It sure took long enough. I planted earlier than other years, and my tomato plants looked great. Yet those green tomatoes just would not ripen!

I suspect cool night temperatures are to blame--tomatoes need it warm at night to ripen properly.

But today, TODAY, I found 2 ripe Lemon Boy tomatoes out in my garden they became my first tomato mayo sandwich of the season. The Mortgage Lifter looks like it will be next.

Now I can say I broke even on that plant. If I would have bought 2 yellow tomatoes at the store today, they would have probabaly equalled the plant purchase price. All the rest I harvest from this point forward will be free!

How is your garden growing?

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I actually got my tomato plants into the soil yesterday! That is a record for me--usually I don't get them it until the first week in June. I am pleased with my accomplishment. :)

For the past few years I have planted Lemon Boy. They have a wonderful fruity flavor and are a pretty yellow color. They are not heirlooms, but I purchased 2 at a recent visit to Steins since they are a favorite. I also picked up a Sweet Cluster--a small 2" red type.

Last year I ventured into the heirloom varieties with Mr. Stripey. Those were fun. Huge striped red and yellow fruits with a great flavor. The photo is from last year's Mr. Stripey. You can see it was mostly yellow. The tag on this year's shows a primarily red tomato.

Since I liked Mr. Stripey so much, I purchased it again this year and ventured into a few more heirlooms. A gardening friend recommended I try Brandywine, so this year I picked one up.

Steins had a marvelous selection of heirlooms this year, and the plants looked very healthy. I think the price was 3/ $6.50. A few more heirloom varieties jumped into my cart:  Mortgage Lifter--a meaty red prolific tomato, said to have sold for $1.00 during the depression, Aunt Ruby's German Green--a large yellow and green striped tomato, Green Zebra--a small green and yellow tomato, and Cherokee Purple--an unusual mahogany and red colored tomato.

Sadly, tomatoes do not grow well in my vegetable garden. I must have some virus in there or something. Instead, I plant them on the southern exposure of my house in my perennial bed. The tomato plants love the heat that radiates from the foundation after dark. Granted they look a little odd in with the flowers, but hey, I am a tomato lover so they look good to me! 

No need to worry about having too many tomatoes. They freeze very well. All I do is wash them off, cut out the core, and throw into a freezer Zip-loc bag. Because the freezing action breaks down the structure of the fruit, they are wonderful in soup or spaghetti sauce  I am rather a peasant type cook, so I don't even peel them. You can rub off the peelings very easily when they thaw a bit before you put them into the soup pot, however. 

Can't wait for the first tomato and mayo sandwich!

I noticed in Brookfieldnow that Dixon Elementary School was including heirloom tomatoes in their fundraiser on Sat. May 17th, from 9AM to Noon. Price: $5.00/plant. Proceeds go to purchasing white boards for the school.

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