country n news-sweet

COUNTRY N NEWS-SWEET

sweet
thats the best word i can think of to describe
the taste
the flavor
of this red juicy fruit

this is the lastest we have ever been able to eat
them from the garden

this all started back in july
it was hotter than hell
the student hs helped me prep the garden and plant them

i covered them with a solar screen during the hot times
of the summer
through july august into late september
they spent time under that solar screen
then
before we harvested them in november
they spent time under thick row cover
to keep them warm when those freezing nights
down to the upper twenties happened

now a few got nipped on the edges of the garden
but down deep in the vines there were a lot of
larger green tomatoes

i had chose to not stake my tomatoes
but to leave them lying on the ground
all in a wad
so they would be less likely to freeze

i kept them watered this whole time
with a drip system of rainwater from my rainwater tanks
located up the yard which is about a 3 foot drop in elevation
dripping slowly on the surface
then
as the roots got deeper i watered them in 5 gallon buckets
with holes in the bottom and holes in a circle about
10 inches deep
these buckets were buried between each tomato
so each had its own bucket
so the water and liquid fertilizer molasses seaweed mix
could be slowly dripped deep to these roots

then
in november we harvested them
wrapped them in newspaper
pulling them out a few at at time when they become ripe
as we needed them

then
now 3 days before christmas
a record for us
my wife she harvested all of them from the box of
newspaper wrapped ripe red tomatoes
cut them into slices
put them in containers
for their final journey from that garden space
to our palates

yesterday
i took these from one of several containers we have
now in the frig
grabbed a handful
put them on a plate
sprinkled them lightly with salt
then
slowly
took each piece
placed it in my mouth
on my tongue
sucked out all the juices
swallowed them
then chewed
and
swallowed what was left

you know like a true
tomato sommelier

im sorry
but
these are the best tasting tomatoes
we have ever grown

sorry
we dont plan to share these

the organicgreen doctor