Gardening how-to books will tell you how to avoid having your ripe tomatoes split open. Don't give them to much water. So I'm out there looking through the fence at these big yellow tomatoes with large crisscrossing splits on the stem end and thinking, "Why?" Why would I want to avoid that? The big X on top means the tomato is bursting with juicy delicious juiciness. Literally! I like my tomatoes plump and juicy. If I were growing them for the farmers market or to enter into the county fair, trying for that blue ribbon, that would be different. Looks would be my top concern. But I grow them to eat or to share with friends. It's what's inside that counts.
I like my woman juicy too.
Plant breeders have done an amazing job modifying the traits of fruits and vegetables. Modern field tomatoes all ripen at the same time, are firm enough to be picked, processed and packaged by automated machinery and arrive at market absolutely free of blemish. Or taste. When sliced onto a burger they are guaranteed not to drip on your hand painted silk tie. Nice.
Fashion magazines, television and the miracle of modern medicine have done as much for today's woman. Deprived of nutrition they arrive at market "picture perfect". Looking as if they were raised on a commercial farm. Firm enough for handling by automated machinery. And about as comfortable as concrete couch. Any hint of plumpness has been strategically placed with skill of a surgeons hand and frankly appears out of place.
I think I'll go water the tomato.
OWL
August 26, 2007
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