First Tomatoes Ripen

I got a nice Christmas present this week: the ripening of the first tomatoes. Today I picked five plump tomatoes, and used one to make a bruschetta for lunch. Obviously it's very satisfying to literally enjoy the fruits of my past three months' labour. The only sour note is that birds have also noticed the ripening tomatoes and have taken a few pecks at a couple. I don't mind them devouring the excess plums, but the tomatoes are a different matter. I will need to investigate ways of keeping the birds at bay.

After the bean harvest and a couple of hot days mid-week, the beanstalks don't look like recovering. On Friday I started dismantling the trellises and clearing out the withered stalks. There's not much point including any more photos of the beanstalks. As for the harvested beans, I laid out the pods for a few days to dry out in the sun, and will shuck them in the next few days.

The basil plants are now starting to give off a nice, strong aroma. While possibly a bit young to start harvesting too many leaves, I will use the odd basil leaf to accompany the ripe tomatoes.

Also this week I planted some lettuce seeds and transplanted the remaining basil seedlings to a pot.

To view the latest photos, click on the links below:
The tomatoes (week 14)
A tomato plant with some ripening fruit (week 14)
The aubergines and capsicums (week 8 after transplanting)
The basil seedlings (week 7 after transplanting)