The concept is so simple I wish I had thought of it: take the throw-away tomato skins that are left-over in the preserving process and make them into something useful. Something other than compost. With over 80 lbs of tomatoes (and counting) harvested from my garden this year, it is safe to say that I …
I know. It’s only been two days and I’m already back. There’s just so much happening in the garden (and kitchen) right now and lots to share. My neck isn’t hurting too much today. The trick seems to be more exercise, time spent outdoors, and a lot less time on the computer. The forecast was …
tomatoes. Tomatoes. TOMATOES. I know I shouldn’t say this as I am practically cursing myself to a tomato-less future by making such a terrible verbal transgression against the Church of the Divine Solanum (of which I am a card carrying member), but it needs to be said: I think I’m already sick of tomatoes. I …
First there is the name, which gives me a chuckle every time I say it as it sounds like the site of an epic Trolls versus Elves battle in The Lord of the Rings. “And there was great despair in the land, for the blood of many fearless warriors was spilled in the great battle …
They’re here! The slicing tomatoes are here! Yeah, sure, we’ve been enjoying the bite-sized determinates since June, and they are good. I won’t deny that they have been swell. The first two Caprese salads of the season were dynamite. I will never forget them. But in all honesty, what started this weekend is The Show. …
Oh dear. I really have been remiss in providing updates and photos of the garden in its first year. The last photo I posted was on June 29. We were headed to Denver and I wanted a record of it before I left. Until that time June was still a bit wet and sometimes cold. …
We ate our first tomato of the 2011 growing season on June 24, just days after the Summer Solstice. This isn’t the earliest tomato I’ve grown, but it’s been a cold, slow year so by those standards we are right on target. The winning variety this year is ‘Ditmarsher’ a compact, tumbling determinate variety that …
Ascending up to the front door of our new place is a series of cracking concrete steps. They are fully exposed to the sun and I predict that in combination with the metal railings, they should prove to be a hot spot by mid-summer. Since moving in I’ve been contemplating what to grow there. The …
When I last spoke of the Office Tomato, I described a plant that was quickly headed towards its final days. It had three ripe fruit and I was hoping to keep the plant going long enough to turn out a forth. Amazingly, I managed to keep it alive to get not only a forth, but …
What Does Hardening Off Mean? For those who are new to gardening, hardening off is the process of preparing your indoor-grown seedlings for life outside. Think of it like this: your plant babies have spent life so-far indoors underneath lights where it is cozy and temperature-controlled. There are pests and problems for sure, but for …
It has been about a month and a half since I last wrote about the Office Tomato and it’s about time for a good news/bad news update. The good news is that I returned from a 10-day trip to Thailand to two ripe tomatoes and a third that is very nearly there. I feel lucky …
Back in January I introduced you to my office tomato, a mystery volunteer plant that I began nurturing for its delicious tomato leaf smell. Well, it looks like Mystery Tomato is about to offer up something else that is delicious — it’s making fruit! Here is a photograph of my plant in the window it …