Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

A Family Tradition: Tomatoes in the Garden

Growing up, every summer meant strawberries and tomatoes growing in the backyard. I was never a big fan of tomatoes - something about the texture just didn't appeal to me - so I never really considered trying to grown them on my own. Fast forward to last year when I started buying green zebra tomatoes from Atlas Farms. They still have some gooey seeds to scoop out, but the rest of the tomato is firm and tangy. I missed the window to plant strawberries this year, but decided to plant two green zebra tomato plants and herbs to go with them.

I previously posted about my garden when it was just starting out. Here is an update on my gardening progress. I'm happy to report that we've been eating basil in almost every meal for the last month. The lime basil plants are doing great - there are leaves to harvest every day or two. My chives didn't like the rainy weather and I'm down to just two little shoots.


Genovese Basil (with the tag) and Lime Basil






The biggest success (I think) is the progress of my tomato plants. It started with just one tomato.  Now I've got six good looking tomatoes and a bunch of little babies budding. Here's a look into the garden.  I can't wait for them to be ripe and ready to eat! 







Thursday, July 1, 2010

A Look in the Garden

This year the hubby cleared out some shrubs and made room for a new garden. I was overwhelmed by the possibilities of what to plant and decided to start small for my first year of food gardening. I picked up some green zebra tomato plants from Atlas Farms. I bought a few green zebras every week last year, investing the $5 in the plants seemed like a good idea. I also decided to try a few herbs. The winners were chives, basil, and lime basil.

I planted my little tomatoes in the ground with some good soil from Russell's Garden Center. The herbs got nice homes in small pots. That way I could take them in during huge rain storms and I can pretend that I'll be able to bring them in and keep them alive in the winter.

I didn't know what to expect - but everything is blooming! When I came back after a long weekend away there were little yellow flowers and two baby green tomatoes. I can't wait for these to get big enough to eat!





My herbs are also doing well. I thought the seeds might have been waterlogged during the June rain, but they made it through. The lime basil is really flavorful - citrusy and bright. The best way to describe the chives is 'oniony'!



I've already put the herbs to good use. The first harvest was chopped and mixed into scrambled eggs. Tonight I muddled some lime basil and poured strawberry lemonade in the glass for a refreshing summer drink.

I'll report back once the tomatoes are ripe!

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