This season my best crop came from the tomatoes. I had tree plants and they just kept giving more and more. I had some setbacks of course, but over all the plants performed splendidly. Last year's season I only got eight tomatoes total, but this time I already got more than that out of the big tomato on the first harvest, I was very pleased. I really never expected to have so much out of them, it was great seeing that much difference. I can't wait for next year to try again.
The first plant I set up was a big red tomato which I put on the corner to give it the best sun . It grew really fast and thick and started giving flowers right away. Then, when it got a bit heavy with fruit, it slowed down a little, but after every harvest it started growing fast again.
The second one was a very rich yellow mini tomato. It was in the middle of them all and it very soon took over the spotlight. It grew very fast and so tall, that at the end, I had to tie it to the roof of the balcony. I got around 150 tomatoes from it alone which meant it was the most productive of the three plants.
The last plant was a very tasty red mini tomato. It did well to, but I had a couple troubles at the beginning because the main stalk broke. The time it got to the tomato to recover delayed its crops a little and I got a bit less from it than from the orange one. It also was the one that got the most damaged from that week of drought I talked about before. Still, I had a nice crop out of it.
Because they where doing that well I wanted to measure the production so I counted and weighted every one and did the math. Taking reference from store bought tomatoes of the same kind my total crop was worth around 6000 yen (78 dollars), a very healthy sum for tree plants in a small balcony. And the best of it was that being home grown I had them all very fresh and they tasted amazing
Now their season has ended and it is time to take them out. I liked how the combination of one big and two mini tomatoes worked, I might try something similar again. However I will start checking new varieties and planning what to do next year.
Any recommendations?
Big ripe tomatoes ready for eating
The first plant I set up was a big red tomato which I put on the corner to give it the best sun . It grew really fast and thick and started giving flowers right away. Then, when it got a bit heavy with fruit, it slowed down a little, but after every harvest it started growing fast again.
The mini yellow tomatoes were my best success
The second one was a very rich yellow mini tomato. It was in the middle of them all and it very soon took over the spotlight. It grew very fast and so tall, that at the end, I had to tie it to the roof of the balcony. I got around 150 tomatoes from it alone which meant it was the most productive of the three plants.
This plant gave the most delicious tomatoes of all three
The last plant was a very tasty red mini tomato. It did well to, but I had a couple troubles at the beginning because the main stalk broke. The time it got to the tomato to recover delayed its crops a little and I got a bit less from it than from the orange one. It also was the one that got the most damaged from that week of drought I talked about before. Still, I had a nice crop out of it.
Ready to be picked
Because they where doing that well I wanted to measure the production so I counted and weighted every one and did the math. Taking reference from store bought tomatoes of the same kind my total crop was worth around 6000 yen (78 dollars), a very healthy sum for tree plants in a small balcony. And the best of it was that being home grown I had them all very fresh and they tasted amazing
Tomatoes are a must have for any garden
Now their season has ended and it is time to take them out. I liked how the combination of one big and two mini tomatoes worked, I might try something similar again. However I will start checking new varieties and planning what to do next year.
Any recommendations?
Fer, my favourite small red tomato is "Maskotka". It produces a HUGE yield of fruits about 5cm in diameter. I have also had good success this year with "Tropical Ruby", a red mini plum (or Roma) type. Another very prolific yellow one is "Ildi", which I grew last year and the year before (described a few times on my blog!). It has hundreds of fruits - like bunches of grapes almost - which should appeal to you! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat varieties were the ones you grew? The little orange one looks like "Sungold", which is popularly reckoned to be the tastiest tomato of all time.
Do you get blight in your part of the world Fer?
ReplyDeleteYUM! They all look so delicious...
ReplyDeleteGosh, your Tomatoes look perfect! I don't see any blemishes. Those would be great photos for a seed catalog. Yum!
ReplyDeleteYour tomatoes look amazing, great colour! Nicely displayed too.
ReplyDeleteBravo, Fer. They are the loveliest tomatoes I have ever seen coming from a balcony! I'm certain you feel a great sense of achievement.
ReplyDeleteRosie
I like how you photographed your tomatoes. Very magazine like....
ReplyDeleteYour photos are beautiful - so are your tomatoes! I've got a few plants in and a few more sprouting on the windowsill. Such a generous plant.
ReplyDeleteWow, you had a bountiful tomato harvest considering that you grew them only in your balcony. Nothing beats a fresh, home-grown food. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteThanks! it was a good yield this year
ReplyDeleteMark ~ I have no idea what is the name of the ones I got, the name is in japanese and I cant find a translation. I will look around for that Ildi tomato it looks fun to grow.
Sue ~ We do get blight here, but lucky me I haven't had it in my garden
What a great yield! I like the combination of big and little tomatoes too. I like to add some smaller, sweeter tomatoes to the large ones when making soup or salsa as it provides sweetness without sugar.
ReplyDeleteThats so healthy tomatoes! They look so juicy!
ReplyDeleteThat really is an awesome sight to behold. Lots of homegrown tomatoes at the table. One thing about tomatoes is that, if you want them to keep on producing flowers, always make sure you pick the fruits just when it ripens. Never let a single fruit dried out unless you are planning to get seeds from it and its on the way out.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Freshly looking tomatoes. It looks like it is so juicy that some juice will flow out of it when taken for a bite. Perfectly grown I would say. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy yellow tomatoes! They're sweeter that usual tomatoes and look really great!
ReplyDelete