General maintenance, mowing, mulching and weeding still need to done from time to time, but on the whole this year has been much more productive than last, although it has been a poor year for potatoes throughout the region.
I am still keen to see how the pumpkins have performed, as in past years we have had plenty of these to share and use throughout the winter, and we still have the rest of the corn and potatoes. I have my fingies crossed also for some dried beans...
"Once you have it", she told me, "it is yours for life".
She was right! I have moved three or four times since this little purchase first put these deliciously sweet and productive little tomatoes onto our plates, but have managed to always have them spring up in pot plants ever since!
I think the first year I saved some of the seeds on a piece of paper towel, not wanting to lose them, but as we always have a compost bin on the go in our gardens, we have never wanted for this tomato plant or had to grow them from seed again!
These little beauties are sweet with a slight acidic aftertaste, and have very thin skins. We usually pick them just before eating as they will burst if left overnight in the fridge, their skins are so tender.
They make inspecting the garden a delight as you can snack away en route with gay abandon. Birds also enjoy this little fruit. I often see Myrtle, our resident blackbird, tossing them back with a flick of her head. The sparrows and small birds tend to have more of a task eating them, not being able to swallow them whole, but seem to enjoy them despite having to break them open.
One of my favourite ways of using a small bowlful of these at present is to toss them into a pan of steamed and drained sliced green beans. A quick toss and they are ready to serve. The heat from the beans is enough to warm them and bring out their flavour...simple and delicious.
I have checked various heritage tomato seed growing sites over the years and the best guess I have at what type it might be is "Broad Ripple Yellow Currant", through descriptions of the plant growth characteristics, productivity, taste et al.
I also read somewhere that it's aetiology is unknown, and was simply "discovered" by someone, growing in a cracked concrete sidewalk somewhere in America, which does indeed sound just like this plant...maybe it is planning on a stealthy world domination...
Bye now,
Di