First Fruit


There's a special beauty in eating a tomato fresh off the vine - especially when you've invested the time to cultivate that vine in your backyard.

In early June, I christened my new container garden with seeds and seedlings. The growing season here in Montana is short enough that you'd better start most vegetables indoors. That being said, I don't really care for most vegetables, so the indoor commitment required was minimal. However, the varieties I do like, I like with a passion. If I'm going to be patient enough to tend to these plants, they have to be my favorite. Those who know me best know that my thumb is far from green... more like a withered brown, so low maintenance is the key!

I began my garden at my local nursery (God bless nurseries!) They have much more patience than I and gorgeous green plants! I purchased two large tomatoes with little green fruit already on them (that's not cheating, it's just using resources wisely). Then I bought some pea and lettuce seeds to finish my "salad garden" plans. I started the peas indoors while my husband finished building my self-watering container (he knows my thumb color so well!) and a few weeks later we were ready to plant.

Since then, I have stepped onto my back deck every day to check on the growth. Now there's the REAL beauty! A tiny little seed becoming such a tall and beneficial plant... wow. Just last night, our first tomato had ripened to a nice red and was begging to be harvested - so we plucked it, washed it, sliced it, salted it and took turns eating the delicious first fruit of the season! And by next week at this time, I expect we'll be savoring another beautiful moment.

Comments

Popular Posts

Mountain Lakes

Voyage of Discovery: Having new eyes

The Open Road

Soul Friends and the Beauty of Listening

Beauty Happens

How to Set and Meet Your Goals: An obsessive control freak learns to let go

Mayo Clinic Update

$12.40 of Beauty

Braving the Beauty