Specialty Tomatoes: Lucid Gem & Fred's Tie Dye

 I yesterday years old when I tasted my first Lucid Gem tomato. How does it taste? A bit lower acid than traditional red tomatoes but much more flavorful than traditional yellow tomatoes. Sweet, slightly fruity, truly delightful. I made a BLT with it and some microgreens that was OMG next-level delicious.

This is our first year growing Lucid Gem, a specialty indeterminate variety that was originally bred by Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms. So far, I am extremely impressed with this variety. Though a bit slow to fully ripen, I do not blame the variety. The cool overnight temps/lack of consistent overnight temps staying over 60 degrees has affected *everything* in our garden. This plant is CRAZY productive and puts out incredible bloom sprays that rival those of cherry tomatoes. It is reported to last long both on the vine and post harvest. I will test that as we harvest more through the season. That said, I can already tell you we will definitely be growing Lucid Gem again next year. Want to grow Lucid Gem next year? You can find Lucid Gem tomato seeds at a variety of internet shops; we are planning to offer a limited number of packets for sale locally--hopefully by around December this year. We will also offer the plant starts for sale in the spring next year.

Tomato of the Day - 8/26/2024: Fred's Tie Dye
This is the 2nd year we have grown Fred's Tie Dye. It is another Dwarf Tomato Variety that came out of the Dwarf Tomato Project. The Dwarf Tomato Project is kind of a big deal, IMO. Google it if you're into that sort of thing like I am, there's a TON of info on it.

Fred's Tie Dye is a stable, open-pollinated tomato that resulted from crossing Dwarf Wild Fred and Pink Berkeley Tie Dye made by Vince Lavallo, who also named it. Foliage is lush and rugose. The plant is averaging 4-5 feet high in our high tunnel. The ones I have outside are averaging 3-4 feet. The fruits range in size from 3-6+ ounces and make excellent slicers for a sandwich. The flavor is outstanding, in my opinion: Intense, rich, balanced and juicy authentic tomato flavor.  Today I made open-face tomato/bacon sammy lunch out of this tomato. I sliced a homemade bun in half, toasted it, spread it with homemade mayo, layered a slice of bacon, then a thick slice of tomato, then a slice of cheddar cheese (any kind of cheese works) and placed under the broiler for about 2.5 minutes until the cheese melted. This is my FAVORITE SUMMER SAMMY. I remember having open face tomato sandwiches ever since I was a small kid. Store bought tomatoes don't work well in this recipe. It absolutely *must* be a home grown REAL tomato.

Fred's Tie Dye tomato seeds are available online through a variety of sources. We plan to have a limited number of packets of seed available for purchase locally by around December this year. We will also offer a limited number of plant starts at the beginning of the growing season next year.

Weather and harvesting conditions permitting, we *should* have some of each of these varieties and others available at our pop up this coming Saturday, 8/31/2024. See flyer image below for details.