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T H E T O M A T O P A G E . . . welcome to our tomato page. we've got two killer tomato vines in greenhouse #1 that are going to provide tomatoes anyday now. cool. my friend joe owens from maryland started the vines at his organic farm and brought them here to mature and produce for all to enjoy. his wife pat says she misses the plants. i like sliced tomato, fresh basil leaves, a little mayo and salt on fresh bread. yummm. i think the first tomato sandwich always tastes best. soon, everyone will be up to their, ummm hips in tomatoes. but we'll be first on the block. after the really bad winter, just smelling and tasting something with fragrance is wonderful. why not come by for a juicy sandwich with all of us? there are lots of tomato plants ready to start making fruit in the greenhouse. unfortunately there weren't any insects available to pollinate, so joe used a q-tip and did it manually. never let it be said that being a resourceful person is a crime. we just need some tomatoes! try this recipe for great pesto... start with fresh basil. buy three or four sixpacks in early spring, plant them in very large pots or an old whiskey barrel. grow in full sun, water and fertilize heavily with nitrogen, pinch off any flowers. at mid-summer, heavest big leaves and cut back to the lowest two leaves. then regrow the plants for another harvest. fertilize heavily again with nitrogen. wash the cut leaves and towel dry. put into a cuisinart with virgin olive oil and pine nuts or walnuts. blend until pasty. add oil if too thick. if too thin add more basil or nuts. don't add garlic until you are ready to serve. i get five or six gallons per summer, freeze most and thaw only what i'm going to use. best to freeze in quarts. make your favorite pasta and spoon over top sparingly. it's so rich a little goes a long way. a very long way! have you ever had broiled tomato with parmesan cheese and basil? slice tomatoes into 3/4" slices. brush with virgin olive oil. broil each side for 30 seconds. remove from heat. dust liberally with parmesan cheese. grate it fresh if you can. broil top side for 30 seconds. remove from heat. garnish with fresh basil leaves, garlic if you like, and serve. you can do the same thing with a fry pan. intead of boiling, fry in olive oil and repeat the proceedure with fresh parmesan cheese and pepper. add a dollop of pesto for pizzaz. you'll be a hit either way! mangia bene! . . . Back to Corporate Page ©1996 - 2001. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. John Shelley's Garden Center & Nursery, Inc. 13579 Winterstown Road, Felton, PA. 17322-8522 vox: (717) 246-1414 1-800-828-3405 (Pa-Md) fax: (717) 246-2170 Last updated 5/8/99. 2783959 visitors since 1/26/96.