j

Dr. Tom, just finished dinner. BLT's were great! I've got bacon left for one more, c'mon over. Where bouts are you?

I'm just south of Ortonville, close to Cooks Dairy. 8 miles north of Clarkston. Also, across the lake from Bullfrogs, Kid Rocks hangout.

[rsg2001]

Congrats, Kenny! I wanted to post, too. Two days ago I picked a 16-oz. Marizol Purple (on the left in the photo) and a 15-oz. Dr. Wyche's Yellow - the latter came from seeds from Dutch on Tomatoville. I have not tasted either.

I wondered if the Dr. Wyche was a cross, though; you'll see in the second picture a little (6 oz.) Dr. Wyche alongside the one-pounder. Fully ripe, the tomato is more of a deep orange; all the photos show it as a golden-orange.

[tam91]

It's been interesting to me which plants have come in early this year. Not quite what I expected, other than cherries. And I've only gotten a few cherries so far. Other than BER tomatoes...
First were Earl's Faux, Brandy boy, and Indian Stripe PL.
Right behind were Brandywine Sudduth's, JD's Special C-Tex, and Gary 'O Sena.

Sudduth's was certainly a surprise this early.

[kenny_j]

Dr. Tom, maybe we've met. I was selling tomato plants at the Goodrich flea market late april and most of may. My son James runs it, so I got a free space. I plan on selling tomatoes there in another week or so. I figure for all the work, I make around a nickel an hour..... but it's fun and I meet a lot of great people. I was actually given seed by 2 different customers. Both were old Italian paste heirlooms grown for decades by grandparents!!! Have one growing this year, the other are frozen seeds, frozen since 1990, the lady that gave them said she got some to germinate. Do you know Ken Davis of Ortonville? Good friend of mine.
Lakelady, I found another Vorlon that was hiding, and almost over ripe. I picked it and ate it immediately. It was good but I thought the PBTD was better. BUT. The Vorlon sat all night in a garden that was heavily watered yesterday, and had plenty of time to soak up water, it was split in several places. I still have the first one. They seem to have decent production. I have a no-name beefsteak that has lots of fruit AND has set a lot more higher up on the plant, which most have not done thru this heat. I hope it has grat flavor, cause it seems to be mater-factory.
Here is a pic of a spudakee picked this morn. It was laying on the cage wire getting a dent and crowding out the smaller ones, needs a day or so on the counter.

[kenny_j]

You'll love it here, so many great people willing to share knowledge and seeds. Been here for a year now, and have learned so much.
RSG, I have several Grubs Mystery Greens growing that I got in trade. I don't think they are true. One is starting to show color and I see red (pink?) showing first at the stem end. It is PL with Great production but not compact by any means. One of the tallest in the garden - and I put a small cage over it!!! Got stakes and string every where now.
Tam, I am growing all you mentioned except Brandyboy, none are turning yet.
Julia, my nicer one is a dial too. I buy them at garage sales for 2-3 bucks. I love a good deal!

[meadowyck]

all of them are looking good everyone.