Introducing my Tomato Photo Album

In the left column you'll see the latest addition to my website: My Tomato Varieties Photo Album.  Here is a  sample: 

There are 87 different tomato cultivar photos there, all taken by me.  I'm a poor photographer and even poorer Photoshopper, so the pics are basically for informational purposes.  You'll also notice that over the years I've displayed the tomatoes on many different backgrounds and chosen to label them various ways.  That's only because from year to year I can't seem to remember what I put the tomatoes on to take their pictures.  You'll also notice my funky fancy way of  labeling them within the photo - sometimes I've written down the variety on a piece of paper I stick next to the tomato; sometimes I write it down on a piece of cardboard.  Now that I've got a fancier camera,  I bet if I looked at the instruction encyclopedia booklet that came with it, I might be able to figure out how to label the photo as I take it.  But since I struggle every day to figure out this blogging thing, I fear that the technology-holding part of my brain is nearing a dangerous melt-down level.  So perhaps the funky rustic cardboard labels will have to suffice for now.

Two of my favorites:

I also try to take photos of the tomatoes I bring to the Carmel TomatoFest.  Those are easily identified by the plate that Gary Ibsen displays them on; he'll put a whole exemplar tomato on a little pedestal in the center of the place and surround it with cut tasting samples of that variety.  It's always a thrill to see my tomatoes on the massive tasting tables:

By no means is my photo album complete. I've neglected to take photos of probably another hundred, at least, of varieties I've grown over the years.  I promise to be better, and make sure that each cultivar gets its out of focus shot in the album.

I welcome you to look at the album and let me know which are your favorites, either by a comment or via an email.  Your feedback is instrumental when I choose which varieties to grow for our spring tomato plant sale.  Don't see your favorites?  Let me know anyway.  I also invite you to send me your pic of a variety not in the album.  If it's the tomato off a plant I've sold you, it'll make the album and get credited to you.

Comments

[Kenneth Rector]

Cynthia, you should take every variety you grow to the tomato fest! I'm not joking, you have some of the best tomatoes I've ever tasted and the tomato fest is THE place to show them off.

[Mary-Anne]

Cynthia if you'd like to use any of the videosand photos from the TomatoFest contact me. Take a look at:

http://www.ifood.tv/group/video/13382

all the videos can be embedded FREE at your site and we are the host no charge.

Mary-Anne

[Jennifer Chadwick]

Hi Cynthia,

Here it is December 6th, and I still have tomatoes turning ripe colors from the plants, which were grown from the seeds you provided at Guadaloupe Garden Center last February. I pull off about 3 to 4 a day from my crop. I've never had tomatoes continue to produce fruit in the winter like this? They are as sweet as ever.

[Jen]

Could be it. I remember them being very large tomatoes, and not weird shapes. They were very uniformly shaped tomatoes, if that makes sense. I am no tomato expert. ;) They had a very dusty rose/pink color - not red at all. I will look into your suggestion, thanks! Do you think I could even get them to grow here (metro Phoenix) though? I have never grown tomatoes from seed. Knock on wood, my two remaining tomato plants will survive (I planted 4; two wilted and died). They have gobs of tomatoes on them and I'm dying for them to ripen so I can eat one! Thanks, again.

[Love Apple Farm]

Jen: Looking in the "bible" of heirloom seed listings (the Seed Savers 2007 Yearbook), I see a total of 37 different tomato varieties that start with the word "pink." Everything from one called "Pink" to one called "Pink Zilla."

Then there are hundreds more with the word "pink" in the name, such as "Old German Pink." The one simply called "Pink" is described as "an indeterminate type, 4 x 3" flat globe shape, pink skin and flesh, average yield." Does that ring a bell?

The seed is being offered by a Seed Savers member in Wyoming. To become a member, and therefore have access to the thousands of heirloom fruit and vegetable seeds exchanged among members, you can visit www.seedsavers.org

Hope this helps, and if you get the seed and it's what you hoped it would be, please let me know!

[Jen]

My grandparents used to grow pink tomatoes back in Wisconsin when I was a kid. I asked my mom recently if she remembered the name of the variety they grew and she thought they were called - fittingly - "Pinks". Do you know of such a type of tomato? If so, any ideas where I could get seeds? I live in Arizona now. I so miss the big, juicy tomatoes I ate when I was a kid.

[Annette Truong]

Cynthia, your tomato photos are absolutely gorgeous! It is thrilling to browse through all the colorful heirloom varieties. I do hope you are selling seeds of most of these varieties!