What's Growin' On 7/31/06: Growing Arkansas Traveler Tomatoes & How To Save Your Own Tomato Seeds

Arkansas Traveler Tomato Plants

Close Up Of Yum

Realization Of The Day:
The scary supertrim I gave my two Arkansas Traveler tomato plants back on July 7th (which I immediately designated an experiment--click here), appears to be a success. (What a relief!) As you can see, all those green tomatoes at the base of the plants ripened nicely, and the tops have not only filled out with lush new growth but are also putting on quite a few more fruits.

There are two ripe tomatoes with minor pale splotches (I assume from "sunburn"), but other than that, these beautifully pink babies are all nearly perfect--and have a delightful flavor.

These plants were started on 2/6/06 from 2003 seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and transplanted into individual plugs on 3/20/06. The seedlings were planted in a raised bed full of soil rich with aged sheep manure on 4/20/06. They were mulched with grass clippings which kept all but a few determined weeds from sprouting. I watered them regularly.

If, like me, you garden in a location with iffy and unpredictable weather, and/or often have a hard time getting good looking mature tomatoes, I highly recommend you try growing this variety. Why? The Baker Creek catalog says about the Arkansas Traveler: "A medium-sized pink tomato that is smooth and a beautiful rose color. An excellent heirloom from Arkansas, tolerant to heat and humidity, crack and disease resistant. Good flavor." And they are absolutely right.

Don't forget to save the seeds from your best tomatoes to plant the next year. This couldn't be easier: just slice off the top of the tomato, squeeze the seeds into a small dish (by all means eat the rest of it!), add a bit of water (I can't remember why I do this part except that years ago I read that I should--and considering the VFN tomatoes I grew this year were from 5 year old seeds, I'm going to keep doing it), let them sit around for a day or two, then pour the seeds into a fine strainer, rinse them off, and allow them to dry in a little cloth drawstring bag (I bought some inexpensive ones years ago that were specifically made for seed drying) or spread out on some waxed paper in a protected spot or however you like to dry your seeds. Store seeds in bags or containers (I use itty bitty zipper seal plastic bags) in a cool, dry place or in the freezer.

From Garden To Table:
So how have we been enjoying these luscious beauties (besides as Summer In A Bowl)? Well, the other night we piled thick slices on homegrown, grass-fed burgers while they were still on the grill--and before we put on the cheese. Oh my. Allowing the tomatoes to cook slightly--while sealing in all the juices between the meat and cheese--gave the burgers a whole different flavor. In fact, they were so good we had burgers prepared exactly the same way the next night.

And last night we had the first BLTs of the summer (though these were made with VFN tomatoes--a standard, disease resistant heirloom--pictured here and here). This is always a highlight of the year for us--and even more so last night since we used up our last package of bacon in the freezer. No, we can't just go out and buy some more. This was not your average bacon. Every couple of years we purchase an entire hog that has been locally and naturally raised and have it butchered to our specifications, including having bacon made that is smoked without any nitrates or other additives. I had never seen or tasted bacon like this before "going whole hog"--it is so lean and meaty you have to add oil to the pan when you cook it up.

But back to the BLTs. That amazing bacon, thick toasted slices of freshly baked Farmhouse White slathered with mayonnaise, the most wonderful tomatoes on earth (because they were grown on our little piece of it), crisp Iceberg lettuce (smirk or gasp if you will, but we're old-fashioned purists when it comes to BLTs--we love that Iceburg crunch--and besides, there hasn't been any lettuce in the garden in two months.) It just wouldn't be fair to show you a photo--which is good because once those heavenly sandwiches were assembled, the thought of taking pictures of them was the last thing on my mind.

It's reward time in the garden. (This year's tomato disasters are for another day.) Enjoy!