In a few short months...
Look at what I found this morning. This little guy popped through. It is my first tomato plant of the 2019 season. Many more to come. I love this time of year when the seeds all start to germinate and I get lots of baby plants. I dream about all of the wonderful things to come.
The first few tomatoes are always the most amazing. All winter we have been eating boring store bought tomatoes. They don't taste the same as the ones I grow.
Then there will be a basket full. I will start incorporating them into all of our meals.
Tomato slices on sandwiches
Chicken Bruschetta pizza.
Then they will explode. Piles and piles of tomatoes in just a few short months.
So many that I will probably be a little overwhelmed. They tend to pile up and fill my drawers in the fridge. Then they fill up bowls all over the table and counters.
When I get a day, it is time to make sauce. A very important staple in my house.
The amazing smell will fill the house.
Canning will begin. We need lots of sauce to get us through the winter months. Homemade sauce is so much better then store bought.
I see lots of pizzas in our future
And chili too.
But right now, I will admire my first tomato plant of the season and think about all of the tomatoes I will have in a few short months.
Did you plant any seeds yet? Did they start germinating? Are you getting as excited about fresh veggies as I am?
I have never had much luck growing tomatoes from seeds so I buy mine from the nursery with good prices and unusual varieties.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind do you get? I grow Big boy, San Marzano Roma and 100 cherry. I was thinking about buying one or 2 plants of a golden yellow this year for a change. I will see what happens.
DeleteI've done all the "major/popular" varieties at one time or another. Last year we tried Black Krims....they were interesting-good fresh eating, not so good in cooked ways and they "turn" bad quickly so need to be eaten sooner rather than later. I like Cherokee Purple and may grow those this year. I always grow a Roma variety as we make a lot of Italian/saucy type dishes....last year was a San Marzano type and something called Amish Paste. Both of those did well. I've never had much luck with any Beefsteak varieties since our growing season isn't that long. I never was a fan of cherry tomatoes(tho they are easier to get a yield on them)but do like grape type minis so might give those a go this year.
DeleteI use the cherry tomatoes in lettuce salads, pasta salads and sun dried with olive oil and basil.
DeleteI have no luck with tomatoes. Too many blooming chipmunks and squirrels!
ReplyDeleteThat stinks.
DeleteGreat photos! I can't wait for tomatoes again this year!
ReplyDeleteSoon!
DeleteI got my first couple of baby tomatoes to pop up this week as well!
ReplyDeleteI ordered a new kind of Roma this year--Cordova. I'll see how they do. Last year, I tried San Marzano Gigante (it was supposed to be a San Marzano type that was really large.). They tasted good, but even with one of the driest summers we've had for years, they were having trouble cracking and suffered with blossom end rot even though other tomatoes near them were fine. So, I'm trying another type this year. I do sauces and can the Romas.
I always grow Glacier Ultra Early because they are so early in ripening, but are small. I also always grow Willamette tomatoes, which are just a medium-sized round kind that my parents always grew. I can them.
Last year I did yellow pear and chocolate cherry tomatoes. This year, Rob wanted his favorite Sungold cherry tomatoes so I'm doing them plus the chocolate cherries. We eat them fresh. Last year was the first time we kept up with 6 plants, though. I took cherry tomatoes everywhere I went, it seemed and Rob ate SO many!
Then, last year, I got quite a few tomatoes off of a volunteer plant that just came up in the garden. Who knew what that one would be, but they were fine, a Roma-type. I'm always experimenting. It's useful fun:)
I planted a couple of packs that were years old and will see what, if anything, comes up.
I'm glad you are finding success as well!
I always seem to get a few volunteers every year. I move them to wherever I have a spot. Before we know it we will be up to our necks in tomatoes canning. I only have a few more jars of sauce and salsa so I have to get moving on it. Otherwise the natives might get restless.
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