Ripe tomatoes and long hot days always arrive in tandem in our gardens but it’s so nice to have those fresh rewards as the heat gets more difficult to deal with.

No doubt the plants you so lovingly started in the spring are feeling the heat too.   While that’s as it should be it’s often difficult to watch perfectly green perky plants transform into leggy, somewhat yellowing piles of leaves and stems. Inevitable, yes, but that decline can, in many areas of the country, announce the opportunity of a second growing - and harvesting – season. If you live in the south (SoCal included) and want to extend your season for as long as you can it’s time to get started.

In the garden world the end of the season is a mirror image of the beginning of the spring season. Tomato plants installed in spring at the cusp of the season grow fast and early season varieties will flower in temps that are warming but remain lower and less consistent than those in the summer. They thrive in days that are getting progressively longer. In the summer the temps are optimal at planting time so growth is not a problem but that soon changes as fall arrives and temps begin to go down. What we hope to do is time the planting so that those mid-range temps last long enough to host a good harvest on both ends of the season.

Ahhh summer.  The anticipation of fresh ripe tomatoes and all that evokes can turn, as July becomes August, into elation, satisfaction and then often into frustration. “What do I do with all these tomatoes!?”
 
Such a problem!
 
Yes, flavorful summer tomatoes are beginning to pile up on kitchen counters in many areas of the country right about now.  The problem truly does become what to do with the harvest before the beauties you’ve worked so hard to produce become candidates for the compost pile.
 
The neighbor peeking over the back fence probably has a few ideas and doubtless you’ve shared your bounty with those near and dear. But the key is to enjoy them in every way possible now and then work out ways you can preserve them and use them later on this season and this year.

Hey tomato lovers, when is Louisiana just like New Jersey?

Heard that one before?

Well, when it comes to the enthusiasm for and an emotional attachment to summers gone by; the robust taste of our favorite garden vegetable connects these two diverse regions. How many times have I been asked, “Do you know of any tomatoes that are as good as an old-fashioned Jersey tomato?” There is definitely a bayou version of that same question, though with a decidedly different accent.

I’m in Louisiana visiting family and friends, and once again in search of the Creole tomato. Given it’s July and tomato seasons are early here who knows what I’ll find.

Well, big news at SippitySup. First things first. It's Monday and we have Scott here for more tips and encouragement for all of us TomatoManiacs.

Just in time because my harvest is starting to come in. I have quite a few small orange cherries from my Jenny plant. I even have one beautiful green-shouldered black tomato called, Nyagous. I picked it the morning I left for Sonoma and decided to let it sit and sweeten on the window sill a bit more while I was away for the long weekend.

You can imagine how excited I was to get back here and slice into that beauty and have my first real taste of a big juicy summer tomato.

But life, she is a bitter muse. Because she dealt me an irony that is almost epic in its comic proportions.

I broke my jaw in Sonoma and have had my jaw wired shut. It may be closed tighter than a tin can for the next 6 weeks! Can you stand it? A food blogger that can't eat! I would be laughing right now if it did not hurt so much...

I have spent countless weeks attempting to grow perfect tomatoes and now I can only look at them. This photo from the first of my harvest is going to have to satiate my tomato appetite.

And before anyone asks about the mysterious circumstances of my accident. Let's just say it involved 7 kids and one foolish adult in a game of tag. Because what happens in Sonoma stays in Sonoma! GREG

Welcome back to another TomatoMania Monday! Scott is here with the results of his Tomato Derby. In case you didn't know, the Derby was a race! A tomato race. He was out to see which varieties would fruit first. The original Tomato Derby post can be found here.  GREG

We Have A Winner!

The wait is over and yes, it’s officially tomato season!  Finally!
 
I turned green with envy recently reading about tomato festivals down south.  The season there is in full swing but cooler weather in the west has kept our season at bay for a couple weeks longer than expected.
 
The good news is that it looks to be a great season.  Our plants are loaded with fruit and just this weekend we picked Derby tomatoes!
 
The first of our early contenders to come through with ripe fruit is…STUPICE, the Czech heirloom!  We should change the name to “Old Reliable”. The plant doesn’t really look great, which is oddly different from last year, but we picked two this weekend and there are over 25 other fruits well formed and ready to ripen in the next few weeks.  Since they’re growing in containers they’re due a light fertilizing this week, so perhaps it will perk up as it delivers the rest of its crop.
 
The second to turn color is JENNY (pictured at top of post), the small orange hybrid.  (Greg, you’re growing this one too…picking yet?) The plant is tall, lanky and covered with fruit.  It’s officially a cherry but the fruit is slightly elongated and some are a little larger on the blossom end.  The taste?  Phenomenal.  Bright and sweet and so fresh.  We tasted one or two just as we picked them and enjoyed the flavor.  But the ones we brought in and left on the kitchen counter for three days? Amazing!

Scott is back with more great TomatoMania tips!

He is here just in time too. Because instead of cooking one of the contest winning TomatoMania recipes today, I am heading to the studios of KCRW today to talk about them.

