I've read many posts and I'm extremely guilty as well, about people worrying about the size, shape and appearance of their tomatoes. Well if there was an award for the saddest looking tomato...bar none...mine would win the blue ribbon!! But the flavor......my god!!!! They are the firmest, juiciest tomatoes I've ever grown. Sweet, sour salty....my mouth waters as I cut into them. My neighbour's plants are the healthiest looking plants with the reddest tomatoes I've seen this year. I picked one of his through the fence...shh.. not to boast but the flavor didn't compare to mine. So another lesson learned. Never judge a book by it's cover. Whether it's a person, place, thing or a tomato!!
Good Luck Everyone!!
Christina

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I grew Romas and Better Boys. Here's an example of my sad tomato. A tomato only a mother could love.
TOP:


BOTTOM:


Did I win the blue ribbon?
Christina

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That is soooooooooo true Christina....
They can taste sooooo good even if
they look a wee~bit off!!!!

Believe it or not, I just picked
my first red*ish* tomato....
Mine were soooooooo slow coming in...

But tasteeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

I am with you Weezie, we have only pulled 4 or 5 redish ones but it looks like I should be able to pull a dozen or so RED ones this weekend. That means SALSA!!!!

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

I just went out to the garden and got another basket full of tomatoes. Funny how some are the size of grapefruits and green as a lime but others are the size of grapes and red as the nail polish I have on my toes right now. But I'm not gonna' complain...they're edible......'least I hope cuz I'm eatin' them.

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Looks great Triss! My romas look and taste just fine. 'Bin pickin' them for a good month now. I'm a little disappointed with my hot banana peppers. Not enough heat for me. My chilis are just now turning red.....now they're yummy!!!! Green peppers are loooong gone. Early crop with few peppers....bummer!!!

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Now that looks good!

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

Christina...
Those tomatoes and peppers look
very gooooooooooooood!!

Try some Jalapenos' or Cayenne's for
just a little bit more heat than your
hot banana peppers.

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

hahaha.
husbands' been home
and he's drivin' me nutz with projects...

Funny you should post this,
I am actually eating my first beefsteak tomato
RIGHT NOWWWWWW!!!
And it's soooooooooooooooooooo
sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

My fruits (Roma, Cherry) look and taste great. Had romas, rosted garlic and pasta for dinner tonight.

Kind of off topic but I was watching a garden show recently and they boiled, pealed and then froze tomatoes. Anyone preserve this way and how do they taste? I mean, heck I did most of that just making dinner.

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Currently listening to: Vince Guaraldi Trio -- A Charlie Brown Christmas. Adult and contemporary but evocative of youth and innocence, a must own CD.

Christina,

That funny-looking tomato has what's called "catfacing" which happens oftentimes in hot/humid weather when the pollen gets sticky and the blossom doesn't pollinate completely. Some varieties are particularly prone to it. In fact, I'm growing a green-when-ripe variety called Aunt Ruby's German Green, a very large beefsteak, the kind that can provide BLTs for 4 adults from one fruit. Most of these have had catfacing on them, but I'm not entering them into a county fair contest or selling them at a farmer's market so I really don't care what they look like. After all, would you rather eat a gorgeous-looking piece of cardboard or a catfaced piece of heaven? Something to ponder.

Cheers,
Julianna

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Yep, Weezie, the monster beefsteaks seem to be more prone to catfacing than other varieties, although I have seen some catfacing on salad-size tomatoes (the size of a small tennis ball). Another observation..I notice more monster-sized blossoms way early in the season, like the first blossoms to open on a large beefsteak variety will oftentimes be HUGE and the resulting fruit will be conjoined twins or just a big catfaced creature. I had a Burracker's Favourite (very large beefsteak bicolour) which started its life as an ENORMOUS blossom and became a conjoined twinset over 3 lbs. It ended its life as Italian tomato sauce, lol. Sometimes it can be a fun learning experience to track the life from blossom to fruit, especially when you see an anomaly like that huge blossom or fused double blossom.

Julianna

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Well Weezie......I must admit...I am getting a little impatient waiting for the pictures....
But I gotta understand......my better half is on vacation this week too...funny how this week has gone by so quickly but to be honest, we've really got nothing done...aw well...cheers!

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