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Home » Uncategorized » Holy Tomatoes! {garden update}
green tomatoes
August 17, 2009

Holy Tomatoes! {garden update}

From the Kitchen of Katie Kick

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I stressed almost the entire 8 days we were gone about what our garden would look like when we got home. I knew my neighbor was watering for me, yet night after night I had dreams of coming home to dead plants. I was so pleased to come home, instead, to a beautifully kept garden (that had grown significantly in 8 days) and lots of fresh produce to pick.

Precisely,

18 Roma Tomatoes
8 Mr. Stripey Tomatoes
2 Better Boy Tomatoes
4 Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
64 Yellow Pear Tomatoes
60 Grape Tomatoes
2 Zucchini – baseball bat sized!
3 Bell Peppers – 2 red, 1 yellow
5 Jalapeno

Did I mention lots? Especially tomatoes. I wish I could share them with all of you! So many tomatoes! I’m dreaming of a tomato tart with a herbed crust. If you have a recipe, send it my way!

The beefsteak plant has lots of tomatoes on it, but they seem to take a long time. And for good reason, they’re pretty big and sooooo tasty! We had our first two this week. I hope we get lots more!

We got off to a pretty good start early on with our tomatoes, thanks to our exceptionally warm spring. I was able to plant them pretty early. But the season is really picking up now. I can’t go many days without picking handfuls and handfuls. I usually end up going back in the house for a bowl to put them in as I pick.
And throughout last week there were even more:

6 Roma
1 Better Boy
2 Beefsteak (delicious!)
28 Yellow Pear
40 Grape
1 Green Bell Pepper
7 Jalapeno
1 Honeydew Melon

Today I cut into our first honeydew melon. It was pretty good, but probably should have ripened one more day. I was getting a little impatient and Madeline kept asking for the “ball.”

No worries on that though, because there’s already another coming along nicely and lots of flowers and a few teeny tiny melons forming. My neighbor is growing cantaloupe. I hope he shares, because I think I prefer that to honeydew. I’m thinking next year we might try watermelon.

I don’t know why, but some of the jalapenos have started turning red and they seem smaller than jalapenos sold in stores, but they were labeled jalapenos when I bought them – unless someone switched the tag on me.

And the season count (so far!):

  • Grape Tomatoes – 215
  • Yellow Pear Tomatoes – 145
  • Mr. Stripey Tomatoes – 11
  • Better Boy Tomatoes – 5
  • Beefsteak Tomatoes – 2
  • Zucchini – 11
  • Bell Peppers (red, yellow, and green) – 15
  • Jalapeno – 12
  • Honeydew Melon – 1
  • Strawberries – 12
  • Green Onions – 8 bunches
  • Sugar Snap Peas – 110+ (I lost track) The peas are finished for the season.
  • Bibb Lettuce – 8 or 10 heads (the lettuce is done for the season)
  • Plus virtually unlimited access to green onions, fresh basil, cilantro, dill, tarragon, and parsley

It’s a good thing I had planned to write an article on homemade salsa for my 4 week series Cooking from Your Garden over at Craftzine. Week 1 and week 2 have already been published. Week 3 is this Wednesday (salsa). Next week I’ll be harvesting my rhubarb!


Tags

Tomato

Meet Katie Kick

My lifelong interest in cooking has shown me that part of the goodness in life is enjoying delicious food with friends and family. I love trying new foods, discovering new places & things that help my family live the good life.

More About Katie
Updated: January 21, 2025

Reader Interactions

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  1. zested says

    August 22, 2009 at 1:30 AM

    I'm really impressed you are able to grow honeydew! That's amazing. I manage to cram a lot of plants into my tiny brooklyn patio, but I (barely) resisted the urge to plant melons…

    Reply
  2. Kristilyn (The Domestic Goddess) says

    August 20, 2009 at 3:51 PM

    What a great harvest! Our garden is doing poorly this year – I think we'll be adding a lot of compost at the end of summer to get the soil a little happier. Isn't it amazing being able to eat fresh out of the garden? Sometimes I wish I was somewhere warmer in Canada where we could eat fresh every day!K

    Reply
  3. We Are Not Martha says

    August 17, 2009 at 9:29 PM

    Ahhh I'm a bit jealous!! I really wish I had a better garden situation in this city!!Sues

    Reply
  4. Retro Housewife says

    August 17, 2009 at 7:43 PM

    I happen to know someone who lives close by and wouldn't mind taking a few tomatoes off your hands if you just can't handle all of them!Hope your trip was great, what a wonderful treat to come home to.

    Reply
  5. koshercamembert says

    August 17, 2009 at 3:41 PM

    gorgeous, just gorgeous.

    Reply
  6. Zoe says

    August 17, 2009 at 3:29 PM

    Lucky you!

    Reply
  7. squirrelbread says

    August 17, 2009 at 2:08 PM

    don't you love how Mother Nature can surprise you like that? we planted rather late, so we're still quite a ways from harvesting anything except basil. we love this recipe for roasted tomatoes with lemon and rosemary [http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=642248] – great for putting on top of crostini, in pasta, or as is on the side of an antipasti plate.Cheers,*Heather*

    Reply
  8. Les@SpillingBuckets says

    August 17, 2009 at 12:44 PM

    Jalapenos turn red, just like green peppers turn red (or another color) if left to ripen. I've heard that the more red they are the hotter they are – you'll have to test it out.http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/518634

    Reply
  9. oneordinaryday says

    August 17, 2009 at 11:29 AM

    Wow. I'm impressed! My container gardens surely didn't put out much of a harvest. Next year, I think I'll go all out and plant a real garden. I need all those tomatoes, I just know I do!

    Reply
  10. Real Life Sarah says

    August 17, 2009 at 1:19 AM

    Great harvest! We had tons of green beans, and our tomatoes are starting to come in, too! I love Mr. Stripey and Pear Tomatoes!

    Reply

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Katie Kick from Good Life Eats in her kitchen

Meet Katie Kick

Hi, I’m Katie! Thank you so much for visiting my corner of the internet. I am passionate about cooking delicious and beautiful, yet accessible, food for my family and friends. I love tasting new foods, discovering new places and things that help my family live that good life.

More about Katie
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