Garden tomatoes for Christmas dinner

Just finished up Christmas dinner with my parents and for the 3rd year in a row, we had garden tomatoes with Christmas dinner. If any of you guys love tomatoes as much as I do and you're not planting a late round of tomatoes around July 4th, you're missing some fine eating. We pull all the green ones the day before the first predicted heavy frost or freeze and put them on a shelf in the barn. They ripen at different times and we generally have them last until around the 1st of January.

Dang Fur. I don't get jealous over someone else's deer, but not you have me filled with envy over a home grown tomato for christmas. I'm definitely going to plant late ones this coming year

They don't taste as good as a garden fresh one, but they are better than ANY store bought tomato has ever been. The taste isn't entirely different from a summer tomato as the texture is. They've got that "grainy" store bought tomato texture, but a much better taste.

We typically just plant Better Boys during the first week or two of July. I have read about some varieties of tomatoes that are called, Long Keeping tomatoes that are more suited for ripening on the shelf. That's not the variety name, just a description. I may try some of those next year.

Another plus to planting late ones is another round of really large fantastic tomatoes in September and October. It was very very dry this year during the late summer and fall and I still had gobs of large tomatoes to eat.

Thanks Fur, I'm gonna make it happen 2015.

I got a late "late" planting so didn't have near as many as last year. I ate my last homegrown mater sammich saturday and it sure was gooood.

Y'all I'm in Monroe County (90 miles or so north of mobile and 90 or so south of Montgomery). Wonder when I should plant my late ones?

blade, I couldn't say for sure but I would get them in the ground by late July. I get about 6 weeks of good tomato production before frost.

Late july or first of august for me usually works well but I was mid September this year. Got a few but not near enough. I had em Christmas last year like fur mentioned. It was nice.

My "fall" crop is way better than spring. The pest numbers are falling off and less heat helps in my experience.

Thanks yall