The ClearPath Connections office enjoyed a generous spring giveaway of newborn tomato (and pepper) plants, thanks to Mike and Amy Cinpinski’s talents and generosity. Here’s a rundown of our varied results, along with Mike and Amy’s tips and recipes.
“I’m declaring the Great Tomato Project of 2021 an unqualified, smashing SUCCESS!”
John Galvin, Solutions Consultant and apparently the 2nd best gardener in the ClearPath Connections office
1. Roma – John’s Garden, yielding 4-6 fruits per day. Winner! 
2. White Tomesol – John’s Garden. Currently on life support. 
3. Surprise! – John’s Garden. Enough time left in 2021 season to reveal lineage? 
4. Big Red Heart – Deb’s Garden. Crossing fingers! Used “trench” planting technique. 
5. Sweet Carmen Chili – Deb’s Garden 
6. White Tomesol – Deb’s Garden. What are the black spots? 
7. Mike’s bountiful pepper harvest 
8. Chad started strong but crop was thwarted because of this little green pest 
9. Failure story #2….the DOG did it 
10. Jason’s report: yellow cherries (bottom) are delicious. Squirrels are loving the “hearts” (above).
- Roma tomato plant (John’s Garden) – “Taking over my yard and is the prime suspect in the disappearance of a neighbor’s cat. It is currently producing about 4-6 absolutely delicious tomatoes PER DAY, and has been heard to beg, “Feed me, Seymour!” Grower’s note: Wow!! Amazing job. This plant is huge! It must’ve been expertly cared for!
- “White tomato” plant that produced about 1.5 dozen fantastic tomatoes and then….croaked. John claims “I will be doing a root autopsy for Mike C.; I’m thinking Colonel Mustard in the Drawing Room with the Lead Pipe.” Grower’s note: I don’t know what happened to this one!! I’m sorry! I hope the person got some to harvest before it became diseased or whatever happened to it.
- “BUT….right next to the deceased tomato plant is another little plant that despite the lack of any human help, care, or intervention, has sprung up and actually has blossoms on it already. There’s a profound life-lesson there, which I am at a complete loss to explain, except that it has something to do with God.”
- Deb’s raised-bed garden is finally producing two Big Red Heart (?) fruits…she’s crossing her fingers for a late summer so she can enjoy at least one BLT. Grower’s note: These aren’t quite the right shape for the big red hearts. Let us know what color they end up when they ripen. If they’re really light yellow then they’re White Tomesol. If they turn orange with some red blotch they’re Hillbilly Potato Leaf. I might’ve either labeled them wrong or they cross bred with another variety. Mystery is the most fun part of gardening though! Whatever they are, they should taste pretty good!
- Sweet Carmen Chili Peppers…looking great. When do I pick…Mike? Grower’s note: These are Lemon Drop Peppers. They’re from Peru. They’re best when they’re ripe. You’ll know they’re ready when they turn bright yellow. If you don’t want to wait though you could cut them up while they’re still green to add a little kick to whatever you’re cooking. They’re hotter than jalapenos but not as hot as habaneros. I’ve put them in salsas, marinades and hot sauce. They have a citrusy flavor like a habanero does and if you make hot sauce or jelly it mixes great with habaneros for a really pretty color when the orange and yellows mix.
- White Tomesols. Deb begrudgingly admits to overcrowding, and strategically culled excess stems to get the most out of the September crop. Also, the location is convenient to kitchen but gets no more than 3 hours of sun per day. Grower’s note: The tomatoes in the foreground are yellow cherries. I don’t remember their exact name but I’ve been saving the seed for a couple years. Most of ours grow in a compact and bushy plant that we put in baskets but sometimes one will grow taller. The one behind it that’s bigger and lighter is the White Tomesol. The spots could be due to blight or due to fungus. It could’ve been from being too wet. Cracking is usually from too much water as well. When plants are close together and stay damp they’re more likely to get fungus and blight. The tomatoes are still ok to eat but if you provide more air flow and a little less moisture that may help.
- Mike weighs in to show us all how it’s done!
- Chad Willman: “My tomato season started off great and sported very large plants. Unfortunately, the fruit wasn’t that great. I think I know why and next year will make adjustments with my “helpers”. I also need to keep a better eye out for these things (tomato hornworm) which have completely taken over the plants. I don’t know where they come from or how they know I have tomatoes…. I pick them off and more just appear.
- “I should have taken a photo. I broke down and pulled everything out this weekend. My dog kept eating the tomatoes…lol” – Faith, Administrative Assistant
- Jason’s sunny patio features delicious yellow cherries and “hearts”.
Mike and Amy’s growing tips and recipes
Seedling planting tips: here are a couple links that go over what you’ll want to do with these for the next couple weeks until the weather is stable enough for them to go outside. In the mean time they can hang out on a southern exposure window sill or if you have a lamp you could illuminate them for about 12 hours a day.
“Hardening Off” Process: http://www.tomatodirt.com/harden-off.html
According to Mike, this makes sure they don’t get “nuked” by the sun or weather when they are still somewhat delicate, having only been growing in our house under grow lamps.
Trench Approach Planting: https://www.diynetwork.com/made-and-remade/make-it/plant-tomatoes-in-trenches
Mike and Amy always plant them this way, and it seems to help the roots and stem become solid enough to support a large plant with abundant fruits. Basically, you don’t just plop them vertically into a hole in the ground like a tree. The seedling gets laid on its side or perhaps about 15 degrees angle and then covered and watered. It will naturally correct its posture toward the sun over a few days.
The Cinpinski’s can’t estimate the how many tomatoes and peppers they’ve harvested, but “We’ve been eating well all summer and so far I have this in my pantry/freezer”:
- 15 quart bags of frozen marinara sauce
- 12 quarts of canned tomatoes
- 10 pints of canned salsa
- 8 jars of habanero jam
- 2 large bottles of fermented hot sauce
- pickled peppers (coming soon)
Favorite recipes:
1. Fermented hot sauce: Amy doesn’t use carrots. She puts in whatever peppers they have that are ripe, but a favorite is when it is mostly lemon drops and habaneros. The only other thing I add besides salt water is a few garlic cloves.) https://www.feastingathome.com/fermented-hot-sauce-simple-and-delicious/
2. Slow Roasted Tomatoes https://rouxbe.com/recipes/74-slow-roasted-tomatoes