First ripe tomato of the year! ‘Suncherry Extra Sweet’ (hybrid) tomato. The seeds were sowed on the 1st of February. In the greenhouse, the plant is allowed to grow multi-stem.

While the sweetness of the tomato falls short of expectations, there is hope that the upcoming crop will be much sweeter. Perhaps more heat is needed to sweeten the fruit. Maybe when May Gray eventually ends and things heat up will we get to taste a truly sweet tomato.

Additional notes: I believe the large presence of aphids on the tomato plants is due to the early start. Greens growing early in the year tend to have more aphids on them. It so happens that this is the period in the year when their natural predators like ladybugs are still dormant. As temperatures warms up, more and more the predators will arrive to feast on the aphids.

Speaking of aphids, the tomato plant growing in the greenhouse has been sheltered from aphids that blow in with the wind.

Thanks, to my brother and his family, for the t-shirt. I was hoping to be able to join them on their trip but was not able to.

Zone 10b / San Gabriel Valley / Los Angeles / Southern California / USA