A lot of people ask me why I garden............................
In late April I planted 4 cherry tomato seedlings in the vege patch - they had come up self sown in the compost. I added a little aged chook poo (compliments of the girls), a large stake to help keep them straight, watered them every second day, but basically I just stood back and watched them grow.
After 4 months the bushes are looking a little tired and straggly but they have certainly provided an abundance of fruit.
Because of their thicker skins, they are not bothered by fruit fly here in Queensland. Occasionally, I get a bit of leaf rust if the weather is humid, but all in all the good old cherry tomato is relatively simple to grow.
Bright red, sweet and juicy, "cherries" make a great snack as you wander through the garden. My family have certainly been eating their fair share of these little treasures on sandwiches, in salads and sliced up on a cheese and biscuit platter.
Over the last 4 weeks I have harvested nearly 3 kilograms of fruit from the bushes every week. It is literally laiden with them every couple of days.
With that many ripening each week I have been busy preserving them for later in the year. Here is what I have achieved -
Just on 3 kilos of tomatoes quartered and frozen ready for soups, stews and casseroles.
4 litres of sugar-free tomato sauce for the freezer
(the link to that recipe is here )
3 large litre jars that I dried in the gas oven. I just love semi-dried tomato with fresh feta on a pizza.
(The oven drying method
can be found here)
So..........this is why I garden.
And guess what??
I still have a bowl full on the bench, waiting, as a welcome home gift for "Hutchy" when she returns from caravanning in the wild blue yonder later this week.
