See the biggest tomatoes up there? Those gorgeous pink ones? Those are the variety Dester.
These are huge, pink beefsteak tomatoes. I’ve grown them in years past and never had much luck with them. But this year, wowsa! They are really stealing the show.
Here’s the blurb from Seed Savers: “Winner of SSE’s 2011 Tomato Tasting and runner-up in 2012. Donated to SSE by Missouri farmer Larry Pierce, who received his seeds from an Amish woman in Seymour, Missouri. She originally got her seeds from a doctor she worked for whose family had brought the seeds with them from Germany. Luscious pink beefsteaks weighing up to one pound. Indeterminate, 70-80 days from transplant.”
The reviews of this tomato are interesting. Folks have had good years and bad years with this one, although one woman said it’s her go-to tomato for best production every year. It seems to be disease resistant and hardy. Mine fruited once the temperatures got a little cooler and that wasn’t until early August, but it’s continued pumping out fruit even with higher temperatures since then.
Since it’s done so well this year, it’s earned a place in next year’s garden.
My posts have been shorter lately because we’ve had a Japanese exchange student staying with us. Our daughter is deeply into the Japanese language and culture, and when offered the opportunity to host a student, she jumped at it. It’s been a very interesting and fun experience. I was nervous because our home is so small (and with only one bathroom), but it’s all worked out fine. Nagisa is with us until Sunday, and then it’s back to Tokyo and her senior year of high school. We will miss her!
Adding to the time crunch is the fact that I started my semester this past Monday. I’m taking some classes that are very challenging for me (Statistics, Chemistry) and I’m quite anxious about my workload this term. However, I’m trying to approach them as I would any class, with an open mind and a willingness to learn something new. I’ve signed up for math tutoring just in case things start to kick my ass a little bit, so I’m feeling pretty secure…. for now anyway.
Stay tuned for a post regarding what I’ve noticed in the compost pile since I’ve been getting that fruit pulp every Friday. I’m waiting for some cooler weather to turn it over and really explore, but I’m suspecting that activity has increased!
Meanwhile, have any of you grown Dester tomatoes? If so, I’d love to know what kind of results you’ve been getting.