Gardening along SoCal coast

[SCChris]

Is anyone here growing San Marzano Tomatoes around here?
What tomatoes are you growing?
Is anyone saving seeds?

Thanks

Chris

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Gardening along SoCal coast

Chris,
I guess no one is saving seeds? I've got 10 tomato plants (all heirlooms), 4 varieties all about ready to ripen. I'm going to save seeds for the 1st time this year on the good ones. (after I google how to do it; wish I'd payed attention when the old folks dried seeds, grafted fruit trees, made pasta, etc)

I am just so use to the "roma" tomatoes (San Marzano's) that I buy at the store that are about as good (bad) as every other no-name tomato that I never buy them as plants. I guess I really should try them. Have you ever grown them?

I'll make a definite point of trying 1 next year, maybe even looking for 1 at a nursery to put in a 5 gal. pot in a sunny/protected spot thru this winter.

I should have great crop of tomatoes in a week so I'll post some picks find out their names if they're good. What are you growing?

thanks, Dino

[splatgirl]

Re: Gardening along SoCal coast

I grew San Marzano's this year, plus Italian Heirloom and Amish Paste, all for canning and freezing. It's been a weird year for tomatoes here but they've all done well enough to keep me busy. The San Marzanos are a pain in the butt compared with the others because they are so small, but they don't have to be cored, so that makes up for it.
I've canned and frozen probably 40 or 50 pounds so far. A couple of weeks ago a single days' pick from the garden produced 14 pounds of peeled, cored tomatoes for the freezer, even though I had just picked the day before!
I'm not saving seeds (she says with guilt) but maybe next season. This is my first attempt at full-scale gardening and canning/freezing and seed saving was a layer of complexity that I just couldn't manage. Plus because of all the rain we've had a bit of a problem with black spot so I'll buy seeds again next year and hope for better.
Don't even get me started on the pickle situation. Next year, ONE cucumber vine. ONE.

[SCChris]

Re: Gardening along SoCal coast

Spat, next year is my garden year, weather permitting. I had good luck with the survivor tomato plants from last year and the local organic farm had tomatoes early this year. As for your SM tomatoes. I think it was Tyler Florence who did a pizza show in Italy where the tomatoes had been low temp smoked in the farm shed to allow them to last a few months. The tomatoes were still in clusters on the vine, just hanging from the rafters of the shed.

I have the materials and space for a few substantial vegetable beds. I should be able to have a good SoCal winter garden this year.

Chris