There’s something about that first tomato harvest that just seems to make the summer garden official. Not that the 25 pounds of fresh veggies picked so far don’t already speak to a productive garden. It’s just that we all live for that first red, ripe tomato. Today is that day for The Twenty-five Dollar Victory Garden.
If you recall, I had such a slow start to the garden in May, with all the heavy rain, I invested a little over five dollars on two established tomato seedlings to put in my garden. The rational was that I better do something to make up for lost time or I wouldn’t have any tomatoes before summer was over. So I bought on “Early Girl” and one Burpee Big Boy” plant. They towered over my homegrown seedlings and humbled me and every other neighboring plant that had been struggling just to survive through weeks of wet, sunless days.
Fast forward eight weeks and those two purchased plants are indeed still that largest and most fruit-laden tomato plants in the garden. But I’m happy to report that the other six are making excellent progress and all show signs of a future harvest in the not to distant future.
On a side note, I’m happy to report that my nine-year-old daughter Amy has really taken to the garden and loves to go out in the evening to hunt for the latest harvest-worthy vegetables. Friday I was out of town and when I got home late that night, the harvest basket was on the kitchen table with about two and a half pounds of cucumbers, squash and peppers. In fact, she loves the cukes so much; they are her new favorite snack food. That’s the good news. The bad news is, she consumes them so fast, I don’t have a chance to weigh them first. But I love the tradeoff and I’m thrilled she’s enjoying the experience and a newfound love of fresh, homegrown organic vegetables, fresh from the garden!
Episode 13 will be out later this week covering super money saving ideas for fertilization and plant ties. See you back here soon.
JL
p.s. The harvest in the above picture was from this evening, weighing in at 3 pounds, 9 ounces. That puts the total harvested weight so far at over 27 pounds.
About Joe Lamp'l
Joe Lamp'l is the Host and Executive Producer of the award winning PBS television series Growing A Greener World. Off camera, Joe dedicates his time to promoting sustainability through his popular books, blog, podcast series, and nationally syndicated newspaper columns. Follow Joe on Twitter
I’ve just found your blog and it’s a total inspiration. Whilst we wintering here in the southern hemisphere I dream of what is to come next growing season. Having said that we’re still getting a few things from the winter crops. My ambitions for growing next year are for a true backyard pantry. I’ll be able to check in here for plenty of information and inspiration.
Oh, I’m with you on the tomatoes but they are every gardeners challenge in New Zealand to get the first tomato harvest for Christmas!
You sound like I felt in May. I thought the rain would never stop! But as things usually do with nature, it all works out. But having to wait that long for homegrown tomatoes shouldn’t be part of the waiting process.
This is the first year I’ve grown Lemon cukes but thanks to one of my Twitter friends, I was introduced to them this year from seeds she donated. They are indeed a must-have for the garden. They are a beautiful addition, not only when growing in the garden, but in the harvest basket as well.
It will be 2-3 weeks before we have any red tomatoes, what with the rain and the cold temps. It’s still getting into the 40s at night in PA. And while we had two sunny weeks, they’re now predicting rain off and on for the next two. Argh! Lemon cukes are my favorites. I got a bad batch of seed this year and not a single one germinated. I should have tried a new batch but time got away from me. You may know how that is.
Thanks Verab. My daughter LOVES those lemon cukes and pretty much everything else that comes out of the garden. I have to say, that first bite of the first homegrown tomato last night was incredible. We gardeners live for that moment and this one even exceeded my expectations. Maybe it was sharing it with my 9 year-old daughter, or that it was completely organic and safe for us both, or that just simply nothing taste better than a homegrown tomato!
But no matter, it was great and speaking of that, it sounds like your low-country stewed squash sounds fabulous. I’m going to have to try that tonight. I’m thinking even a little diced tomato and peppers to kick it up a notch. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hello! Congrats!! I’m envying those lemon cucumbers!! That is one of the things I was sooooo looking forward to this year (and that Bambi demolished). I put up poles with the fishing wire recently to help salvage what is left of my garden (thanks for the suggestion from one of your readers). I picked about 9 yellow squash yesterday. I plan to make some Low-Country stewed squash over rice today. Simmer the squash down with some onions and bacon and serve over rice. Yum!
