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Guess what's ready. Yep, the very first ripe tomato (and another close behind)!
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The first Space spinach of the season, and it's beautiful. I picked 4.7 ounces, and I wish there was more of it!
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I pulled the first ripe Cherry Belle radishes, and picked that little Mini Gold cherry tomato.
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It's so pretty, let's look at it one more time before Mr. Granny and I each take a bite. Mmmmm! It was actually good! I never expect much flavor from the first tomatoes, they are usually bland and mealy, but this one was juicy and tasted like a real tomato!
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The spinach made an excellent salad with a sweet and sour hot bacon dressing. We ate it with grilled jumbo shrimp and baked potatoes. I licked my plate when I was finished :-)
I'm jealous! I will be lucky to have a tomato by June!
ReplyDeleteLOL, Robin, I've never had a ripe tomato before June! These weren't even that bothersome to move in and out all the time, and seemed perfectly happy in the window on cold days. I'd do it again, but not with four plants. One plant, however has no tomatoes on it (but lots of blossoms) and two plants have just a few. Just the one plant was loaded and getting ripe fruit. Maybe it would take four to get one good one! I'll be sure to save some of its seeds.
DeleteOh, the real harvest! You are so lucky!
ReplyDeleteSunnyBeach, it always seems like such a long time coming, then all at once there is actual food coming from the garden!
DeleteI want fresh tomatoes! I might have one in a month...If I am lucky! :)
ReplyDeleteChristy, my four little indoor plants should keep us satisfied until the "real thing" comes along in June or July. Once they go out for good, next month, they should provide us with lots of cherry tomatoes. I grew just one plant of that variety last year and it out produced all the tall cherry tomatoes put together!
DeleteIt all looks good!!
ReplyDeleteGardener, it all tasted good, too!
DeleteI just want to cry! Your first tomato! I can hardly wait for mine...maybe the end of May. Oh and that spinach salad...yummy! I can just smell that bacon!
ReplyDeleteLynda, of course, it was the bacon that "made" the salad! And the real butter that flavored the shrimp and drowned the baked potatoes. Everything tastes better with bacon and butter, ya know. I'll be good tomorrow. ;-)
DeleteWhere did you say you lived???? Um. Not for any EVIL SPINACH STEALING forays or anything.....just curious, ya know.
ReplyDelete;)
I'm not giving the "EVIL SPINACH STEALING SUE" my address!
DeleteThat is a special harvest, I hope you and Mr. Granny enjoyed it!!
ReplyDeleteOh, we sure did, Kelly! I actually gave Mr. Granny all but one of the radishes, then forgot mine in the refrigerator. May I say radishes aren't the greatest breakfast food? It was very mild though, but I think I prefer cereal :-)
DeleteNext you will be growing them all winter long in your windows. I've done that in the past with some dwarf cherries. But that was over a decade ago.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, I'm going to actually try to keep one of these alive through the winter, since they are an indeterminate variety. I also have one lone seedling of another variety that I'll experiment with. I will, in any case, save seeds from this one "super" producer, and start another plant in the fall if I can't carry this one over.
Deleteoh that all looks so good! I'll have to try growing cherry tomatoes in the house next year :) and spinach is so large! mine positively refuses to grow this year :(
ReplyDeleteJenny, I direct seeded spinach last week and it popped right up a few days later...then began disappearing! The bed is covered in netting, so I can't blame birds.
Deletevery colorful harvest. And those spinach are beautiful...and large!
ReplyDeleteCharmcity, the spinach leaves grew quickly. I harvested them quite young, as leaf miners got to some of them and I'm trying to keep them under control by picking everything before it can get infested again. I wasn't expecting leaf miners so early, I should have had the bed covered with the netting before I did.
DeleteYour spinach looks great! The 'Mini Gold' tomato looks good too. My one seed that sprouted died :( Oh well, I'll have lot's of other cherry tomatoes to play with.
ReplyDeleteOh, Ed, not your one Mini Gold! Well, I'll make sure we have seeds saved from the one super plant that gave me the first tomato. Next year you too can have a super early tomato...just be sure to plant the seed on my birthday!
DeleteCongratulations on your first tomato. I am glad that it tasted good too. Usually the first one struggles to develop while the plants are becoming established leaving the flavor rather disappointing. You must have a healthy and happy plant that will produce well for you in the near future. The spinach salad looks wonderful as well. I like Space variety too (when I can grow it).
ReplyDeleteRachel, this is my first year growing Space, and I really like it so far. I've always grown Tyee before, which is also a good one.
