Wednesday 1 August 2012

Perpetual Summer Tomatoes

Tomatoes.. those tart, juicy fruits that are classified as a vegetable. 
The last time I grew tomatoes was by accident, some moldy salsa I tossed unto my compost heap begun life anew as tomato plants. I had no clue what to do with them. Well, to be honest I did have a vague idea of having to stake them or something, but in the end let them sprawl about the compost. They did fruit, and the tomatoes were okay, slightly segmented, but most of them were cracked by the time I found them. So begun my education on growing tomatoes.
Then I fell in love with Diana's heirloom tomato seeds.. and the rest is history. Here are how the plants I grew from seed are doing:

Tigerella tomatoes flanking a tiny stock astral plant in the middle.

Green zebra tomatoes, I like their nice thick stems. At the bottom are heirloom mixed lettuce plants, seed obtained thru a friend who went to Pun Pun Organic Farm, Thailand.

Close-up of this cute mixed lettuce plant, with red speckles. I wonder what species this actually is. The label on the seed packet said 'mixed lettuce' and the Pun Pun Facebook page was mainly in Thai.. so your guess is as good as mine. Unless you read Thai, of course.

Tomato plants I moved earlier into this planter box, and then moved the box to where the plants will get direct sunlight. One is yellow pear cherry tomato and the other (I think!) is sweet red cherry tomato. The plant on the right got it's main stem snapped off by accident, so it looks a bit stocky.

2 yellow pear cherry tomatoes. I didn't have the planter boxes then, so just reused this old pot of mine. Erm, maybe the tomato plants are too close to each other? Sharing space with them is a basil plant and a few sawi menang plants.

See? One of the yellow pear cherry tomatoes have blooms! Actually most of the tomatoes are budding right now, so I am really excited. Amiin ya Allah, please let me have many many tomatoes!

The original sowing pot. In front are tomato plants, in the background are basil plants as companions. I didn't get to move some of them because I don't know where to put them. Poor plant is attacked by mealy bugs. What to do?

7 comments:

mat jon said...

amin... pokok tomato tu betul-betul nampak sihat. tak sabarnya nak tengok rupa tigerella n zebra tu berbuah.

wani sc said...

insya-Allah. amin~
banyak varian tomato ni. yang pelik2 tak pernah dengar nama pun ada. moga berbuah dengan subur, dapat lah tengok mcm mana rupanya :)

TukangKebun said...

Hohoho...bulan syawal ni nanti tetamu datang untuk tomato picking..tak yah sedia biskut banyak-banyak.

Mama Pongkey said...

Mat Jon... Amiiin barak Allah feekum. Saya pun ternanti-nanti nak tengok tomato berbelang zebra dan tigerella ni. Sejak baca buku Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe masa sekolah dulu, terasa nak cuba makan green tomatoes ni. Insha Allah.
Wani... Amiin barak Allah feekum. Alhamdulillah, benihnya beli daripada Diana. Harap gitulah, sebelum ni cuba tanam tomato hybrid benih dari supermarket tapi tak menjadi.
Tukang Kebun... Amiin barak Allah feekum.Idea yang cukup baik. Sebenarnya saya dilema, tak tahu nak hidang apa sebab refuse to buy/make biskut (on gluten-free diet at the moment). Plus I avoid sugar, so nak buat air manis untuk tetamu pun rasa tak sanggup, haha. Setakat ni plan hidang kerepek dan masak. Hehe kalau nak buat picking patut tanam banyak lagi pokok tomato. Takpe projek akan datang.

Umm AA said...

Salam perkenalan..dah follow awak jgk nie..wah..nice lah pokok tomato tu..sweet potato pun you tanam jugak yerr..give me some inspiration tuk tanam jgk nie

wani sc said...

kalau masalah mealy bugs kena companion dengan sunflower. nanti banyak akan duduk belakang bunga tu.

Mama Pongkey said...

Ummuaidan, salam perkenalan and welcome! :-) Alhamdulillah sekarang Dah ada 2 biji tomato yang kecil. Tak sabar menanti ianya besar dan ranum untuk dipetik dan dingappp!

Wani... Wah ni idea bernas ni. I was just thinking about my Evening Sun sunflower seeds yang belum disemai lagi... Tapi kena pakai container lah pulak. Space dah makin kurang. Alhamdulillah.