Friday, March 19, 2010

Happy Days are Here Again

Well, what a difference a few weeks make. Last week and this week I enjoyed several harvests of tomatoes. Here's what they looked like on the vine:


I nervously cut into the tomato, hoping not to see any dark spots. Happily, they looked great!



Three weeks ago I harvested a bunch, which I ended up putting in a salad:


Two weeks ago...


...I sliced them up and put on a Nutrisystem pizza:


Just a few minutes ago, I picked three, which I tossed in Italian dressing and ate as a snack:


So, it looks like the tomatoes are back. The single remaining vine is huge and stronger than ever, with at least 5-10 flowers on it.

Unfortunately, this is the week I'm running out of the tomato nutrients. I have some leftover nutrients which I saved from the failed Aerogarden snowpeas from last year. I suppose I'll keep the plant alive with those (hoping they have enough of the nutrients the tomatoes need), and then start to think about retiring them.

2 comments:

Teen said...

Hey, I just found your blog and am thrilled to see someone ahead of me on the road to Aerogarden tomatoes.

I got my Pro around New Year, the one with the Ruby Heirlooms. I screwed up at first by not pruning enough so did as the FAQ suggested and pruned heavily. Now I'm waiting to see how it goes. I'm hoping!?!?

Well, if they don't work at least I have the option to restart without having to wait a whole year.

Steve said...

Yes, don't worry, the tomato plants are quite resilient. Pruning definitely does help--it sometimes feels counterintuitive to prune so much (and it hurts whenever I have to to chop down flowers), but bottom line, when the plant is too big the nutrients don't get concentrated where they need to. As long as you keep the plant pruned so that it's under the light, you'll be amazed at how quickly they grow back. Good luck!