Even if the Pacific Northwest is not the ideal climate for tomatoes, they are worth all of the extra attention necessary to cajole fresh tomatoes from the garden before the rains come in the Fall. by Lara Alexander Think Local would like to welcome a new contributor, Lara Alexander!

A fifth generation Seattlite, Lara grows, cooks, eats and writes about food in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. You can find her at www.food-soil-thread.com

A few years ago, on a camping trip down the coast, I fell in love with Sun Gold Tomatoes. Driving down a winding highway that cut through foggy beaches, Redwood forests, and mountain passes, I spent the night on an organic farm in Humboldt County. I slept in a tent behind the tomato fields, and in the morning we cooked breakfast in the old goat barn that had been converted (I am being generous here) into a kitchen for the farm workers.

After breakfast, I played at being a farm girl and helped with the Sun Gold harvest. A couple of hours later, with a dirt smudged face, dusty hair and itchy arms from the resin on the tomato stems, and I was ready to jump in the closest river I could find. But, I was hooked forever on the sweet, fruity, taste of those little orange tomatoes.

Luckily, Sun Golds, like other cherry tomatoes, grow well in our climate too. I had great luck with them last year, and was sure to save some space for them this year. If I could only grow two kinds of tomatoes, Sun Gold would be my snacking variety, and San Marzano Tomatoes would be my cooking variety.

San Marzano tomatoes are an Italian variety that have a high amount of pectin, resulting in a thick, never watery, sauce. They take longer to mature than other popular Pacific Northwest varieties, so I aggressively pinch back any new flower blossoms after the beginning of August. This encourages the plant to concentrate its energy on ripening the tomatoes it already has, rather than producing more fruit. I find that if I am "greedy" about how many tomatoes I try to get out of each plant, most of the fruit rots on the vine at the end of September anyway.

This year, I am trying to extend the growing season for my tomatoes. I am not sure if it will work, but I am always up for a new experiment in the garden! I purchased a perforated plastic sheet and some wire hoops, and built a thirty foot long tunnel cloche.

My tomatoes have been growing in their tunnel since the second half of April. As any eager Puget Sound gardener knows, tomatoes planted unprotected in April will meet a sure cold death. My young plants seem to be trudging along happily though. It's mid May now, and most have little yellow blossoms already.

Now the real question is, will the early start result in earlier tomatoes? I will have to wait and see!