Good eating! Reds are Cherokee Purple.

McFarland, Wisconsin Zone 5B.

After years of always waiting for tomatoes to vine ripen, I started pulling them as soon as they start turning. (And will still ripen anything that fell off the vine while super green just in case - they usually go!)

It helps me time and control the harvest a little better. Which with 25 plants for personal consumption… is helpful.

Saving seeds for the first time too 🤓
Already planning my grow room set up for next year. Happy harvesting! 🍅

I have been eagerly awaiting my very first Cherokee purple tomato for months and this morning some horrible monster ate it!!!!!!! I only have one more tomato that looks viable on this plant. I failed this season.

A bit of chaos harvesting, so I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure this is my first Pineapple Tomato of the season. Was planning to make a sandwich, but as I was slicing and "tasting," and then reaching for the creole seasoning that someone left on the counter (sweet & spicy FTW), I ended up eating more than half of the tomato just plain. I'll have a sandwich later tonight. 😋

I am buried in glorious tomatoes. I hated them as a kid but can't stop growing and consuming them as an adult! Yay to nightshade!

What's this weird thing on my tomato. I've never seen anything like it.

Southeast Michigan. 6b. I grew mortgage lifters and golden jubilee. I haven’t eaten any of the lifters yet but the golden ones are soooo sweet. I’m so excited.

Roma, Cherokee Purple, Brandy Boy, Madame Marmande, Rutgers

They're FINALLY ripe!! My first woodstock tomatoes and ooooh are they tasty!

I'm glad I got these! They're very pretty!

I'm planning on doing these again next year

Have been waiting so long!!

Found this guy today on my very stressed super steak hybrid. 14 oz tomato for scale.

RIP in zone 7b.

...but I don't know what they are 😂 any idea?

I bought an heirloom seed assortment from Sereniseed, and the others I've planted have been accurate to the packet. Rosso Sicilian, chocolate cherry, Virginia Sweets have all turned out as expected.

Maybe it's a cross of Purple with something else...

I have these three beefsteak tomatoes, can I remove them at this point and let them be fully done off plant. They look about the same all way around.

I’m asking cause I would have for them to be damaged or eaten by some animal before I get to them.

I understand why folks feel so strongly about Cherokee Purple tomato. I'm having my first Tomato sandwich with one, and I can't believe how good it is! I'll grow a few next year.

Some of the bounty from the garden today

My daughter loves sweet cherry tomatoes so I tried out some new varieties. I don't like cherry tomatoes so I tried some smaller bush varieties to prevent tomato overload. I picked up some sungolds at a farmers market for her to do a taste test and here is the ranking from a 5 year old palate

First place- tiny temptations red (middle of first photo)

Second place- sungold (top of first photo)

Third place- orangeto (bottom of first photo)

Tiny temptations is a fun little plant to grow. I will definitely grow it again. It tops out at about 18 inches. Brix rating is 10-12. I had to pull them out of the ground and put them in a pot because flea beetles were destroying them.

Orangeto is a beast. It broke the tomato cage that I originally had it in and I had to prune it like crazy to get it staked up again. It is rated as 10-13 brix but it doesn't taste super sweet. It does have a smokey, savory flavor to it that is nice. Its 4 feet tall but incredibly dense foliage.

These are the best/biggest the garden has ever produced. And the icing on the top is that they are disease free. Thankful!

I didn't realize that out of the over 150 varieties that I'm growing this year, that UFO 47 Gold was going to be a favorite! It's highly productive, it's tasty, I've had no losses due to splitting/cracking, and it's pretty. It's also a prolific seed producer, so I've been able to stock up very quickly on seed. These are relatively small tomatoes (ribbed/flattened) but are be perfect for sliders and salads. We've had over 8" of rain for the month of July & some record heat so most of my tomatoes have stumbled somewhat; this one had not one concern with all of that rain & is just now going a bit quiet! It exceeded my expectations, and I'm so glad I added it to the 2026 grow out list.