Sometimes free leaves a little to be desired.

[Paper Roses]

I was given 6 tomato plants this year. The giver did not know what type they were. OK with me...I thought with a thank you.

I planted them in pots and then bought a 6 pack of Big Boys.

I sent three of them to my daughter and two to a neighbor, leaving one Big Boy for me.

Well, now I have red tomatoes. Cherry and grape. I have only one Big Boy (with a few small tomatoes showing). I live for a tomato salad in the summer with sliced up tomatoes, cukes, red onion and basil. Along with that goes a chunk of Italian or good French bread.

I'm going to have to travel miles to a farm stand for enough tomatoes to make my summer treat. One or two of my good but tiny tomatoes does not cut it for this old Italian.

[beac]

1. If your cherries and grapes are as prolific as mine were last year, you should have

plenty of tomatoes for salads. Mine were a bit slow to get going, but once they hit their stride, we were pulling 2-3 cups per day off of our four plants, and two of them were "mini" plants that only grew about three feet high.

Fingers crossed that yours will help make your salad dreams come true. :)

[hippywife]

2. Have you checked here

to see if there's something a little closer to you maybe: http://www.localharvest.org/

[davidinalameda]

3. she's not Italian

but my mom REFUSES to buy cherry tomatoes

she says they have no taste which is true

[beac]

4. Funny you mention italy, b/c the MOST delicious cherry tomatoes I've ever tasted came from

the market in Italy. They are called "datterini" and I have seriously considered trying to sneak some seeds back in my luggage the next time I'm there.


Googling found me someone else who is sold on their sweet, sweet flavor: http://carbonara.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/tomatoes-mozzarella-and-basil-oh-my/

If your mom is refusing to buy cherry tomatoes from the grocery store, I agree with her assessment and would add that regular-size store-bought tomatoes are similarly bland and worthless. Home-grown tomatoes, of all sizes, are a completely different matter.