Growing your own food is such a rewarding feeling because I’m in charge of the whole process. My food is healthy, fresh, and pesticide free. I have full control over everything, especially on the kind of fertilizers and lest control I use. Everything is done organically. There’s nothing like fresh picked vegetables. Food that ripens in my garden have more nutrients than many store-bought vegetables that must be picked early for shipping. The process has been quite easy with some minor bumps in the road. I do research and watch some ‘How to Videos’, because I’m not an expert and I want to get it right hopefully the first time.

I’m so proud of my tomato crop this year. I made sure I planted just the right mixture of just what I need. OMG! Last year I planted too many cherry tomatoes. They were over producing and I wasn’t pruning. It was a little disaster in the garden, and I was overwhelmed by cherry tomatoes. I ended up giving most of them away. This year I have all sorts of varieties for various different needs. Since the cherry tomatoes are my daughters favorite, I only planted one. As they ripen, she picks them and eats them like gum balls. Usually there’s none left for anyone else. That reminds me, I still have cherry tomatoes in the freezer from last year.

The picture above are my The Jersey Beefsteak. This variety is one of my favorite tomato’s to grow because they grow pretty large and the flavor is sweet with a little tart. I make a really nice tomato and onion salad with them. I also make my own apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing. The juices from the tomatoes makes the dressing taste so fresh and sweet. I have three of these Jersey babies in the garden this year. I also use them for making my homemade marinara sauce. Recipe here.

These Early Girl variety grows quickly (hence ‘Early’) and they have high yields. They’re pretty common amongst home growers for that reason. I do believe it takes about 50-55 days after planting to maturity. You can easily grow these in containers too.

Check these green beauties out. I bought the sucker (baby plant) from the farmers market. The tag read, Organic Roma Tomatoes. These are obviously not because they are much longer. After some internet research, I stumbled upon a lookalike, they’re actually called, Long Tom. They can grow up to 9″. According to the website, they’re also known for bearing huge amounts of meaty red paste tomatoes with very few seeds in them. I can’t wait to taste them. Thanks for stopping by and reading about my organic tomato lifestyle. I hope I was able to inspire you a little to eat organically and grow your own organic garden.

Tomato Salad Recipe

• 2 Beefsteak tomatoes
• 1 cucumber
• Parsley
• 1 Garlic
• Small Red onion
• 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbs olive oil

Simple dish that requires 10 minutes of preparation. Cut tomatoes in big chunks and set aside in a bowl. Peel, cut and discard cucumber seeds. Rough chop parsley place in bowl with tomatoes and cucumbers. Dice garlic and onions and place in bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and gently toss everything together and enjoy.