When putting the love in your garden, eventually it will all pay off
I have heard this saying more than often, and I could not disagree any more with this. This saying is more like when everything goes to crap, that it is your fault because you did not put enough love in there.
And that feels so wrong as you are entirely dependent on the weather when you have it all outdoors in the summer. Sure you can make an irrigation system for when it is dry...but the other way around when it is super moisty and the slugs are ravenging freely..
Let's say we don't entirely have everything in our hands.
Even cooler it feels when something that you have been experimenting with is actually paying off. I mean come on, isn't this an awesome harvest and these guys are screaming to end up in some kind of tomato salad if you ask me!
And yes, these peppers are the 'Thunder Mountain Longhorn peppers which are not that hot, but are perfect to have some laying around to enhance you dish with for a little bit.
But wow!
Honestly, I am extremely happy with what is coming from the tomato plants at the moment. Last year I waited a bit loo long before harvesting because I wanted them to 'ripen' more and that also ended up with some birds peckering on them and that I found some of them on the ground fallen for their fates.
So this year I decided to harvest a bit earlier with whatever is ready and choose to let the ripen indoors but in the sun.
And honestly....this one looks like a textbook tomato as you would hope right?
Now choosing the moment to harvest them and cut them off is not that easy if you ask me. Because when you look at this little bush here down below, it looks ready. But I also have the feeling that I want to give them a day more of chilling outside.
It is called 'stage 4' of tomato coloring and people tend to disagree on what actually is the perfect moment to cut them.
What I also know
What also makes sense is to not wait endlessly on harvesting as the bush wants to put all the energy in riping the tomatoes. So once you harvest them, it can give the energy to the tomatoes that are still green and need the energy a lot more.
I guess in this specific situation here above it would make sense to cut off the red one to give the rest a better chance.
And I have also tried eaten a couple of then already which was a big success. This was a bit of a surprise honestly as they were not so deep red as yet and I was hesitant to try them already.
As in...visually they needed to ripen a bit more, but it turned out not to be needed in the end. And that gives a lot of hope for this amateur gardner.
Soooooo, on to the dishes! Tomato salade, tomato sauced pasta. This will surely feed 2 or 3 meals so I am eager to go for it.
And....there are still enough unripe tomatoes on the bushes, so it seems there is more to come over the upcoming weeks. Excited!