Our last post was July 17th… since then well…
We have a pleathora of people, vegetables, and animals to introduce you to. First, our farm friends from out of town:
Matt & Kate from Boston, harvesting french fingerling potatoes.
Jason (and Ben) harvesting All Blue potatoes.
Kim, from London, holding an escaped chicken (more on that escapade in a few).
The new kitten (because we can’t help ourselves). His name is Cornelius.
Next, our first round of tomatoes:
Yes, there is some green on them. In fact there are some green tomatoes! We know. If you come to see the place you’ll know why we’re doing this. First there are so many tomatoes that the trellising is not doing it. We have to relieve the stress by picking (cutting off) many tomatoes. We’re ripening them on the back porch nicely though, so they don’t stay green on the top for long. Also, there are some peppers on the side there, Orion Bell and Red Cheese (our favorite little mixer so far… excellent for stuffing).
This is Dr. Wyche’s Yellow. The good Dr. has been doing quite well, he puts out some amazing sized fruit that are excellent for slicing and very low in acid.
Paul Robeson is also a great sized fruit, and a beautiful dark color. He has been cracking up on us a little, but once we cut into our first, it won’t matter. Cracks are from infrequent watering, or so our Master Gardener training tells us. But as you can see, the other tomatoes aren’t reacting quite the same way so it could just be the cultivar. These guys would never make it to the grocery store, which is a pity, because the flavor is supposed to be amazing, and kicks the red ones hydroponic asses.
And OH! They really do turn pink. These were the first to make serious fruit and finally last week they turned this amazing pink color. Well worth the wait, as the taste is the gentlest cherry sized tomato we’ve ever tasted.
Look back up at the tomato basket and see the skinny green guys up there. Some are still on the vine. Those are the Pantano Romanescos and we don’t think they like it here too much. They’ve had the worst blossom end rot and yet are growing like the dickens. Some other tomatoes are getting a little wiped out but all in all the PR’s haven’t been getting enough calcium. Maybe it’s the cation exchange in the sandy soil? Dunno. The few we’ve had are cute enough, but are very thick inside. Paste is what they are known for.
So yes. Names. Why the names. Well, introductions to tomatoes is important in this summer of tomato mis-understandings no thanks to the FDA, the CDC, and whoever else couldn’t find the salsa. So hopefully everyone will only eat tomatoes with awesome names and good lineage.
Also, the names of farmers and farm helpers. Know their names and their faces. In times like these that’s the only way to put faces on your food. Stop moving around so much and get out to the farm. Everyone who reads the blog is always invited. Bring your neighbors. Give us a holler and we’ll introduce you to everyone else. Know their names!
Okay, rant over. Time for a little family portrait from our favorite winery — Wooldridge Creek Winery — in the Applegate Valley. Greg and Kara out there are fantastic. They just released some fantastic wines at market… but if you can’t get those, you have to drive out there for our absolute favorites… just about everything. Their Syrah is great, and their Pinot Noir Rose is perfect for summer. They have a new sparkling coming out, a Brut Rose, that is gorgeous. Oh yeah, family portrait.
Names: Sadie, Gabe, Chad.
