Tomatoes
We grow tomatoes of many different shapes and flavors: heirlooms, classic red, roma, and a rainbow of cherry tomatoes. Check out our Tomato Guide below to read about these types of tomatoes and how they’re different from one another. We do not grow the same tomatoes you find at the grocery store—these are delicate, perishable tomatoes with great flavor and texture that are not meant to be shipped far or held for long periods of time. Enjoy them! Tomatoes generally start to ripen by early August, with cherry tomatoes ripening first, then heirlooms, then slicers, and finally romas. Once we begin harvesting tomatoes, we will have high volumes until the weather cools in late September or early October. We have recently been planting tomatoes in our high tunnel for some late season harvests in October and November, so you may see tomatoes in the first few Winter CSA boxes.
Storage Tips
Keep tomatoes on your counter until they are ripe, and eat them as soon as they turn ripe. You may sometimes receive a firmer tomato that will require a bit more time to ripen. Letting it sit in a paper bag in your kitchen can help speed up the ripening process, but make sure it’s not in too humid of a space. If you must store a fully ripe tomato, put it in your fridge, but try not to leave it in there for too long (no bag or container required). We hold tomatoes in our coolers for less than 24 hours after they’ve been packed into your CSA box. Minimal time in cold storage is OK, but significant time in the fridge affects the sugars and subsequently the flavor.
Recipes
Burst Tomato Galette with Corn and Zucchini
Water bath Canning Whole or Half Tomatoes
Featherstone’s Tomato Guide
With so many different types of tomatoes, it’s helpful to know their intended purpose and the best ways to utilize each one.
While most heirloom varieties today have been selectively bred just as much as a red slicing tomato, they have been bred for different qualities, especially flavor. They're the most difficult to handle and ship due to their delicate skin and flesh, and are a soft, sweet, and juicy tomato. Each variety has a distinct flavor. They ripen quickly and bruise easily because they are juicier, and should be eaten as soon as they are ripe. Heirlooms are great on sandwiches if you don’t mind soggy bread, and are perfect for salads, as the juices mingle with the dressing and add more depth. I enjoy heirloom tomatoes in caprese salads, chopped mediterranean salad with cucumbers and feta, or sliced and added to a grilled cheese.
Red slicing tomatoes are today’s “standard.” In general, red slicers are more firm than heirlooms (which make them ideal for shipping) but still sweet, and excellent for fresh eating, with a perfect ratio of juice to flesh on the inside (much less juicy than an heirloom!). They are ideal for slicing onto sandwiches or burgers, chopped up fresh for salads, salsas or dips, as well as sauteed or roasted for pastas, soups, or with eggs - anything that your not cooking for very long and might lend well with a bit of tomato juiciness. I typically use slicers for my whole canned tomatoes.
Roma tomatoes are a flavorful tomato bred to be slender and firm, easy to slice and cook down quickly. Romas tend to be less sweet and less acidic, with more tomato flavor. They are the ideal cooking tomato, as they contain far more flesh than juice. I prefer romas when I’m making pasta or pizza sauces, cooked salsas as well as fresh salsas or guacamole (won’t water down guac!), ratatouille, shakshuka, or any recipe where I’m planning on cooking with tomatoes. They also make less mess when chopping or slicing, and their firmness makes them easy to peel without blanching.
Cherry tomatoes are essentially tiny heirloom tomatoes with thicker skins - very sweet and very juicy, often quite acidic but less prone to bruising. They are the easiest tomato to dry, and they caramelize a bit when cooked thanks to their high sugar content. Our orange "Sungold" cherry tomatoes tend to be the sweetest, making them great for snacking, while the red are a bit more “tomato-y” and are very good when cooked. Our mixed pints are full of various flavors, shapes and sizes for you to try!