A Surplus of Tomatoes in a Weird Cold Summer…

Here in the north end of The Land of No Snow, and Endless Summer we are suffering… from a lack of summer… It’s not snowing… it’s not really cold… but it’s not hot… it’s foggy and cool… But it’s less foggy and cool where I live than where I work… such is the nature of microclimates in the San Francisco Bay Area…

We live on the San Francisco Peninsula, 20 miles or so south of The City, aka San Francisco… This is not a good place to grow tomatoes… (aka tomatos or potatoes, thanks Mr. Quale, oh, yea, he wanted the extra “e”, and HE WAS the vice president… so he must be right) Tomatoes need heat to set flowers and develop and ripen fruit (aka red tomatoes).

Here in a place where we don’t expect sun and heat, we should (If we understood) plant short, cool season tomatoes… Not the beefsteak of BLT legend… but instead the smaller “San Francisco Fog” or “Early Girl” (Monsanto’s contribution to better living through chemistry and biology, they do corn and soy beans too…)

I, understanding my micro-climate, have planted Stupice (a Czechoslovakia Heirloom) San Francisco Fog, and Early Girl… The play is working… It’s a cold summer… one significant weather issue where I live is fog… Marine fog, pulled inland in the afternoon… with a cold summer we are having less fog in sunny (not) San Mateo… My Stupice and SF Fog tomatoes are thriving. I am getting bowls of tomatoes… and other veggies… while those in the hotter inland areas are so far not getting anything… I win!!!

So, I take bowls of tomatoes to work… for others to take home… I also get to enjoy fresh tomato salads with fresh basil, also from the garden…

Summer is good… and, Oh!, we have cucumbers and squash too…

Bye for now, Randy