I am going to be interviewed on Good Food by the wise and wonderful  Evan Kleiman about all the terrific contest winning tomato recipes you have heard so (very, very) much about here on SippitySup!

I am unsure when the show actually airs, but you can be pretty sure I will let you know. Unless of course I bomb... either way I think they call this tooting your own horn. Beep! Beep!

So enough of me and my horn. Let's get Scott back front and center. I know you are anxious to get your tomatoes off the vine and on the plate! GREG

It's time for another Maniac Monday.

Scott is back to help us understand that tomato term known as paste tomato. Or what I like to call a cooking tomato.

But before we bring Scott out I want to say.  I realize I have been a bit lax about posting this past week. I have been traveling. I had every good intention of keeping to my "new post a day" regime. But well, travel is stressful and I got busy. Besides today is a Holiday anyway. It's amazing I even found my way to the computer.

But do not worry. I will  be back home soon and right back into my self imposed blogging schedule. You'll get more Sup than you know what to do with! I promise...(maybe)!  GREG

Well the garden show is finished.

What a success it was. The tomato contest recipes were a big hit and a great addition the event. But this is not the end of the fun!

Nope, Scott is taking these recipes on the road with him. These recipes are going bi-coastal! That’s right SippitySup, TomatoMania, and your recipes from “Sea to Shining Sea”!

He’ll be in Lothian, MD, May 8-10, and in Litchfeild, CT, May 15-17. If you are in the neighborhood. Pop in say “hello” and stock up.

But as you know I was at the Garden Show too! In fact here is photgraphic proof! Me with the winning recipe cards.

It gave me a really good chance to get to know the contest winning recipes. Which is a good thing because starting next Monday I am going to be making each one of the winning entries. I can’t decide whether I should go alphabetical by blog name, or just pick randomly. What do you think?

But just because Scott and his seedlings are jet-setting off to New England that does not mean he has forgotten you or your tomatoes.

Noooo, he’s nothing if not “supportive”! GREG HENRY

Welcome back to another Maniac Monday. Scott from TomatoMania is here, and just in time. My tomatoes have already grown by leaps and bounds. I am sure yours have too.

There are some maintenace steps we need to be aware of. But I'll let Scott explain all that.

I am here to bring you news of the contest I teased about last week.

How would you like thousands of tomato loving foodies to suddenly discover your blog over one weekend? I am here to say I can help 6 talented bloggers do just that.

This contest is in conjunction with TomatoMania and the Los Angeles Garden Show. Whose theme this year is Festival of Flavors.

Scott and I will have a booth at the show. He is going to be preaching and teaching all things tomato garden. I am going to be offering tomato cooking tips. But not my cooking tips. Nope. Yours.

Scott Daigre is back. So all you TomatoManiacs can just calm down. He has advice for us this week on getting your precious little babies into the ground.

So read up and take notes.

If you like the look of this Polish Paste tomato or the Green Zebra variety and you aspire to a perfect caprese salad come August (and I know you do), then you need to pay attention!

Also, the very first TomatoMania '09 events were a very big success this past weekend in San Diego. The event moves to Los Angeles this week. You can be sure I will be there. I'll bring my video camera too.  So you can see just how much fun Sup is capable of having in one afternoon. In the meantime, please check out TomatoMania's website. Hopefully there is an event near you.

And lastly, the New York Times noticed what we were up to and mentioned TomatoMania this week. Click on over there and tell them Sup sent you! GREG

Welome back for more TomatoMania.

This week Scott Daigre is going to educate us on a few basic terms that will help us choose just the right seedlings for our gardens and our appetites. Don't worry you can do it... tomato tags are easy to decipher. Well, easy for Scott. But persevere. Because you are one week closer to bushels of perfect tomatoes. Just like this one pictured here. But stay away from it. Grow your own. This one is mine. GREG

So many tomatoes, so little garden space.

Now that you’ve selected and amended your garden space, here comes the fun part. You get to fill it with tomato plants!

The seedlings you’ll find this time of the year most often come in 4” pots. They can look rather insignificant as you consider the whole wide space you’ve just spent your valuable time tilling.  Not to worry. They’ll soon be in major growth mode. In a couple months you’ll wonder why you didn’t expand the garden just a little bit more!

As promised, here is Scott Daigre of TomatoMania. He is a tomato growing expert and a heck of a good cook. He is going to make several appearances here over the tomato growing season to help us get the best possible tomatoes out of our gardens. He runs “The World’s Largest Tomato Seedling Sale”. Maybe he's having an event near you! Go HERE to find out.  His selection is incredible. There are so many varieties. Old favorites and crazy stuff you've never heard of too. It's a lot of fun and makes sure that foodies like us have access to the mighty tom! So grab your dungarees, your garden gloves, and a pen and paper...GREG

First Things First.

The start of your tomato growing odyssey.

As with most things that are truly rewarding in the end, you can’t just launch headlong into this process with no forethought or preparation and then expect a bumper crop this summer.  Before you start counting your cherry tomatoes you need to have a plan for providing the best foundation and environment for your plants to grow in.