The first slowly ripening tomatoes were harvested today.
This slicing/snacking fruit came from a Bonnie Plants hybrid called Patio, bred to be compact and a heavy bearer.
I guess my first fruit was a little small weighing in at just over 2 oz. The specs for this hybrid promise 3-4 oz fruit.
I am gardening in the Chihuahuan desert in a town with water restrictions. I am only allowed to water 3 times a week: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, between 6pm and 10 am. I water at dawn, and watch for monsoon storm clouds in the evenings. So far there’s only been be one significant rain storm, but it’s early in monsoon season yet.
I *might* have been a little exuberant with buying and planting tomato starts. In spite of sandy soil and sparse water, they are expanding exponentially, occupying rather a lot of garden real estate very rapidly.
I love fresh, vine ripened tomatoes. To satisfy this snacking need, amongst others, I chose 2 kinds of cherry tomato plants and 1 grape tomato plant. A handful of grapes were ready today.
I also love a good tomato, basil pasta sauce. A Roma tomato plant was chosen to generate sauce and cooking fruit for the season.
The first Roma tomato was picked today.
I’m hoping to produce enough tomatoes this summer from the various plants, to make sun dried tomatoes in herbs and olive oil for my winter pantry.
Right now I could feast on fried green tomatoes (with or without the secret in the sauce) for days.
Patience, not my strong suite, is one of the gifts the garden teaches. Everything in it’s time. No fried green tomatoes. Yet.
Today’s harvest of love apples were all sliced and eaten straight from the garden, sun warmed and delicious.
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