House Party Tomato News

Last year, you may recall, I was given a pair of Topsy-Turvy Tomato Planters by my dear Mom-in Law Deb. I planted them and posted my results in this blog as seen here, here, here and here. As the local papers were warning of a tomato blight affecting tomatoes sold at big stores, I decided to buy my plants at a local place called CapeAbilities Farm which is manned by folks from the community that are challenged in daily life. I tended them faithfully, watering them daily, pinching, fussing, you know the drill. You can see video of the progress here. I really was getting a great crop of tomatoes then illness struck.

After having this very lunch with The Contessa di Pomidoro at The Outer Bar at The Wequassett Resort I went home feeling a little tired and took a nap. By 6pm I had a temperature of 102 degrees and was quickly falling into a terrible case of pneumonia. It was to last three long weeks (in August) and the loss of my voice for those three weeks and for two more besides. It was dreadful. Anyway during my illness my hubby, Mr. B, took good care of me but completely neglected my tomato plants so that when I emerged from my sick bed my plants were basically dead and all of the tomatoes were either rotten or dead. 

This year without thinking I went to a nursery to look at some annuals and I saw San Marzano Plum Tomatoes (the kind that Lidia Bastianich is always raving about) and thought that I would raise them and can them for use this winter. I had completely forgotten about the blight warnings from last year about buying tomato plants at nurseries.

I planted them and soon afterward one of the plants developed some black edged leaves and some of the branches were sort of wilted even after a good watering so I thought that I'd better get out the pruning shears and get busy. I hacked off anything that looked suspicious on that plant. (I planted two new, fresh Topsy-Turvy planters again this year.) The other plant looked fine but I did keep a watchful eye on both. Then the second plant started developing the same symptoms. I did the same with that one; hacking off anything that looked suspicious. Now, while the plants are not as large as they were last year I am starting to get some fruit being set on the vine. I found my first tomatoette this morning! I am going to be very diligent with these plants so that I will get at least 1 quart jar of tomatoes out of them if it kills me and them too. 

I can taste the marinara sauce already!