DeleteMini Gold is a good producer, outperforming my tall cherry tomatoes on its tiny 18-24" plant by far. The flavor isn't as good as some, but certainly better than others, so this is the third year it's earned a spot in my garden. One plant produces more than we can use though, right up until frost kills it, so I don't know what I'll do with four of them! Last year I had hundreds of volunteers in the garden and I allowed one to grow. It actually produced tomatoes as early as the other varieties that were started indoors. I might just give one of these a special spot in the garden and let it do its thing!
are they like sun gold tomatoes? I grew sungolds last yr and they were my faves. Love the salad. Spinach looks incredible! Is it called "Space Spinach" or what variety is it? I started some spinach but it's tiny still. Hoping our stint of three sunny days will help get things growing. Oh man tho, bringing things in and out! We brought things in last nite but some stayed out that will get planted today. BIG plans today...planting a lot and possibly finishing the last weeding from "the weed patch" that we stupidly rented and then had to work our butts off to clear. I'm envious that you have a yard!! We have to pay $50/patch and this yr rented three patches, going on four i think so i can put in more tomatoes. lol! I am not sure where I'll be putting the produce yet but we have plenty of local charities. I am thinking too many tomatoes will mean I can try some sauces or something creative of the canning variety. Last yr I made salsa with my overload of early girls b/c they actually didn't taste THAT great for a tomato and yet made excellent salsa. I have a bunch of roma tomato plants (just b/c i had seeds haha) and will have to study up on canning tomatoes. We also will have a lot of onions I think, so need advice on ways to preserve onions whether frozen, canned or in recipes frozen. I will do some research this coming week when we get rainy days. (tho i have about a bazillon transplants to do also!) Have a happy Sun-day! Don't forget the sunscreen so u don't get skin damage!
ReplyDeleteAmy T., they aren't sweet like Sun Gold, and they are a tiny plant in comparison....18"-24" high, so easily managed inside, at least so far.
DeleteYes, the variety of the spinach is "Space". This is my first year growing that variety, I usually grow Tyee Hybrid.
I chop and freeze onions, but I think I'm going to try making onion relish this year, too.
Great looking tomato. You have definitely convinced me to grow Sungold next year. You inspire me!
ReplyDeleteSustainably Modern, this is NOT a Sungold tomato plant! It's Mini Gold, which is a very short (mine have grown 18-24") plant, without the sweetness of Sungold. I prefer the flavor of Sungold, but these Mini Golds were grown indoors on the windowsill! Last year my one tiny Mini Gold gave me more than twice the tomatoes the Sungold did, but the flavors do not compare. Mini Gold does get sweeter as the weather warms, but never nearly the sweetness of Sungold.
ReplyDeleteoh my tomatoes ready already!! You very lucky! What a great harvest!
ReplyDeleteMrs. P., a tomato that was good enough that I'll try again next winter!
DeleteThe first tomato! You do know it's April, right? Way to go! That spinach is truly beautiful, the salad looks absolutely amazing! I wonder how you keep all the bugs from putting holes all through your spinach, mine just gets eaten up.
ReplyDeleteMegan, I cover my spinach/beet bed with nylon netting (plain old netting from the fabric store, under $1 a yard). Otherwise the leaves would be ruined by leaf miners. I imagine it keeps out a lot of other leaf eating bugs too.
DeleteHi Annie, I am drooling! And my head is always swimming after reading yours or Daphne's blogs. Now that we are no longer going to AZ for the winter I am interested in learning about keeping or growing a cherry tomato in the house. Is there a book or info on the internet on doing that? So much to do, so much to learn! I went out to plant my onions today wearing my winter jacket and ear muffs but decided it was too cold!!! Hopefully I can get it done tomorrow! Nancy at Cozy Thyme Cottage
ReplyDeleteNancy, you just need to get a "patio" type tomato that only grows to under 24". The ones I'm growing are a bit too tall, so I might look for a different variety for next winter. You need to give it lots of light, artificial if you don't have a sunny window. Keep it warm, and when it gets blossoms you have to shake it a couple times a day for pollination.
DeleteI went out to the garden and only lasted a couple of hours. Kicked off my shoes, rolled up my pant legs, and still got too hot to work out in the sun! Next week it's supposed to be back down in the 60s.
What a great harvest so far! You are definitely doing something right! Congratulations! Happy Gardening! Mindy
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mindy!
DeleteWhat a great harvest I am very jealous!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vanessa....let's hope it's the first of many!
DeleteIn April! You re amazing!
ReplyDelete