Thars Gold in Them Thar Hills!

That would be ‘Sungold’ tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum)  in the Solano Foothills. (What an appropriate choice for our Under the Solano Sun Master Gardener blog.) Nothing tastes better than tomatoes fresh from your garden; however, some tomatoes are better than others. ‘Sungold’ tomatoes are among the most sweet, prolific, and tolerant tomatoes available.

'Sungold' on the vine. (Photo by Susan Christiansen)

How sweet are they? They have been compared to liquid sun, sugar candy, and gems of golden flavor.  Their big fruity flavor makes them great straight from the vine, in salads, and pasta sauces (see recipe below).

The vines get huge, so allow for lots of room and extra tall tomato cages. They are the first to mature and the last to harvest, and although small, the plants produce so many that it is hard to keep up with them.

Requiring full sun, this little orange indeterminate American hybrid is disease-resistant to Fusarum wilt, Verticillum wilt, root knot nematodes, and tobacco mosaic virus. They are so hearty that volunteers easily pop up in your garden. They flourish in the ground, in raised beds, or in containers. Even with late rains, cold, and frost like we have had the last two seasons, ‘sungolds’ keep on producing when other tomatoes get “touchy”.

‘Sungolds” won Great First to Ripon Race of 2011 and third place out of more than one hundred tomatoes at the Morningsun Herb Farm 2010 Tomato Day. Next time you are looking for a tomato to plant, seriously consider this golden nugget.

Sungold Pasta Sauce

1 cup (or more)‘Sungold’ tomatoes cut in half

sea salt and white pepper to taste

1-2 Tbs fresh minced basil

3-4 ears of white corn with kernels removed

2-3 cloves of minced garlic (varies with your taste)

2-3 Tbs. butter

2-3 Tbs. virgin olive oil

1 cp white wine

1 lb sea scallops seared in butter

1 pound fresh pasta cooked no longer than 3 minutes

Parmesan cheese shavings

Sauté garlic in butter and olive oil. Add ‘sungolds’, corn kernels, salt, pepper, basil, and wine. Cook about two minutes. Pour on top of pasta, sea scallops, and cheese. Enjoy.

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