Tomatoes that weigh up to a kilo! - Sep 29, 2017
Arthur's Big Greek Tomatoes.
Dear gardening friends
Arthur Panoutsopoulos might have a big name but his tomatoes are even bigger!
Arthur owns Kings Charcoal Chicken shop in Queen Street Campbelltown and his family have been growing these enormous tomatoes on the farm in Petri Greece for generations.
The fruit can weight up to a kilo and they have fewer seeds, so the tomatoes are full of flesh. They are delicious!
About 5 years ago we decided to grow these amazing tomatoes and raise some money for The African Aides Foundation in Camden. With your help we have raised close to $5,000.
Seedlings cost $5.00 and all the money gets donated to AAF.
Arthur's Big Greek Tomatoes are prolific fruiters. Each plant will grow at least 2 metres high and produce fruit well into late summer. Pick the enormous fruit as they start to turn yellowish green and ripen them inside on the window sill to avoid fruit fly.
The fruit are softer than store bought tomatoes, they have been grown for taste. Simply cut your tomatoes into cubes, drizzle olive oil over the top and add lots of salt. Stir occasionally, and let them sit for 10 minutes before eating. This will be the most delicious tomato you have ever eaten.
A big thanks to Arthur who was kind enough to share his Big Greek Tomato.
Help us raise more money.
Share this story with a friend if they are Greek, share it with a friend if you know they love tomatoes, if they have been to Greece, if they have a moustache, if they have ever eaten Kings Charcoal Chicken, if they like chips, if they are still breathing!
The humble Cucumber doesn't get the kudos it deserves. Easy to grow, the bugs don't seem to worry it, fast growing, prolific fruiter, what more can I say?
Choose from Continental, Bush Crop, Apple or my favourite, Lebanese Cucumber.
Grow it in a pot and let it spill all over your patio or grow it in your garden, and become the Cucumber giver, in your street, all summer long!
Create the perfect salad, that all who have it, will praise you for its simplicity.
Chop it up, drizzle olive oil over the top with salt to season, and if you want to go all out, perhaps a splash of Balsamic Vinegar.
If it's a special occasion, like a wedding or something, chop up a home grown Tomato to have with it too!
All you need is someone on the barbie watching the sausages, and putting them out, every time they catch on fire, and you're set for a summer meal, out with the flys.
What a beauty!
After Christmas when your Cucumber plants become tired they will start to get Powdery Mildew. Simply pull them out and plant another crop. These will provide you with fresh Cucumbers right thru autumn.
Get your kids to help you grow them and they will be more likely to help you eat them. Cucumbers make healthy lunch time treats and they are perfect for munch and crunch.
We have all your favourite seedlings at the nursery today. Apart from Snail bait, you will need no nasty chemicals to grow these.
If you love Fragrant roses bring your nose down for a treat. All our potted Rose Bushes are bursting into bloom this week. Yesterday we had a father and son come in to buy roses. It was lovely to see a man and a boy happily sniffing all the Rose flowers. What a great way to find the most perfumed varieties!
They picked out at least 20 plants and they knew that were getting the most perfumed varieties. It just makes sense.
Come and talk to Ryan tomorrow if you love roses. Ryan is our Celebrity Horticulturist. He worked at Tim's for about 10 years and we have invited him back for spring.
Ryan loves roses and we would often find him sniffing roses at lunchtime!
If you are wondering why our roses look so healthy, we spray them often with Yates Rose Shield. This fantastic product has an insecticide and a fungicide that controls all Rose pests and diseases. You can buy it from us and mix it yourself. Or you can buy it ready to use. This product is called Rose Gun.
We have been planting up the flower beds this week. Simply pull out the Pansies then tip a bag of IGC Planting Compost over the top of the old Sugar Cane Mulch. Dig this into the soil, then rake it level, and cover this up with fresh Sugar Cane. Water well, then plant new seedlings. We've been planting Oasis Spreading Petunias at least one metre apart. They have already started to flower. Amazing. Watch this garden transform in the next few weeks.
We have so much colour in the nursery this week. It's so great to see gardeners planting colour again. A splash of colour in pots and bare patches will make you and your garden smile again.
Come and see us if you need some help choosing the right plants.
Happy gardening
Tim