the year of the tomato

I grew almost all of our tomatoes from seed this year — some from heirloom seeds that I saved from last year’s tomatoes, and some from heirloom seeds that I bought. Some were mystery varieties, like a small plum tomato that is pale red and pointy on the end.

Tomatoes are easily my favorite ingredient – fresh they are delicious, they meld well with herbs to make sauces and creamy soups, and are a salad staple. One of my favorite meals is a caprese salad made with colorful heirlooms and local mozzarella (but only if the basil is fresh!).

All sorts of tomatoes heading to the oven to roast for tomato bisque:

Tomatoes, beans, and husk cherries heading to a friend’s house (note one of those mystery tomatoes in the box on the right):

My most recent harvest — note the white tomato (it’s a Fantôme du Laos and very rare):

Also, check out these pole beans from seeds I saved last year (and Ukrainian yellow mushroom beans on the bottom) – I know it’s not the year of the bean, but look how long they grew!

Here are some of the beans I will save for next year – valentine black bush beans, yellow mushroom beans, and some heirloom pole and bush beans from last year’s crop: