Miolea Organic Farm

We took up the rest of the tomato plants Saturday, which is a week earlier than last year even though we planted them late this season. The end of the tomatoes is always a sad day here as what will follow is nine months of hard, unripe store-bought tomatoes. We were dry in August and September in Maryland and the tomato hornworm and leaf-footed bug were formidable and persistent. Red and black, these spidery leaf-footed bugs are quick to elude a swift hand and lightning fast at creating circular rings around the top of mature tomatoes. While the marks did not affect the juiciness or the sweet taste, the tomatoes had to be relegated to seconds for retailing. Our method of watering, drip tape on all our vegetable beds from rainwater collected from four 3,000-gallon collection tanks, meant spraying the leaf-footed bug with a hose, the best way to rid your plants of this pest, was going to require a new method of watering. Instead, I opted, for hand picking the feisty bugs which are amazingly fast. My efforts left me with ugly but tasty tomatoes.

Growing heirloom tomatoes challenges your patience. Thin-skinned heirlooms like Mortgage Busters taste great and weigh a hefty pound usually, but they split easily and are hard to get to market. Thicker skinned heirlooms like Rose deBerne are hardy enough to ripen on the vine but don’t get very big, eliciting comments like, “Is this all you have? I wanted a nice big tomato.” But the taste can’t be beat even if it is a sloppy mess you have to eat over the sink.