8/13/25 Tomato Line Up 2025!
It’s time to give you our 2025 Tomato Line up. Everyone has a quart that includes at least either a couple heirlooms.
We farm in the cool Atascadero Valley bottom. We’re much cooler than most of Santa Rosa or even Sebastopol. And that’s the normal situation, not counting this year being the coldest summer on record. As such, early on we trialed over 50 types of tomatoes with a focus on early and cool tolerant tomatoes and continue to do trials. This year we’re doing three varieties from a seed company in Carbondale Colorado that selects for cool varieties. Our older varieties often have Russian names, they have cooler climates and therefore those tomatoes do amazing for us here. This morning would be a perfect example, it was 45 degrees as we started harvest. This year we’ve spent more time than many a year pruning our tomato plants and so fruits are larger. We’ll see if this will be a win-win at the end of the season.
Red Slicers: We grow Estiva and New Girl hybrids. Plus Moskvich (an heirloom). These are your basic red tomatoes you’d slice up in a salad, on a burger or sandwich or for a Caprese Salad. They’re high production, basic.
We love the orange Dr Wyche so we’ve planted quite a few. This tangerine-orange beefsteak is the most productive beefsteak we have (generally they love heat rather than our cool). It has a smooth texture and tropical, sweet taste. Slightly acidic. Yes, it did come from a Dr John Wyche who saved it.
Green/multicolored Malakhitovaya Shkatulka come from the Ural mountains, meaning “Little Malachite Box”. The flesh is very flavorful, very fruity and a little smoky. They make an excellent addition to artful display of tomatoes. We don’t have them yet, but soon. They can get soft quickly so eat them quick.
Prudens Purple is an early Brandywine, one of the few we can get to ripen in our cool valley bottom. These fruits are more pink than purple and have a sweet heirloom flavor. In our crew taste test this was the favorite this year. A few of you have these today.
Cherokee Purple by far the heirloom we’re asked about the most common. And we agree they’re amazing. A pre-1890 Cherokee Indian Heirloom they are deep dusky purple-pink color with superb rich flavor. Classic old-time tomato flavor.
Mountain Spirit Bi-Color Hybrid Swarm was a trial for us last year and ended up being our favorite tomato! Yellow/red bi-color (sliced they have a beautiful red streaking) with low acid that took selecting many varieties to produce (this is what swarm in their name refers to).
Pink Berkeley Tie Dye has just the right balance of sweet and acid! We love this heirloom for its green stripes and dark pink flesh. A favorite heirloom from Wild Boar Farm in Napa.
San Marzanos are one of the best sauce tomatoes of all time, with Old World look and taste. 4–6 oz. tomatoes peel easily and cook down quickly. This strain originates from Parma, Italy, where it was developed for canning in the 1950s. These WILL NOT be mixed into your Tomato Quarts but we have them on the Add-On store.
This Week’s Box
Panisse Lettuce
Sweet Peppers (SR) OR Summer Squash (WC)
Eggplant (except WC every-other-week Corn)
Mixed Tomato Quart
Scallions
Herb: Parsley (SR) OR Basil (WC)
Strawberries (Classic) OR Cherry Tomatoes (Family)
Family: Broccoli & Shishito Peppers
With all that talk of colorful tomatoes, we just have to make sure everyone has Insalada Caprese down! This is such a stable in our family August and September dinners that I get mozzarella cheese at the grocery store every time I go. I’ll switch back and forth between the logs (amazing they make them sliced), burrata and little balls.
Insalada Caprese
½ lb fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced ¼-inch thick
2 large ripe tomatoes, sliced ¼-inch thick
1 cup fresh basil leaves
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbs drained capers (optional)
¼ c extra-virgin olive oil
Alternate tomato and fresh mozzarella slices on plate, overlapping them
Tear basil leaves and sprinkle liberally over the slices. Add salt and pepper to taste and capers if desired.
Just before serving drizzle with good quality olive oil (don’t let it sit in oil too long).
Notes: This year I’ve gotten very into using Mozzarella pearls (same flavor, but just little balls). They're fun when thrown in a few cherry tomatoes.
If you don’t have Basil this week… you will have some next.
Now Caprese isn’t just for tomatoes alone, it goes great with Eggplant!
Eggplant Caprese Salad
A twist on the classic Caprese, this version adds tender, roasted eggplant for extra depth and richness. Serve as a side or light lunch.
Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
2–3 ripe tomatoes (slicing or heirloom)
8 oz fresh mozzarella (or burrata)
1 small bunch basil
Balsamic vinegar or glaze
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Slice eggplant into ½-inch rounds, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for 20–25 min, flipping halfway, until golden and soft.
Slice tomatoes and mozzarella into ¼-inch thick rounds.
Layer roasted eggplant, tomato, and mozzarella on a platter, overlapping in a circular or row pattern.
Tuck whole basil leaves in between layers. Drizzle with olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar or glaze.
Finish with flaky salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Farmer Mom Hint: almost anytime in the summer I instinctively slice thick slabs up Eggplant and Summer Squash, do a quick marinade in olive oil and salt and grill them. Maybe none get used for that dinner but I store them away. I’m the only person in my family who likes eggplant, and I love it. I’m one of two people in the family who likes Summer Squash. This way I have it ready to use and supplement. It also makes amazing veggie sandwiches for lunch! I might also add this eggplant to my Caprese Salads.
Last week we had our Bi-Color Sweet Corn and we may have it again next week. That leaves out those of you who are West County and every-other-week. So everyone has Eggplant unless you are in that group, in which case you have corn this week so you won’t miss out.
Words of Wisdom
Here is a quote that Farmer Maddie shared with the crew this week, attributed to Lao Tzu from the Tao Te Ching:
Men are born soft and supple;
dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.
Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.
The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail.
Extra Shares
Flower Share: Sunflowers and Dahlias💐
Lettuce Share: Lettuce Leaf Mix 🥬
Bunched Greens Share: Rainbow Kale
Tomato Quart Share: a FULL extra quart each week! 🍅
Summer Pint Share: Shishito Peppers
Eggs: 🥚