Blech--a rough patch (literally) in the tomatoes

I've been harvesting tomatoes pretty regularly. It's not a huge harvest, maybe one or two every two weeks. But still, there's something to be said about growing fresh vegetables in one's living room.

I had a rude awakening this week. Two of my tomatoes looked like this.

When I cut the tomato open, it looked like this (blech!)

Naturally, the first thing I thought of was that bugs had gotten into the Aerogarden. But to my relief, after a few searches on Google I realized that this is something called blossom end rot.

It's a natural disorder caused by a calcium deficiency. According to Colorado State University, it can be caused by a "combination of cold temperatures or excessive heat during blossom set, and fluctuations in water supply". This makes sense--the heating in my living room is not the greatest, so the Aerogarden has probably been subject to extreme cold with all the snow we've had this winter. Also, there are times I do let the water supply get too low. Finally, I have been using Aerogarden liquid nutrients for herbs--perhaps they don't have the same calcium content needed for tomatoes.

Anyway, I'm fixing all three elements, and we'll see how it goes.

Aerogarden Replacement Parts

For those of you who've owned Aerogardens for a while, you may have hit a situation where your  Aerogarden is sitting unused because it's missing a part. The good news is, the Aerogarden Store stocks replacement parts for any Aerogarden, new or old. Whether you need new bulbs or a new pump or even a replacement for any part of your garden, you can get it there.

Here's a compilation of the replacement parts I've found most handy at the Aerogarden store.

Replacement Filter Pack Our special filters ensure your AeroGarden continues to work efficiently by keeping root debris out of your pump. For maximum efficiency, we recommend replacing your filters every other time you plant a new garden (about every 6 to 8 months). Pack of ten.

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Replacement Pump Replacement pump comes with complete step-by-step instructions to replace the pump in your AeroGarden 7-pod garden.

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Grow Bulbs for Deluxe, PRO200, & Elite+ Gardens (Package of 3) Designed specifically for all gardens that use 3 grow bulbs. Our special, high output, full spectrum, energy efficient grow bulbs provide the optimal amount and type of light needed for robust growth. We recommend replacing your grow bulbs every six months to maximize their growing ability. Three bulbs included.

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Extended Season Nutrients (for Salad Greens) Now you can extend the life of your healthy and productive plants with our Extended Season Nutrients. Add up to three months of additional growing pleasure. Select from Herbs, Salad Greens or Flowering/Fruiting.

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Extended Season Nutrients (for Vegetables) Now you can extend the life of your healthy and productive plants with our Extended Season Nutrients. Add up to three months of additional growing pleasure. Select from Herbs, Salad Greens, Flowers or Vegetables.

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Extended Season Nutrients (for Herbs) Now you can extend the life of your healthy and productive plants with our Extended Season Nutrients. Add up to three months of additional growing pleasure. Select from Herbs, Salad Greens or Flowering/Fruiting.

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Grow Bulb for AeroGarden3 (Package Of 1) This energy efficient mini grow bulb was engineered exclusively for the AeroGarden3 series AeroGardens. We recommend replacing your Grow Bulb every 6 months to maximize growth. One bulb included.

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Plant Spacer Kit Give your plants room to grow with our Plant Spacer Kit. Kit includes six (6) AeroGarden Plant Spacers to use with our Master Gardener Kits. Allows your larger plants to spread their branches while covering open grow surface openings to prevent algae growth.

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Grow Bulbs for AeroGarden Classic & PRO100 (Package of 2) Our special, high output, full spectrum, energy efficient grow bulbs provide the optimal amount and type of light needed for robust growth in the AeroGarden Classic and PRO100. We recommend replacing your grow bulbs every six months to maximize their growing ability. Two bulbs included.

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Silver Color Replacement Arm Designed specifically for Classic AeroGarden 7-Pod gardens, the replacement arm will keep your garden running like new.

Tomato Fried Eggs

My biggest harvest of the Aerogarden Tomatoes happened today.

 I was racking my brains to think of what to cook, and my thoughts turned to a quick dish my mom used to make called "Tomato Fried Eggs". This is a fairly traditional Asian dish, mainly reserved for those times when you don't have more than 7 minutes to put together a hearty and tasty meal for yourself or your family.

You start out by chopping the tomatoes. Check out how juicy they are!

Then, you fry up some eggs.

After that, you fry up your tomatoes.

Then you put it all together. 

Mix it up. 

Add salt and pepper and you have yourself a tasty and healthy meal that is phenomenal over rice. 

This is a dish that's way too simple and quick to find in restaurants, but for my money there are few comfort foods that are so tasty and good for you too. 

I see other tomatoes on the vine, so I'll keep trying to come up with more recipes!