This thought just occurred to me ... and I had to write it down!: BIG BOY

138 – Monday, May 18, 2009

What began a little more than a month ago with the planting of a ‘Big Boy’ in our ‘Topsy Turvy’ hanging planter, has come to fruition over the past several days. Now swelling to the size of a baseball, the perfect green tomato has two neighbors, one cherry-sized and the other pea-sized. More than a dozen tiny yellow blossoms foretell a rather prolific harvest ahead. In an identical planter immediately north of this one, a “Beefsteak” plant hangs with emergent blossoms as well, however, it seems that another couple of weeks will be required before the produce is expected to appear. Here, in Florida, we are so accustomed to ingesting ‘pinkish’ fruits whose meat has a pithy texture, tough skin and just a tiny hint of quasi-tomato flavoring as if it were just merely waved across the veggie. A watched pot never boils, and in this instan

ce, the target is a green orb dangling from the emergent vine – the anticipation is in waiting for the blushing of the globe to a crimson hue, evidence of its maturity. The plan is to not pluck the fruit one day before we plan to devour it and the hope is that the flavor shall burst upon the palate in a manner we have not experienced since relocating to this paradise. A new level of suspense has settled in, accompanied by a calm patience, and my only reservation is that my expectation is set so high and that, when the harvest commences, my taste buds shall be left wanting. Confirmation that summer’s full scope looms around the corner breathlessly waiting to be ushered in on the coattails of our tomatoes, and I can hardly wait!!