To me, it's beautiful!!! The first tomato of the season! It wasn't terribly big, more a salad size, and it wasn't the most flavorful in the world, but it was waaaay better than any tomato I could buy in the store! And you can see, I have two more coming in. Can't wait til the really tasty varieties start to ripen.
This variety is a Burpee Fourth of July. I don't really recommend it on the basis of flavor and will be on the hunt for a different "early", but I bought the seed two years ago on a half price rack and it does live up to its name more or less in that I get the first one early in July. Last year my first one was July 13 and this year it was July 10. It was sliced up and eaten as part of a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich for lunch yesterday.
I will be away from the blog for the next week and a half because on Saturday I'm leaving on a mission trip to Haiti. It promises to be quite an adventure. I'm travelling with a group to a small village in the mountains where we will be working on a library and conducting a vacation Bible school for children there. The mission I'm working with has been very involved in the village we're going to; in fact it was co-founded by a man who grew up there, so they are quite used to people coming in and working there. I'm excited to go and my only concern is leaving my garden! Well, I know I can trust D to take care of it well and it'll be interesting to see how much growth there is in a week.
That's what I love about Bloody Butcher. I can count on it being my first red tomato, and usually the flavor is pretty good too. Sometimes the first ones are a bit bland.
ReplyDeleteHave a great trip to Haiti. In 2010, I was making contributions for a Haitian girl's medical procedures. Marlie Casseus' story just broke my heart....
http://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/2010/11/november-17-18-2010-plea-for-marlie.html
I've tried to find follow up information on her, but there hasn't been any news recently. Not a day passes that I don't think about her.
You have a big heart Granny! The conditions down there really are deplorable, especially since the earthquake. I'll have to check out Bloody Butcher. I've never seen it in catalogues, but I'll be on the look out for it next year.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I'll have a lot of Bloody Butcher seeds to share :-)
DeleteI stumbled upon your blog by visiting Cozy Thyme Cottage. I am glad I did. I pray you have a safe trip to Haiti and think it is awesome what you are doing.
ReplyDeleteYour tomatoes look great! We have had a couple but my husband picks them right when they start to turn orange/red and we put them in the window. It has saved them from being eaten by the birds and they have tasted great once they ripened. I can't tell you what kind I got but they have been great. They stay green a long time. That is the worst part. I had to purchase tomatoes at a farmers market just to be able to do some canning. Hopefully I will get more from our garden for canning later in the season.
I love your blog!
http://www.growitathome.wordpress.com
Joelle
Hi Joelle, Thank you for visiting my blog and for you kind compliments! I am blushing! Considering the large number of tomato plants we put in we don't get that many. At least not enough to make all the jars of sauce I'd like to! I usually just can quarters to use throughout the year. Our problem is lack of sunlight here. And mine get diseased really early on, so it's a race against time to get as many as possible. Hoping we both have a good harvest! I'm going to check out your blog now!
DeleteLucky you to have a ripe tomato!!! Maybe soon here hopefully! Nancy
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you will! My others have a ways to go. I think the secret is to make sure to plant a very early variety. The Fourth of July is that, if nothing else!
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