Where Are the Tomatoes?

Take a look around at our neighbors’ back yards, and chances are you’ll see the same thing over and over again:  A wire fence, some wooden stakes, and leafy plants tied-up with old rags.  Hanging from those plants?  Beautiful, bright red, juicy tomatoes.  Or at least a few.

All over Stamford, tomatoes dotting the landscape.  But perhaps you’ve noticed the crop isn’t as prolific as in years past.  After speaking with several farmers at the area markets, and backyard growers around town, the general consensus is that the tomato crops weren’t that big this year.  While still tasty, there just don’t seem to be as many.

Jennifer Gaskins of Farming 101 in Newtown, CT, said it has been challenging, but still worth it.  She and her husband grow 50 varieties of tomatoes on their organic farm.

“Normally I have three tables set up with just tomatoes,” she said recently at her market table at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.  “This year we have less, but we love growing tomatoes, and we love interacting with our customers.”

“People have come to rely on us for heirloom tomatoes,” she told Patch. “What we do have is still delicious.”

Kim Dulka of Red Clover Farms in Seymour, CT, blames it on a hard growing season.

“It’s been a poor year, “ she recently told Patch.  “We started out about three weeks behind, due to a late frost.  Then a couple of cold snaps didn’t help.”

The bounty of vegetables and fruits is still in high demand.  A look at Dulka’s offerings belie that it’s been a difficult season.

“Many of the tomatoes would stay green for longer,” she said.  “We’d wait and wait for them to turn.  Finally they did.”

Dulka’s best-sellers are her Brandywines and Golden Cherries.  Besides tomatoes, she offers a variety of vegetables, such as baby sweet peppers, large pattypan squash and cabbage.  The fruit on her market table right now includes melons, peaches and first-of-the-season apples. 

Red Clover Farms has been in high demand in our area for several years, as one of the very few Connecticut organic farmers to sell produce in Stamford.  Once a mainstay at the High Ridge Farmer’s Market, Dulka has branched out to other locations.  This season she is selling at the JCC on Newfield Avenue on Wednesdays from 10-4 and Sundays from 9-3.

Last week she teamed up with Eden Farms on Stillwater Road to sell her produce, honey and pies at their barn shop. 

With two locations in the area, plus her regular CSA customers, Dulka feels at home in Stamford.

“We love this community,” she said.  “The folks in Stamford have been so supportive of us.  And they really love our tomatoes!”

Who doesn’t love bread and tomatoes?  I grew up eating this salad and continue to make it for my own family.  It’s a great way to use up stale bread and satisfy a crowd.  The following recipe serves 4, but it can be easily doubled or tripled.

5 slices stale crusty bread

2 large juicy tomatoes

1/2 a medium cucumber, or 2 Kirby cukes, peeled and seeded

2-3 T small capers, rinsed

2 T white wine vinegar

2-3 T extra virgin olive oil

1 cup basil leaves, torn

In a bowl of water, dunk each slice of bread quickly, just to get it moist, then gently squeeze out the water. Gently tear the bread and place in a large salad bowl. Cut up the tomatoes and cucumbers into cubes and add to the bowl.

Add the capers. Gently stir everything, then add the oil and vinegar and toss. Season with salt and pepper (remember, those capers are pretty salty). Add the basil leaves and serve.