Now I realize that designating a tomato to be the
BEST TOMATO IN THE WOOOORLD!!!
is pretty presumptuous,
especially since this is only my third year growing those tasty veggie-fruits,
and I haven't even grown more than two dozen varieties.
It's sorta like when I was in junior high, and declared Barry Manilow
the most awesome singer everrrrr....
....when I hadn't even HEARD Bruce Springsteen yet.
(Bruuuuuuuuce!!!)
But, hey, you can try to deny it, but if Copacabana is on when you're in the car?
You are going to sing the hell out of that song.
"At the COPA! CopaCABANA!"
So just because I found something even more awesome,
(Bruuuuuuuce!!)
it doesn't mean my unformed tastes were completely off base.
That said, in my limited experience, if I had to choose one tomato to grow?
It would be Sungold.
(Sungoooooold!)
Now maybe Sungolds are the Manilow of the tomato world.
(Sorry, Barry! I really do love "Mandy"!)
But while they aren't literally as sweet as candy...
... they are delicious little tomato-y globes of sunshine.
And I would say that my success with these cherry tomatoes
despite myincompetence inexperience is a huge vote in their favor.
Even though I used cruddy soil,
and swung between overwatering and underwatering the potted plant,
and never fertilized at all,
I still managed to harvest enough of these delicious golden globes to top my salads
throughout last summer.
(That's not me. I didn't have a photo of me and my Sungold-topped salads,
so I thought I'd link to one of those stock photos of Smiling Women With Salads.)
And here's something else about the Sungold!
Last year's plant went around the horn, and was still producing!
When I was planting new seedlings this spring, it was still alive, although pretty scraggly.
I still hadn't fertilized it AT ALL, and was watering it in the most desultory way.
I was getting ready to tip it out of the pot,
when the Sweet Man asked what I was going to do.
I explained I was going to "shovel prune" it, because, y'know, it was time for a new plant.
Well, the Sweet Man practically flung himself between me and the plant,
BEST TOMATO IN THE WOOOORLD!!!
is pretty presumptuous,
especially since this is only my third year growing those tasty veggie-fruits,
and I haven't even grown more than two dozen varieties.
It's sorta like when I was in junior high, and declared Barry Manilow
the most awesome singer everrrrr....
....when I hadn't even HEARD Bruce Springsteen yet.
(Bruuuuuuuuce!!!)
But, hey, you can try to deny it, but if Copacabana is on when you're in the car?
You are going to sing the hell out of that song.
"At the COPA! CopaCABANA!"
So just because I found something even more awesome,
(Bruuuuuuuce!!)
it doesn't mean my unformed tastes were completely off base.
That said, in my limited experience, if I had to choose one tomato to grow?
It would be Sungold.
(Sungoooooold!)
Now maybe Sungolds are the Manilow of the tomato world.
(Sorry, Barry! I really do love "Mandy"!)
But while they aren't literally as sweet as candy...
... they are delicious little tomato-y globes of sunshine.
And I would say that my success with these cherry tomatoes
despite my
Even though I used cruddy soil,
and swung between overwatering and underwatering the potted plant,
and never fertilized at all,
I still managed to harvest enough of these delicious golden globes to top my salads
throughout last summer.
(That's not me. I didn't have a photo of me and my Sungold-topped salads,
so I thought I'd link to one of those stock photos of Smiling Women With Salads.)
And here's something else about the Sungold!
Last year's plant went around the horn, and was still producing!
When I was planting new seedlings this spring, it was still alive, although pretty scraggly.
I still hadn't fertilized it AT ALL, and was watering it in the most desultory way.
I was getting ready to tip it out of the pot,
when the Sweet Man asked what I was going to do.
I explained I was going to "shovel prune" it, because, y'know, it was time for a new plant.
Well, the Sweet Man practically flung himself between me and the plant,
like he was Fern, I was Mr. Arable, and the Sungold was tiny Wilbur the pig.
("Mama, where's Dammit Minnie going with that gardening trowel?")
"But it still has tomatoes on it!" he protested, and yes, it did.
(Extreme close-up!)
"So why do you have to get rid of it?" he asked, and I'll be damned if I had a good answer.
"It's an annual? I think?" I told him.
But a quick Google search said that nope, tomatoes are actually tender perennials.
And that means that in sunny SoCal...
... I should be able to overwinter tomatoes.
So I gave it a haircut...
... replaced the soil with good stuff, and planted it deep.
And what do you know?
It worked!
I've already harvested a nice handful of sweet, sweet Sungolds.
So, yeah, I'm a relative amateur with tomato gardening,
but when I recommend a tomato to fellow newbie?
I tell 'em to
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