Tomatoes Here They Come

The little fellows have ripened first this year. Some have already come and gone. However it will be action stations this coming week as I think the remainder will all ripen at the same time. Every morning I have been picking a couple of punnets and haven't had to be too creative with them yet as half of them are eaten still warm from the vine.


The tomato staking this year has been a little haphazard. With a couple of weeks away at Xmas the tomatoes all decided to do their own thing. They were being watered every couple of days and although rambling all over the garden they appear to have enjoyed their freedom. We decided not to put them back into straight jackets, rather, we decided that we would let them out on parole and see if they would turn into good productive tomatoes. They have rewarded our trust and we now have an abundance of happy tomatoes of varying shapes and sizes. There have been one or two tomatoes refusing to conform to community standards. They may need weekend detention to curb their rebellious ways.

There is plenty of time left in the season  to be creative. Now is the time to enjoy the fruit in all its crowning glory. I like to enjoy the tomatoes as the star attraction at this time of the year. Later in the season when I am a wee bit ho-hum about them and the plants are looking a bit straggly I will then set about with all the tomato sauce business.

I had them last week with some of their favourite friends - buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, peaches and basil. I will introduce them to sourdough in a salad next week when the weather warms up again.

They may find themselves doing a star turn in a pasta tonight with another of their friends, the anchovy!