In August, I was finally able to pick my very first eco-friendly organic red beefsteak tomato from my garden. I was faced with that to do with this little miracle – make bruschetta?  No.  Tomato and cucumber salad?  No.  Given it was fresh picked, I decided to go the purist route, a tomato sandwich.  I toasted and buttered the bread and gave the tomato a hint of black pepper and salt.  Anticipating sweet fresh tomato goodness, I bit into my sandwich.  I soon realized it was mixed with slight disappointment – can it be that my eco-friendly organic tomato that I tended to and cared for was, dare I say, mealy?

I wondered if my tomato was an anomaly or if this could be an indication that most of my tomatoes were suffering the same fate.  I soon realized the latter was true.  How could this be?  Why would my well tended eco-friendly organic tomatoes become mealy?  Well, in June and July we received 20% less sunshine as those two months normally get, which translates to 100 fewer hours of sunshine than normal.  As you know, the sun gives plants the heat and light they requite in order to make sugar that makes them sweet and delicious.  Since, we have had the coolest July in 17 years, here in Ontario, it is no surprise that our tomatoes are mealy and the corn is wimpy.

On the bright side, crops that do not need much sun have had a great season, namely salad greens.  Salad greens and the like do not need much sun, as it tends to scorch them.  They’re growing like wildfire.  Other good news along this line is that although this year’s crop of grapes is a few weeks behind; the sunny warm weather has come just in time for this year’s apples.  If you enjoy buying fresh locally grown eco-friendly organic apples, or like to go apple picking then this is great news for you as the crops looks like they will thrive this year.

The tomato crop issues will undoubtedly have an impact on many, as some of the dishes you love to have a fresh tomato in will not be the same. I have recently read that local chefs who use locally grown eco-friendly organic produce have had to alter their menus in order to accommodate the poor quality of some crops such as  tomatoes and corn. Remember all is not lost with you eco-friendly organic crop as you can always make pasta and pizza sauce out of your tomatoes even if they are not quite up to snuff, which you can freeze and enjoy throughout the year.

Tags: beefsteak tomatoes, eco friendly garden, eco friendly gardening, eco-friendly organic, eco-friendly organic apples, eco-friendly organic garden, organic beefsteak tomatoes, organic garden, organic gardener, organic gardening, organic tomatoes, planet forward, sustainable product, sustainable solutions, tomato, tomato crop