Thanks Finny. You’ve been with me since DAY 1 and I’m glad you’re checking in and keeping up. Totally agree on the hallmark of summer being tied to that first bite of a homegrown tomato! We’re lov’n those lemon cukes and they’ll be a regular in our garden for a long time.
Yes! I got my first tomato this weekend, too! The first three, to be exact. When I have that first bite of sun-warmed tomato, I know it’s officially summer. Let the canning, eating, roasting, saucing and gorging begin!
Exciting to see you’re growing lemon cukes, too – those are my favorite cucumbers. Soon, they’ll be pickle chips.
Great GREAT work out there, so far. Plus, getting your daughter into it is awesome. Gardeners for future generations.
Hey Jeph. Great idea on teaching my daughter to ‘harvest’ the pest insects as enthusiastically as the veggies. I think we’ll get to work on that. Congrats on all your cukes. They are indeed a pretty reliable crop aren’t they?
JL
Joe – congrats on the first red tomato! As great as all the other produce is, there’s something about that first ripe tomato that really says, yup, it’s here!
While my tomatoes are no where close to ripe yet (bummer), I picked almost 4 lbs of cucumbers yesterday, and three more today.
Maybe you can convince your daughter picking stuff like Japanese beetles and dropping them in a glass of soapy water is as much fun as picking the veggies. We’re getting hit hard with the Japanese beetles around here right now. It’s the talk of the neighborhood!
Thanks Amy for your comment and very well said. I ditto all your remarks. My little Amy has become such an eager harvester, I was worried that those tomatoes wouldn’t quite have a chance to ripen on the vine. And yes indeed, the avalanche of fresh food is beginning. We have already shared a good bit with our neighbors, and as soon as I finish this note, we are heading over to our local shelter to donate lots of home grown veggies from that little garden of mine. As much as I enjoy growing them, I derive as much pleasure giving them away, especially to those in need. Thanks for commenting!
JL
The harvest looks great! When my first big tomato turned red, I was out of town and my husband ate it before I got home. A few more have ripened since then, but it all seems so slow this year! The avalanche of fresh food is beginning, though. I will be taking squash to a neighbor when she gets home later today.
I have a cucumber-eater at my house, too– my youngest son. When my boys like to eat what’s growing in the yard, I feel even happier about the garden, which seems almost impossible since I LOVE to grow food in the yard.
Thanks for the update!
-Amy, NW of Atlanta
(P.S.—Your daughter has a GREAT name!)
Hi Deborah. LOL on the impatience part. I felt the same way about my green tomatoes. Then all of a sudden, the went from green to pink tinged to suddenly red in a matter of about four days. I excited to get to that point where I get a steady supply. Don’t you love that part of summer where there is always a few ripe tomatoes sitting on the kitchen window cill? But if it’s any consolation, I too was tempted to harvest them early for fried green tomatoes. But willpower overcame the temptation and part of my rationale was that maybe this fall as a threat of frost comes and green tomatoes are still on the vine, that will be my batch for frying.
I’m glad to be an inspiration for your cost cutting. I think your idea for fertilizer is a good one. But I’ll tell you now, my budget secret is to hit the garage sales hard until you find someone unloading their bags of unused fertilizer. It’s pretty easy to find the water soluble stuff but organic fertilizer like I found is a lot harder. But whatever you find, it will be a bargain.
JL
p.s. the small lemon looking things are ‘lemon’ cucumbers. Very prolific and tasty. My girls eat them as snacks.
Congrats on your first tomatoes! I’m still waiting for mine to start turning red (I planted Early Girl and Big Boy, too). I’m so impatient I’m thinking of making some fried green tomatoes. What are the pale green roundish things in your basket? Lemon cucumbers?
I’m looking forward to the next episode. A large portion of my expenditures so far have gone into organic fertilzers. Your project has inspired me to cut my vegetable garden spending in half (at least) next year. So I’m thinking I might just put my faith into a generous application of (free) composted horse manure from a nearby stable and lots of homemade compost. I’m interested to hear what you come up with.