Tag Archives: grape tomatoes

Tomatoes Need Their Space

Posted by Lesley on June 28, 2010 None comments

Here’s this morning’s yield of Grape tomatoes:

Pretty paltry!  But it’s okay because there are more to come.  The other bite-sized varieties we’ve grown have all started annoyingly slow – a tomato here, two tomatoes there – and then they all come in at once.

These were once the tiny tomato seedlings I bought at the Phillippi Farmhouse Market – three for a dollar.  I expect to get my money’s worth!  Two plants ended up in the ground, and one ended up in a pot.  I planned on putting the potted plant into the ground but never got around to it.  I assumed those tomatoes would be smaller, just not teeny.  They’re closer in size to raisins over grapes!

A Toast to the Tomatoes

Posted by Lesley on June 2, 2010 None comments

It’s June in Southwest Florida.  The average plant is starting to look like these Gerber daisies – Tired.

But not the Tomatoes, the Tomatoes are Thriving.  Between Three plants, there are grape Tomatoes growing in every size and shade.

Tomatoes aren’t my favorite garden vegetable, but this is a particularly Tasty preparation that even I like…

Saute 1 pint of grape tomatoes with 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons fresh basil.  It’s a great topping for chicken, pasta or salads.        

Happy ABC Wednesday!

Phillippi Farmers Market

Posted by Lesley on January 20, 2010 5 comments

No more waiting until the weekend for fresh local produce – the Phillippi Farmhouse market is now open Wednesdays from noon until dusk.  It was supposed to open in November, but the county-sponsored market violated a county law – oops!  The county changed the law, and the market opened last Wednesday.  Oops again, I forgot!  I remembered today as did half the city.  It was packed – there had to be seventy-five cars in the parking lot with a constant stream of traffic coming and going.  Here are a few of the reasons why locals were slowing traffic on US 41 today:

My Sarasota strawberries are soaking in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar as we speak…mmm…vinegar and berries…weird and delicious!  I bought them from Bayside Farm – a family owned and operated Sarasota farm.  They were also selling sweet corn, bell peppers, green onions, and cabbage.  The tomatoes and avocados are from Brown’s Grove.  Although these aren’t them, Brown’s grows and sells heirloom tomatoes.  Look for those around May.  I went a different route with my tomato and lettuce buying today and bought some seedlings from Vision Horticulture.

The recent cold snap lightened their inventory, but they were able to save the Roma and grape tomatoes, romaine lettuce and collard greens.  Here are my two picks – romaine lettuce and grape tomatoes.

The seedlings were probably the deal of the day – 3 for $1.  But maybe not…my bag was pretty full for having only spent $10.

If you can get over there, definitely check this market out.  If you can’t, there’s always Saturday’s market downtown and Sunday’s market in Siesta Key Village.  For more information on the downtown farmers market, check out my latest article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.