I picked a tomato the other day, and I'm quite sure it's the oddest one I've ever seen. Add a pair of little plastic eyes, and it'd belong in a Joost Elffers book.
It might be a nose. Sharon insists it's flipping her the bird. I'm sure the imagination delights in finding anatomical correlations.
Incidentally, the variety is called Striped Cavern. They're a great stuffing tomato, being virtually empty - at least a third air space before coring and deseeding - inside; the flesh is sturdy, too, and holds up quite well in the oven. The flavor's nothing special, so I wouldn't include it in a Caprese salad, but they're still leagues better than any picked-unripe grocery store tomato.
2 comments:
James and I just had a hearty giggle on the title/photo combo. Well played.
I'm harvesting my FIRST tomato of the season tomorrow. First. That should demonstrate what a rainy, crappy, cold un-summer we've had in London this year. :(
First? Really? Ouch.
I suppose that there is the potential that you've been growing a late-maturing variety, which could only compound other growing issues - I've always had Green Zebras take an eternity to ripen. London's pretty far north, so the total amount of useful solar radiation is significantly less than parts of the US with similar summer temperatures, which is always going to slow you down. Next year, I'd recommend looking for early-maturing varieties - Fourth of July springs to mind, since it supposedly has fruit ready to pick then (though that's a stretch for the home gardener) - and, if that doesn't work, try using some plastic tunnels or cold frames to extend the season.
Plus, if you'd added any soluble nitrogenous fertilizer, that could have muddled things. Nitrogen stimulates leaf growth in most plants, sometimes to the detriment of fruiting. I've heard that too much nitrogen can actually spur tomatoes to grow into giant bushes without a single fruit.
Oh, yeah. If late/slow growth is a problem, you can direct more of the plant's effort to fruiting by pinching off the suckers. Your potential harvest will be less, though you can space the plants closer without fear of shading each other.
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