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Blog Tomatoes

RPF tomato varieties

Since we recently harvested the last tomatoes for the 2022 season, obviously tomatoes are still on our minds. We love tomatoes and there are so many varieties to choose from. When selecting varieties of any vegetable, we evaluate it based on a number of criteria including climate adaption, productivity, taste, nutrition, appearance, and ease of growing. Here’s a sneak peak at the varieties we’re choosing for 2023.

Returning champions: cherry tomatoes. We love cherry tomatoes in multiple colors for salads and snacking. We’ve grown Harvest Luck and Galina’s Cherry for the past two years and we’re trying out a couple new varieties in 2023.

Harvest Luck
Galina’s Cherry
Wheatley’s Frost Resistant
Gobstopper

Returning champions: heirloom tomatoes. Our two favorite heirloom tomatoes are Paul Robeson and Fantome du Laos.

Paul Robeson is a maroon-colored tomato with rich flavor, our favorite for BLTs.
Fantome du Laos is a “white” tomato with naturally lower acidity and an almost tropical flavor. We love to cook with this tomato, to add flavor without altering the color of the finished dish.

Returning champions: burger slicers. In 2022, we were pleased by the introduction of Katja, a large pink slicer. For 2023, we’re adding Azoychka, a slightly smaller slicer, a junior burger, if you will.

Katja
Azoychka

Returning champions: sauce/canning tomatoes (Roma types). Of course we grow red tomatoes for canning and making pasta sauce, salsa, barbecue sauce, etc. The egg-shaped Graham’s Good Keeper is our favorite from 2022 and we’re adding the globe-shaped Illini Star for 2023.

Graham’s Good Keeper
Illini Star

New Addition: special purpose tomatoes. We grew Belmonte Pear this year, but we didn’t share them because we didn’t have very many plants. Belmonte Pear is an Italian heirloom tomato grown especially for sauce. For 2023, we’re adding Long Keeper, a semi-determinate variety that is planted later in the season to be picked green before the first autumn frost and ripened indoors for fresh tomatoes in the winter. And finally, we’re adding Principe Borghese, the famous sun-drying tomato that can also be tied into ristras for winter storage.

Belmonte Pear
Long Keeper
Principe Borghese

NOTE: photos of tomato varieties from Adaptive Seeds and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

Categories
Discount Tomatoes

1 Day Only Sale

We haven’t seen as many customers this week due to the rain. Y’all must be hungry, so we thought we would help.

FRIDAY FLASH SALE – ALL TOMATOES $1 OFF

Red Roma-type tomatoes now $2 per pound (was $3 per pound)

Heirloom tomatoes now $3 per pound (was $4 per pound)

Cherry tomatoes now $4 per dry pint (was $5 per dry pint)

YES, WE STILL HAVE CANTALOUPES!

Categories
Discount Tomatoes

Solar Power

This week, come by to see our solar dehydrator in action. We’re processing local Granny Smith apples into dried apple rings.

Our cherry tomatoes are still on sale, $4 (normally $5). We also have red Roma-type tomatoes and larger heirloom tomatoes. Our pink slicer tomatoes for burgers are currently not available.

In response to a customer request, we started making a salad mix of baby greens and herbs. Please call ahead (505-302-5657) if you’d like some salad mix so we can have it ready for you when you arrive.

Jamaica, aka edible hibiscus, is wonderful for agua frescas, jams, jellies, sauces, and even vegetarian tacos.

We have lemon cucumbers, Persian cucumbers, and bread and butter pickles made from Persian cucumbers.

What else can you do with pattypan squash? We used thin slices in place of noodles to make lasagna and it was outstanding.

We’ve got your greens: Swiss chard, sweet potato, sorrel, lamb’s quarters, New Zealand spinach, Malabar spinach…

We’ve also got great herbs: basil, parsley, sage, thyme, oregano, chives, and more.

Lots of masala bean pickles, chile dilly bean pickles, and celtuce pickles. Blackcurrant jam is low stock.

Tuesday-Friday, 9am-5pm. 14 Gonzales Rd, Belen. 505-302-5657. Please park in our driveway and ring the front doorbell for service.

Categories
Discount Tomatoes

Happy Fall Sale

Friday, September 23.

Cherry tomato 12-ounce dry pints, $4. That’s $1 off. Choose red or orange/yellow. While supplies last.

Categories
Tomatoes

Tomatoes rolling in

Our kitchen table isn’t completely taken over with tomatoes yet, but we are getting there. We have red “Roma-type” tomatoes, pink slicer tomatoes, flavorful heirloom tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes.

We also have sweet sun-ripened cantaloupes.

Lemon cucumbers, Persian cucumbers, and bread & butter pickles made from Persian cucumbers.

Pattypan squash, so tender and mild, you can enjoy it all the ways you like yellow squash and zucchini.

Leafy greens: Swiss chard, sweet potato, sorrel, New Zealand spinach, Malabar spinach, and more.

Herbs: basil, parsley, sage, thyme, oregano, chives, and more.

Our beans look like they are slowing down though we have preserved a lot of the harvest as pickles.

Come see us Tuesday-Friday, 9am-5pm. Our farm is also our private residence and you are our invited guest. 14 Gonzales Rd, Belen. 505-302-5657. Please park in our driveway and ring our “smart” doorbell for service. We’re usually working out back or assisting other customers and we’ll be right with you.

Categories
New Harvest

Heirloom whites

We picked the first of our heirloom white tomatoes, Fantome du Laos. These are naturally lower in acidity, making them a good choice for folks who have been advised to avoid tomatoes because of heartburn or similar concerns. They are sweet and savory at the same time. We love them for tomato egg drop soup.

Categories
New Harvest

Tomatoes!

The tomatoes are starting to come in. Not all varieties we planted for this season are ready yet. So far, we have…

Red tomatoes, great for cooking and canning. $3 per pound.

Pink beefsteak tomatoes, to slice for your burgers. $3 per pound.

Heirloom Paul Robeson tomatoes bring the big, bold flavor, perfect for a BLT. $4 per pound.

Mixed cherry tomatoes for sweet and tangy snacks, $5 per pound.

New item: eggplant. These are a happy medium between big Italian-style eggplants and slender Asian-style eggplants, so they are wonderful for all manner of cooking. Our favorite is to grill or roast until tender and mash with olive oil and spices for baba ghanouj. $2 per pound.

Pattypan squash make tasty calabacitas and can be used the same as other summer squash. $2 per pound.

Persian cucumbers are $3 per pound. Our bread and butter pickles made with these cucumbers are $10 per pint.

We have yardlong beans (Chinese noodle beans) and garden beans, $2 per 8 ounces. We plan to make more bean pickles later this week.

Speaking of pickles, we have celtuce pickles in wheat-free soy sauce, a crunchy treat with an savory umami flavor. We also have a few jars of blackcurrant jam left; it will sell out soon.

We always have greens: sweet potato greens, New Zealand spinach, amaranth, sorrel, and Swiss chard.

And let’s not forget the herbs: basil, parsley, thyme, oregano, and more.

Since the tomatoes are here, we are taking a break from baking sourdough bread until the end of the growing season. And we are adding Friday to our open hours. Please come see us Tuesday-Friday, 9am-5pm. 14 Gonzales Rd, Belen. 505-302-5657. Please park in our driveway and buzz the doorbell for service (it buzzed our phones). We’ll see you soon.