Here is my first tomato. I have officially won the yearly competition to produce a tomato before the 4th of July. A little tomato to be sure. But still the promise of more to come.
How to grow a winning tomato?
- Allow any size in the competition.
- Grow in a very sheltered flower garden at the bottom of the front steps.
- This plant was a volunteer so it is hardy and acclimatised to the area.
- Piles of good compost and lots of water.
- Egg shells and coffee. (The plunger is often emptied right under the hydrangea next to this tomato).
The little tomato rolled off the chopping block and onto the floor while being prepared but I applied the 3 second rule, nabbed it and ate it anyway. And as you can see my floor is not the cleanest of floors. But never mind. It was VERY tasty. (the tomato not the floor) I know I should have shared it but there you are. There are many, many more on the way – all the tomato plants are either fruiting or flowering.
You may say Tomayto and I say Tomahto but the competition is now officially called off. I WON for the first time.
The fencing is almost done and in this heat one would imagine that a quick dip in the pool would be in order but sadly the pool has sprung a leak while being refilled after the spring clean. So as not to waste the water we are siphoning it off into the vegetable gardens (there were no chemicals in the pool yet) . Once it is empty Our John will have a look to see if he can find the leak. Though I fear that will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
However until then the cucumbers and courgettes will be well watered and cucumbers like a lot of water.
It is raining again this morning. Yesterday morning we woke to rain too. Perfect timing. Rain at dawn.
I hope you have a lovely day.
celi
PS. On a side note the song: The 30’s Gershwin song – Lets Call the Whole Thing Off, was as much about regional pronunciations as class distinctions.
Leaving me a very classy dame indeed, darling:
Read on –
“Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off“ is a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film Shall We Dance, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates.[1] The song is most famous for its “You like to-may-toes /təˈmeɪtoʊz/ and I like to-mah-toes /təˈmɑːtoʊz/” and other verses comparing their different regional dialects.[2]
The differences in pronunciation are not simply regional, however, but serve more specifically to identify class differences. At the time, typical American pronunciations were considered less “refined” by the upper-class, and there was a specific emphasis on the “broader” a sound.[3] This class distinction with respect to pronunciation has been retained in caricatures, especially in the theater, where the longer a pronunciation is most strongly associated with the word “darling.”[4]
The Kitchen's Garden 
43 responses to “Let’s call the whole thing off”
Ha ha – tomatoes do grow in dirt, so a dirty floor is just like going back to where it came from. I’ve heard people (several times) ask the farmer at the farmers’ market if he has any washed potatoes. I always thought that the dirt on vegetables at the market adds a bit of authenticity. Incidentally, Martin (the farmer) grows some fantastic tasty tomatoes which he claims taste better for growing in the dirt, as opposed to bags of compost.
Fantastic!! I’m here way down in central Texas waiting for ours to turn red. I have three on my Heirloom and three on my beefstake and a bunch on my sun gold, and they’re all about four feet tall, but none of them are turning color! I think it’s been all this rain. We’ve had so much of it without any sun. We’re finally getting sun and heat so I’m hoping to see some red. Now, to help my fungus-y peppers :(.
I think your floor is lovely, just as it is. I had a camp counselor once who assured me that it was VERY important to eat a good amount of dirt along the way, to ward off the really bad stuff. So eating off the floor is just sort of a vaccination in my book. (Italians are horrified by dirt. Funny.)
i love your field. Fills me with so much hope that there will be food to sustain life.
Bless you and your likes for feeding the rest of the world.
Oh, about dirt…I think it is ok to ingest some dirt, the body needs that challenge to keep its defences shipshape. I feel that America is way too antiseptic, and American children have no resistance to any germs whatsoever. (No offence I have lived in America and am now back in my home country, India, which is dirty to the core, but our immune system is unbeatable 🙂
Congrats on finally winning the ‘Tomato Competition”!!! I know that Our John is a master tomato grower, and has won it forever. Hope he’s not feeling too forlorn! And I sure to get it about being the one to feast on it…after all, you won! The unwritten rule in the morning, especially when the berries are just coming on, is whoever sees the ripe berry can pick and eat it! Our strawberries are finished, but our blueberries, blackberries and raspberries are coming on! 🙂
Never thought a tomato can be such interesting. Nice blog
Aww no, now I will have to have another question ready for 4 July 😦 Congratulations on being first time winner, hope the Matriarch and Our John were good losers. Of course the prize was all yours – deservedly 🙂 Laura
Well done, daaaahling, my tomahtos are naught but wee yellow fleurs at this stage!
Nana, my maternal grandmother who lived with us, always called tomatoes “love apples”. I wasn’t sure if the tomatoes in the store were love apples or not as a kid, since learned they are. They were grown as an ornamental garden plant when first brought to Europe as they are a member of the nightshade family (as are potatoes), and were considered poisonous (how sad). Too much disruption this year to get any love apple plants for the containers.
I have flowers on my tomahtoes and some have tiny tiny fruit swellings…perhaps that counts for 2nd prize since it’s mid-winter here in the opposite hemisphere? Mine get planted with crushed up eggshells in the hole, lots of animal manure and a good handful of rock minerals.
Amazing we just harvested the last of the ripe summer [volunteer tomatoes] 3 weeks into winter, pulling the green remainders into tge ground, before setting off on our trip. With your eggshells & coffee grounds tip we’ll have plenty later on in the year.
CELI HALP! I keep getting kicked off the list. It says I am following, but nuttin’ shows up in my inbox. Feeling forlorn. Much love, Your lonesome Gayle.
Happens to us all Gayle – don’t be sad! c
So on this side of the globe, and being cool temperate/mountain zone, it’s uncommon for me to pick tomatoes before New Year. It’s a while since I’ve tasted a ‘real’ tomato (the grocery store ones are red but hard and crispy) so I’ll just sit here and drool while you enjoy it 😕