The tomato harvest turned out to be a bit disappointing this year. Given all the plants, I expected that we would have between 30 and 40 quarts by the end of the season. It just didn't happen. We ended up with 15 quarts and a pint. (Kathy did all the hard work of actually doing the canning.)
Here's what I think I learned from this season. First, variety matters. The best producers, accounting for about half of what we stored, were Rutgers tomatoes. I only planted 6 of these plants, but they produced very well. The Marglobe split, were of a very uneven size (some more like cherry tomatoes). I only harvested a few Brandywines because the birds and worms got to them. Next season, I will try a mixture that will include Rutgers and maybe a hybrid just for the table.
Second, I've got to learn to control blossom rot. Dolomitic lime is cheap. I will double whatever I put into the beds this next year. The newest bed where the Rutgers were planted never experienced blossom rot at all.
Third, I've got to figure a better system for staking. The storm we had a while back had strong northerly winds that toppled all of the cages. I am still thinking about how to solve this.
Fourth, I won't plant as close next year as I did this year. I had about 15" between plants. I think 2' will be better. Essentially, as I finally get more beds, I will spread the 36 plants from this year into 3 beds instead of 2.
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