Something I find really sad -- the last real tomato from the garden.

[Denninmi]

Alas, the cardboard-flavored imitations in the store are not a valid substitute.

9 months, and I'll have the real thing back. But it will seem like a long 9 months.

[MrMickeysMom]

1. You and me, Denninmi...

(((sigh)))

[Denninmi]

2. I have one left.

I have a lot of really good cherry tomatoes, which should hold on until frost. But, the regular ones are done, I have the one left. I'll be in withdrawal when it's gone.

[MrMickeysMom]

5. My cherries amazed me until the beginning of this week...

I still have a few champions (green) that will go to the food bank.

I wish I had a winter crop I could try next putting into a greenhouse, but it's Pennsylvania.

Here's to next year, when I also won't count on a late blight!

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. At least you made it to today...mine all were dead and gone by late July!

And I refuse to eat any that are not home-grown until mine start coming in again...say, mid to late next June!

We had 220 plants - and they pretty much all came in at once over a 3 week period..lots of canning, roasting, eating, salsa making, etc ensued...what fun!

[Denninmi]

4. Is that normal down there?

Usually we have them from late July through about now, with the peak coming late August through mid-September. Just wondered if your production pattern was normal for your climate?

Also, I need to confirm the name of the best one of the year, I am pretty sure it was Dr. Wyche's Yellow (which is really orange). I have the tags at the base of the plants, I just need to remember to check when I do the cleanup. Great flavor and very productive.

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. Hey! I was the one that introduced Dr Wyche's Yellow into the SSE collection

it is a variety that J D Green (the source of the unnamed tomato I named Cherokee Purple) sent me a few years later.

Our heat is so intense in NC and the disease and critter pressure to extreme that the season goes way too fast. I am going to stagger plant next year....had too much going on to to that this year.

[Denninmi]

7. Well, I know to tomato world owes you a lot of thanks.

You've done a lot of work with heirlooms. Anyway, good pick, I'm about 95% sure that this is the correct name for what I grew, as I said, the tags are at the base of the plants.

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. yes, it's a really good tomato. The young seedlings are pretty scrawny, but

develop into really vigorous, heavily yielding plants.

Next spring let me know if you want seeds of some really great varieties - I've only got about 4000 different types and love to share them around.

[Denninmi]

10. Only 4000?

What, are you just stuck in a rut or something?

I have an assignment for you (not really, just wishful thinking) -- get the flavor of one of the ultrasweet cherries like Sungold into a full sized tomato, a slicer or beefsteak. That would be excellent. Dr. Wyche was close, I noticed a lot of sweetness in the flavor, as well as the complexity of some of the great cherries.

[NRaleighLiberal]

12. oh, if only....Sungold is the ONLY hybrid I find absolutely essential.

It is such a complex cross, though, seemingly - all efforts to "dehybridize" it (grow saved seed to see if after many grow outs a non-hybrid replica can be found) ultimately fail.

I really want to use it as a parent in our Dwarf tomato breeding project - although we've already got some killer flavored ones on the market and coming along, having one that had Sungold's unique flavor would be amazing...

So, that is an assignment I may take on next year. I may look at DU gardeners as some of my test gardeners to help out!

Now that my book is out of the way, I am get back to more creative/project based gardening next year.

[grasswire]

18. will this dr. wyche's yellow thrive in pacific northwest?

If so, I'll look for it next year.

Nothing compared to my sungolds this year. I still have a few on the plants, but don't think they will ripen there.

[Kaleva]

9. I'm still picking tomatoes from the garden here in Upper Michigan

And I'll keep on picking them till first frost.

[Denninmi]

11. No frost yet?

I thought everything north of Grand Rapids to Saginaw got it a week or so ago? Good for you.

[Kaleva]

13. Not yet! I actually live north of Wisconsin

Looking at the extended weather forecast for this area, during the 3rd week of October the lows will dip down below 32 but the rest of the month the lows are mid 30's or higher.

[Kaleva]

22. micro-climate

It's very nippy here this morning (33 degrees according to AccuWeather) but there is no frost on the ground. Went and took the dog for her morning walk and 1 block away going downhill there is frost on the ground but nothing on the side of the street where my house is. Right now I'm looking out the window and I can see frost on the lawns on the other side of the street and that are lower in elevation.

[Denninmi]

23. Honestly, this year I don't care, kind of ready.

All I have left out there are cherry tomatoes, yard long beans, and basil, everything else is long done. And, I'm sick of the beans, can freeze the basil, and I know that my cherries will be gone soon, so I'm at peace with frost.

[pipi_k]

14. I'll show you sad...

My green pepper crop for the year.

It's not like I didn't start them early enough in the house. And I got them out at the proper time (which where I live is Memorial Day).

This is it. Two damned green bell peppers.

And yeah, that's actually a 7 inch wooden ruler...

[4_TN_TITANS]

16. We're already raiding the canned stash!

We have lots of cans but they won't make it halfway thru winter. The homemade sauce is just too good.

[ashling]

17. Plant 'em in the Spring, Eat 'em in the summer; all winter without'em is a culinary bummer

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[sendero]

19. I'm in north TX.....

..... the summer tomato crop was terrible. Got a reasonable amount of fruit but it just wouldn't ripen. Apparently many if not most gardeners had a poor tomato harvest this summer.

However, that same heat that makes it so hard to grow things in the summer works to our advantage in the fall. We cut all the tomato plants back to about 1/3 of their summer peak and they put on new green growth during Sept. And now as soon as we started having cool night, lots of new fruit.

Now it is a race against the first freeze to see if we can get some vine ripened tomatoes or if it's fried green tomatoes and green salsa again

[Shrike47]

20. We're in the Willamette valley and usually peak in September.

This year it rained 7+ inches in September and we didn't get a lot. I really miss all those lunches.

[AngryOldDem]

21. Nothing says "summer's over" more than the last harvest from the backyard garden. n/t

[sammytko]

24. I have about five green tomatoes - fall crop

Hope it does well. I hate store tomatoes. Summer ones were done by early July.

These plants are all from seeds of the summer plants. I have one summer plant that is still growing. It has two large green tomatoes. Want to see how long I can keep it alive and producing. Already have my winter burlap covers ready.

I live in zone 8 - so not that bad.