A Tale of Two Tomatoes

The first two tomatoes of the season! After having such a hard time with tomatoes last year we decided to forgo growing them this season, but our neighbor just happened to have one extra plant and he gave it to us. Since it was a gift we figured we’d give it a try. Neighbor told us it was called Amelia from Bonnie Plants and so naturally we went straight to the Google 😛 What we found is that this determinate variety is known to be very disease and crack resistant which makes it perfect for growing here in the Southeast! Hallelujah! Maybe we’d get fresh from the garden tomatoes this year after all! 

She may have started out as a tiny little thing in April but she didn’t stay that way long. As she grew we only pruned the bottom most leaves to help keep them from touching the soil. Being that the Amelia is a determinate type, heavy pruning can decrease yields and is not recommended. 

When her first blooms appeared we made sure to gently shake her to help pollinate. Unfortunately, due to overuse of pesticides the pollinator population has seen a decline and sometimes we have to give Mother Nature a hand. 

As the tomatoes continued to grow we constantly monitored them for pests but we’ve had a great year so far and haven’t seen anything on this plant. 

Once the tomatoes began to blush, the weather changed and we started going through a cold snap which really halted the ripening process. It took a few days longer than usual but we ended up with two beautiful, bright red tomatoes, ready on June 16th.