First Tomato

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And there's a blatant lack of photographic evidence to prove its existance, because I ate it right off the plant while standing outside in the 99ºF heat, moving a sprinkler from one part of the garden to another.

And it was good. Reeeeeealllllly good. Delicious, in fact. Warm and sweet and so much more flavorful than anything you'll get in a grocery store. Well worth sweating in the heat for. I'm so glad I got to it before a bird or squirrel did. I will need to monitor that plant closely for the next couple of months, and grab the ripe ones as they emerge.

As a rule, I don't grow vegetables, because the amount of sunny real estate I own is just too small and precious, in my mind, to give up for anything but flowers, food for my soul. And let's face it, vegetable gardens require a lot-lot-lot more work than a perennial bed. Definitely more work than my lazy self is willing to commit to in the heat of a Virginia summer.

But every few years I'll stick a cherry tomato plant in the ground, usually of the very delicious "Sweet 100s" variety, for the sole purpose of eating the ripe ones right off the vine, while out in the yard for some other purpose. And I'm always glad I did. Rarely do any make it into my kitchen, but for the time-honored practice of standing-in-the-garden-and-eating. Yum.

I will try to do better in upcoming weeks about getting a picture of a tomato, before I actually eat it.

No promises, though.

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