Tomato Dreaming

In the last couple of years I have been growing a wee bit of a green thumb, in large part due to my mother’s talent in gardening.  The joy it brings her and the enthusiasm in which she displayed when she would plan her garden during the cold winter months of January and February are something I will never forget.  I can still see her gathering up all of her seed catalogues and making a list of exactly what she was going to order.  At the time, I had no concept of what she was doing, but now I have finally come to appreciate the joy she finds in designing the garden, yard, pots, front and back porch -  in essence, her spring and summer.  She has been the largest influence in my becoming intrigued with plants and I am so very thankful.  It is a hobby and a creative pursuit that I will be able to pursue regardless of age or location.  (Simply by my using the term “plants”above, reveals my lack of expertise, so please have patience with me.)  I am truly loving the learning process and after a beautiful day of sunshine today, I am itching for this year’s growing season to begin.

So I too have begun to peruse through the seed catalogues.  I don’t have a large garden by any means, but with the space I have for growing vegetables, I mainly focus on growing tomatoes.  This year I’m turning a lot of my focus toward Heirloom tomatoes.  I have to be honest, part of my attraction is their unique looks.  (See, more evidence of my naiveté in the area of gardening)  Don’t get me wrong though, their flavor is delicious.  I also am very partial to Roma tomatoes and will always grow a few of these plants as well, as I find I use them constantly throughout the summer months in almost anything.

I recently found an article on P. Allen Smith’s website that lays out five simple steps for ordering seeds via mail.  Click here to make sure you get the most for your buck.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy tomatoes, especially those picked fresh off of the vine, is to make a Capri  salad.  Freshly sliced mozzarella, tomatoes, add basil leaves, drizzle a little olive oil over the top, a pinch of salt and pepper, and viola!  This is the simplest, yet tastiest salad to serve friends on a warm summer day while dining al fresco.

Well, I’d better wrap it up and start making my lists as visions of tomatoes dance in my head.  The seed must be planted before the tomato will grow.  Must not forget this!  Enjoy a few more pictures of Heirloom tomatoes and enjoy a hopefully blissful Saturday.

Images: (2) courtesy of Journal of Natural Food and Healing (3) courtesy of P. Allen Smith (4) House of Annie (5,6,7) Creative Loafing (8) Bay Area Bites (9) A Green Zebra Heirloom (10) Wasatch Community Garden (11) The Daily Green