Barefoot Tomatoes

Last week I ate my first tomato. This may not be much of a thrill for you. But the last two years I tried to grow tomatoes, got them to sprout indoors, planted out in a cold frame and saw them grow to a couple of feet and put out fruit... and then the unripe fruit (and some leaves) went brown and mottly.

A virus? Or just some kind of maltreatment I'm not aware enough to spot? I think the former. Anyhow, the most I ever got out of it was a jar of green tomato chutney.

But this year I have a greenhouse. And as discussed below, some huge tomato trees going great guns. I thinned them all out, and now they're fruiting more and the established fruits are turning red. I plucked one and ate it, with reverence. It was an Essex Wonder from HDRA. It wasn't actually as sublime as I'd expected - but that was more about my expectations than anything else. I do think there is no bought tomato as nice as one you just picked.

Now there are many more of these beauties and also some Marmandes, the ones with the fluted sides - I love these when I get them from the shop, and I'm looking forward to them being totally ready. Coming soon.

Also, when I cut back the tomato plants I ended up taking off a few limbs that had unripe fruit on them. It seemed a waste, but I had to sacrifice something so the rest could thrive. I'm really too sentimental to be a gardener - I want everyone to have a chance.

Anyway, I ended up with a bowl of small unripe fruit. And I remember there was a film called "Fried Green Tomatoes Something Something". I never saw it, but it seemed a fair inference that one could... er... fry green tomatoes. So that's what I did. I got some garlic going first, then a splash more olive oil and all the tomatoes chopped fine. I also put in a few mushrooms I had spare. And a spinach salad and some toast. It was heavenly.

That spinach, by the way - I'm really pleased with it. I've conquered my sentimentality to the point of pulling out a few of the smaller ones to let the big ones spread out rather than growing up. Result, more and bigger leaves. Still not sure about this "for the greater good" morality. Am I being anthropomorphic? I think so...

And then... I just wanted to ask a question. Is it just me? I mean - how often do you wear shoes for gardening? In my own case, so long as there isn't an "r" in the month, I'd say as near to never as makes no difference. I'm inured to nettles and gravel. In fact I often forget and walk into the village to post a letter barefoot. When I mow, my feet go like the Hulk. Call me crunchy if you must, but I love the feel of mud and rotten fruit between the toes.

Actually I must admit I now have quite a large hole in my left foot. It's a bit sore! But a small price to pay.

More by jbr | Oct 13, 2005 | | Comments (951) | TrackBack ()