Willow Glen Resident

Letters & Opinions

Nothing sweeter than vine-ripened tomatoes

By Moryt Milo

The calendar might say September, but my tomatoes are acting as if it's early August. The vines are heavy with ripening fruit.

Some of this heading-toward-fall bounty might be due to the fact that I planted the tomatoes rather late this year, on Memorial Day weekend, so the fruit took longer to mature.

But my tardiness at getting the plants into the ground hasn't affected two of my vines, a beefsteak and a Roma, which are responding like I hit the mother lode in tomato farming.

I am not sure why. I haven't changed how I grow them. I simply place them in the soil and add those time-released fertilizer stakes that are special for tomatoes. Along the way I water them with Miracle Gro and then wait.

This year we did try and prune them a bit more to keep the plants from becoming too leafy. I even cut down on the watering a bit, because last year some of the tomatoes were mushy inside. I figured it was too much moisture.

But the beefsteaks are a real marvel. Of all the tomatoes I plant annually, the beefsteaks are usually my toughest challenge. They have been the most temperamental. In the past the plants have often suffered from bud drop--that's when the flower blooms but falls off, never producing a little tomato bud. Or the beefsteak crop is meager. This year I am amazed at the amount and size of the crop on my one vine.

The only thing that comes to mind is the luck of the draw when it came to picking out my tomato plants at the nursery. This one was a winner.

I also try to buy a different variety each year, because it's fun to watch how the plant grows, and taste the flavor of fruit it will produce. The fallbacks, such as the Early Girl and Better Boy, are readily available, but experimenting in a garden, no matter what the size, should be part of the adventure.

This year I planted a brushy Roma rather than a viney one. It never got very tall, but it has produced like crazy. I think it might have made a great potted tomato plant.

The last couple of weeks I have been filling the basket in the morning with a wealth of tomatoes from the small Romas to the jumbo beefsteaks. But a person can make only so much sauce, salsa and salads before it's time to start giving the fruit away.

I have definitely reached that point, which is one of the best reasons to have a garden. Beyond the growing and harvesting, there is joy in sharing.

Giving is a great motivator, especially when it comes to planting a garden. No matter how long I have been planting, I always end up giving some of it away. Yet each summer is as exciting as the first. I still get a thrill out of seeing the carrots tops and radishes sprout. Watching the lettuce balloon into salads. Untangling a vine to discover a hidden cucumber a foot long, because it was camouflaged between the leaves. Watching the jumbo yellow flowers of the squash as they pop open in the morning. Or picking that first true vine-ripened tomato.

I love the way the smell of the tomato leaves lingers on my hands. When I bring my fingers close to my nose, the heady scent reminds me that my garden is close by.

Most of all, there is no greater pleasure than sitting down to a family dinner and letting everyone know that the salad they are eating and the vegetables they are buttering were picked that morning.

Every summer it has become a ritual for me to sit at the table and say at least once, " Look at this; everything is from our garden."

Moryt Milo is the editor of the Willow Glen Resident. She can be reached at 408.200.1051 or via email at mmilo@community-news papers.com.