And it is ending on a sad note. As of now, there aren’t any truly fabulous tomatoes. There are some pretty good ones, but the weather has taken its toll. Let’s hope that this is not the new normal. Recapping Pat Smith’s (of Kirklin Farms) experience, the spring was so wet she couldn’t get into the field to transplant the tomatoes she had started and they stayed in the greenhouse and became pot bound and leggy. Then once they went in to the ground, it rained so much that the plants didn’t put down deep enough roots because they didn’t have to. Then, when the warm weather came, the root system was stunted and not deep enough to take up enough water. The result was smaller, later, less healthy plants. And Pat said that in general tomato plants have to have a relatively constant amount of moisture in the soil because that is where they get their calcium. If the calcium is imbalanced in the plant, the tomatoes crack near the stem and may develop blossom end rot. We hate that.

So where are we today if we want great heritage tomatoes perfectly ripe? Pat says there are some on the vine but it is too cold and they are not ripening very fast. Remember that September is really the peak heritage tomato season so cross your fingers and bring on some warm but not extreme weather!

We are getting a very few tomatoes. There are, none the less, a few BLTs being made at the bakery. Keep trying!

Kalamazoo Farmers Market Supper

Now for brighter news. We are about to have our fourth and last pop-up Farmers Market Supper. It will be September 8th with staggered reservations between 6 pm and 7:30 pm.

Summer is Ending and the Last Pop-Up Supper

Kalamazoo Farmers Market Supper

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September Art Hop