How to make tomatoes at home:
- Fill large styrofoam box 2/3 full with well-rotted compost.
- Place in sunny position (near swimming pool is ideal).
- Add water.
- Repeat step 3 daily until the greenery is big enough to identify.
- Remove weeds.
- Repeat step 3 daily.
- Prop up tomato plants as necessary.
- Repeat step 3 daily.
- Harvest when ripe.
Did I say, “Purchase seedlings,” or, “Plant out seedlings in the box”? No and no. Not necessary – with our compost, anyway. We have known that for years, because tomato seedlings pop up as if by magic in our plant pots and garden beds. We often let them grow wherever they choose to appear; this time we simply encouraged them.
Did I mention pesticides? No. We didn’t even need to think about using any.
Varieties? We always get cherry tomatoes, and did this time as well (there is one in the bowl although it’s a bit hard to see) but I don’t know why we got so many Roma tomatoes. Perhaps they are better at reproducing from seed than the hybrids.
Cost? $0.00.
Food miles? 0.01 (0.0001 when they are eaten straight from the bush).
And the taste? On a scale of 1 – 10, on which standard shop-bought tomatoes rate 4 – 6, these rate between 9.4 and 10.
Will we do this again? You bet!