Urban Garden III - First Harvest

The on-going saga of our "urban garden" is now one of a different color after Mr. Tommy Tomato started blushing earlier this week!

It's turning a bright cherry red and looks ready to eat.

There are maybe 18 - 24 junior tomatoes on the bush; but we'll have to wait on their development before taking them down to the Farmer's Market.

The plant gets limited sun, but apparently enough of it to get these little fruits to a full stage of ripeness and ready for harvest.

It's been an adventure since Tommy comes off as a bit finicky.

Miss a day of giving it a gallon and a half of water and the leaves start to curl up like it was ready for the compost heap.
  

Just an hour or so after getting his drink, Tommy looks like his usual hale and hearty self.

It's rather odd and quite interesting to watch.  I have to say watch, since if they continue to ripen one at a time, I may miss out on the brief window of time when more than one or two are ready to eat!

Little bright red drops of luscious sunshine sitting outside your living room 25 feet in the air is quite something to have in our not so urban setting.  (Can it be "urban" if there is a fairway and a green for the ninth hole less than a football field away?)

Yet this garden seems to be tenacious in bringing some natural and flavorful goodness to at least one or two salads before the heat takes its final toll.

The last time I wrote about our balcony garden was 26 days ago, so the fruit didn't turning red overnight.

After enough time in the Wisconsin sunshine, the first two were picked, sliced, and laid onto a taco salad. 

I thought the tomato had a sweet, earthy taste and texture to it.  It wasn't overwhelming in flavor, but stood up to the overall taste of the meal.  Excellent!

Now, I just have to wait for some more to ripen.