Good for you Bonnie! Yesterday we had our first cukes--tomatoes I've been eating for a couple of weeks but the big production has yet to come. I like Sungold, it's a nice sweet cherry.

My ws poppies are also blooming now. Have several varieties of red and pink as well as Lauren's Grape. The CA poppies bit the dust. Love that shade of yellow on yours.
Hurrah for ripe tomatoes. We have been picking tomoatoes and cucumbers one at a time for the last week or so. Today there were several ripe ones.

To my surprise, the tomatoes were not sweet at all! Since this is my first year to grow them, I'm wondering how long do you wait after a tomato turns color, before harvesting? Would waiting a couple of days longer have made it sweeter?

The cucumbers were great though! Crunchy and fresh, with no seeds or bitterness.

Bonnie

You are making me drool Bonnie. Stop it!! :O)

Yes, Bonnie.

The amount of time the fruit stays on the vine increases the sweetness, it also becomes softer to the touch and deeper in color.

The tomato is a fruit that has seeds inside. The plant knows that the ripening seeds are close to maturity, during this time the tomato starts to color. The color intensifies as the fruit ripens. The fruit is ready to pick when you clasp it and it comes freely off of the plant. Tomatoes continue to ripen after being picked. Let a few get more strongly colored before you pick them and see if you notice a flavor difference. I think the taste will be much more palatable.

I'm growing several cukes this season but the ones I've already harvested are "Green Fingers" which are picked small--about four inches long. They are AWESOME!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Fingers

Thank you, Trudi, for that information! I guess we were just anxious to try them, but I'll try and hold off longer on the next ones.

The cucumbers we ate tonight were Spacemaster, which we grew last year and were pleased with, but I am also growing 'Little Dillicious' and 'Homemade Pickles' in hopes of canning pickles for the first time. I also have one 'Lemon' and one 'Diva', but they were planted very late, when the transplanted ones didn't make it, so I'm not sure I'll get any ripe ones before the first frost. Those 'Green Fingers' do look yummy! Maybe next year ... so many choices, so little space : )

As you can see in this photo, they are threatening to overtake the onions and carrots, and are growing over the poor bush bean seedlings behind them!

{{gwi:428149}}

Bonnie