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Today I went to Tomato Fest at the Trout Lake Farmer’s Market to buy my heirloom tomato ‘seeds’ for next year. The vendors sell tomatoes, not tomato seeds in packets, but really, a tomato is just a delicious and colourful packet filled with of lots and lots of seeds, right? And heirlooms have grown true seed to fruit year after year, so what better way to decide what tomatoes you want in your garden the next year: buy some heirlooms tomatoes, scoop out the seeds, and chow down. If it’s a good tomato – grow more! If it sucks, then just toss the seeds in the compost.
These are the ones I’ll be testing and saving over the next few days to see which will join my most favourite of all heirlooms (some of those favs snuck into the photo even though they came from my garden: Green Zebra, Sweetheart Grape and Siletz). All this for $8.50. Hell yeah!
It seems crazy to BUY more tomatoes when this is the giant bowl I am trying to cope with today from my home garden (this is a really, really big bowl):
Ah, well, I’m sure I’ll find SOMETHING to do with them all….om nom nom nom nom..
They look delicious! Let us know how they tasted and what seeds you’ll keep. With all this tomatoes you could make egg plant parmigiana (parmesan). It’s my favourite summer dish – easy and lots of veggies involved (erm…well… and cheese).
It’s a hard life, eh? :) I love your tomato problem! That bowl is filled with so many fantastic colours! I want to try them all! I’ve never saved my tomato seeds before. After you scoop them, do you strain with a cheese cloth? Tell me more!
I’m so glad I found you!!!
Laura, I’m working on a post on seed saving for tomatoes. I’ll get in touch when I have it done.
Awww, thanks Veronica.
Oooh, this is such a wonderful idea!! I should do this too. The black krim are gorgeous.
What a great idea. They all looks so delicious.
Clever girl ! Sure is a smart way to select next year’s crop. ;) Hope you enjoy them all.
Nice haul from your garden too !
A very cool way to go tomato seed shopping! The black krim looks very similar in color to the Kumato tomatoes I just posted about today. Maybe I’ll have to grow them both next year so I can do a side by side comparison. Wanna do a seed trade? :)
And green sausage? What a wonderful name for a tomato variety.
Those Tomatoes look lovely! I have Green Zebra and I think it’s ready to be picked, first time I’m trying it. My Marvel Stripe and Brandy Wine is big but still not ripen, the short season here is disappointing! Hopefully it wills stay warm until October since we’re in California.
I get my seed packets that way sometimes too. I saved some Black Prince this year that I got from the farmers market.
I am extremely interested in trying out the black and green varieties of tomatoes next year, and your pictures make me want to buy some seeds right this second!
What kind of flavor do the green sausage tomatoes have? Are they just like a green version of a paste tomato?
I just tried the green sausage today, it’s firm and crunchy like a raw pepper. The flavour I would say was lemony and mild. Black tomatoes are much richer in flavour – less sweet and more intense tomato, with less acid. My favourite tomatoes are pink and orange ones – and of course the Green Zebra, Sweetheart Grape and Siletz.
You had me at ‘seeds.’
I’ve nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award.
Your tomatoes are works of art. If you’re still looking for ideas on what to do with some of them, you might want to consider roasting them in the oven and then freezing for soups ans sauces at a later date.
I love how you labeled all the varieties. How delicious they must taste. Good luck with them next year.
All those tomatoes look so tempting. I love having a bowl of tomatoes in the kitchen to constantly sample from. Looks like you have had a very, very good tomato year.
Yum. I grew Black Prince last year and never tasted such an amazing tomato. I’ve finally transplanted almost all of my tomatoes now – can’t believe it’s already mid-June! I’m in Vancouver as well and was pretty disappointed by our wet and cold month of May.
I too am a lover of heirloom tomatoes. One of my favs is Green Zebra, I may have to try Red Zebra if I can find it! (Great job on that photo with all the names on the tomatoes!)
Thanks, TC. I grew black zebra this year but the flavor paled in comparison to the green zebra. I tried the red as well, and feel that it lacks the brightness of the green. Will only grow green for zebras in the future.
Hello,
Will you give me permission to use the image of a basket full of heirloom tomatoes, where most tomatoes in basket are labeled on my web page.
GreatBasinNatives.com
Thanks
Sure, Merrill, just credit Garden Therapy and link back to this post. Have a great day!
Wow! I bet you could make some awesome tomato water martinis with such a great selection of tomatoes! I’m inspired.