My two favorite open pollinated cherry tomatoes are Black Cherry and Una Hartsock. I've grown these varieties the past two years, and last year I was careful to save seeds from them. This spring, I planted two of my sturdiest Black Cherry plants and the strongest Una seedling. All three are growing well, and have set fruits. But.......what have we here?
This is definitely not a Black Cherry tomato! The fruit is much too large, and the color is completely off. It must have crossed with a nearby variety! I grew Victor very close to it last year, but the plant is much too tall to be Victor. It's nearly 6' high already, and Victor was a rather compact plant. Will I have Victor tomatoes on a Black Cherry plant? Who knows! The second plant looks like it has normal sized Black Cherry tomatoes on it, but none have yet begun to ripen, so I don't know if they will be the proper color or not. The seeds were all from the same tomato.
I think the official high temperature was around 105 today, it was 103.8 in the shade of the patio, but I went out to pick beans and it felt much hotter than that. I took the indoor/outdoor thermometer out and set it in the strawberries, and here's what it read:
It was 116.1 in the sun, and the patio temperature has gone up another degree since then, so I imagine it was around 117 in the garden. Pretty dumb of me to be out there picking beans, but it's done now and I've guzzled three tall glasses of iced tea since I came back in. I might have to take a flashlight out and pick strawberries in the dark! It's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow.
I wouldn't go out in that heat. You can do what I do. I just go out before the heat hits. But then I get up just after 6am every morning. If you aren't a morning person that would be a lot harder.
ReplyDelete6 am? Is that anywhere near 8 am? LOL, can you tell I'm not a morning person? Last night I was in the garden around 9, cutting back some Johnny Jump Ups, and got into a nest of baby earwigs. I itched all night, thinking about them!
DeleteYou stay safe in that heat! I remember it well from our years in Boise and Moses Lake.
ReplyDeleteAfter a run of 90's with some humidity here, we are 80s and pretty darn nice right now.
Ray, jumping from the 60s into the triple digits in just a couple of weeks is hard to adjust to. It would be nice if we could at least ease into it. Of course, keeping it at 78 in the house, then walking out to 107 (or 116 in the sun) makes one really feel it.
DeleteOh, Annie*Granny! Do be careful out in that heat. Don't want you to have a sunstroke. I wonder what those tomatoes will taste like! Will be looking forward to hear. I am not a morning person and at night quite often too tired so often not everything gets done! Nancy
ReplyDeleteNancy, I am careful not to stay out too long, and keep well hydrated. I do hope those tomatoes taste good, they look like they will be a salad size rather than a cherry. I usually go to bed around 10 or so, but watch TV until the 11 o'clock news ends.
DeleteI wondered if you cover your beans. The beetles get mine so this year I covered them with a screen. Someone brought up the question if I need to remove the cover to pollinate them? Do you know? Same about strawberries. Do I need to remove the cover when they start to blossom next year for awhile. Have them covered to keep Coco and the birds out. Nancy
DeleteNo, I don't cover them. I've never covered my strawberries either, except with bird netting. That has a large enough mesh to let the bees do their thing. I think beans are self pollinating, but I have a feeling strawberries are not.
DeleteThanks! We have the cages with screen over both that Bob made. Never thought about things like that! Nancy
DeleteOK, so if you've created a new variety, what will you name it? Victor Granny? Granny Cherry? Granny's Pride?
ReplyDeleteYes, please don't do too much outside, it's crazy hot and very dangerous. You need a baseball cap like I have, it's got LED lights in the brim, I love it! Just garden at night! LOL!
Sweet Victory? Black Victory? Granny's Jolly Folly?
DeleteI spent about 45 minutes in the garden today, 15 minutes at a time! Yes, I definitely need some "head" lights for gardening.
The weather has been crazy this year. I can't imagine that amount of heat right after the cool weather you've been having. Hopefully the heat wave will break soon.
ReplyDeleteI've been getting some strange variation in tomatoes as well, but they're from seed packets rather than saved seeds. Hopefully the cross-pollinated ones are still tasty.
At this point in time, I think any tomato would taste good to me! The last ones I bought in the store were just nasty. It's odd that two different varieties would come from the seeds of a single tomato, I'd think. First a four headed cabbage, now a mutant tomato! It must be the weather, LOL.
DeleteAnd to think I'm out at the crack o'dawn (5:10, here) to beat the heat (78degrees). My dear, we are WORLDS apart. But, gardeners are gardeners and we get the job done.
ReplyDeleteI'll be waiting to see how the "new" variety works out for you. Maybe you'll have the next winning hybrid???
:)
Sue, we broke the record for the day by 5 degrees. When I got up this morning it was already 87! I have to go do my shopping for the 4th, and I don't do heat well.
DeleteIf the tomato is good, I'll save seeds and see what kind of a creature grows next year ;-)
Way too hot for me. Unless there's a good fruity beverage with an umbrella, a pool and a good lookin' cabana boy to fan me. ;)
ReplyDeleteRIBBIT! RIBBIT! RIBBIT! You live! Where have you been, my sweet friend?
DeleteThat is just way too hot! I hope the weather breaks for you soon. My husband uses head lights all the time to do outdoor chores in the dark because he is definitely a night owl after over 20 years on graveyard shift. Hope your new hybrid tomato tastes as good as it looks!
ReplyDeleteYes, Nutmeg, it was officially 107 yesterday, but it's always at least 2-3 degrees warmer here in town than at the airport, where the temp is recorded.
DeleteMy mouth is watering thinking of eating a fresh tomato. I bought a plant that already had tomatoes on it, even though it was a hybrid variety (early girl, big boy, or something). I ate the first tomato from it a couple of weeks ago. It had no flavor. Then I bought one at a local roadside stand. It was to bad I actually gave it to the chickens after only two bites. I can't wait for the good ones! I'll be interested to see what yours does.
ReplyDeleteLangela, those first tomatoes are usually mealy and bland, very disappointing. Even the earliest Sungolds that I have been eating didn't have much flavor, but they are getting much better now. I've never had such bad tasting tomatoes as the last Romas I bought at the store. I ended up tossing them all.
Deleteyou better listen to yourself and stay out of that heat!!
ReplyDeleteI'm careful about it, Mrs. P. If I died out there, nobody else would take care of my garden :-D
DeleteJust lovely! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe heat? The tomato? Both? ;-)
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