Another post about tomatoes. No, not the Sarah Palin kind. That, my friends, would be a tomato-head.(I still cannot believe how McCain can call everyone ‘my friend’, when you know very well he doesn’t mean it)
Anyway, I digress.
Fall is here and the temperature has been err…falling. It was a freaky 8 degrees at midday today, which left me only to wonder what it would be like in late December, this year. But that aside, I, as a true-blue wannabe balcony gardener, is more worried about my plants than whether I do have the latest Fall fashion. Ok, I take that back. That didn’t sound very convincing.
The plants, especially the fruiting ones – need a strategy. It seems that the extraordinaryly not-so-warm Summer this year took its toll on tomato plants. They refuse to go red by this time of the year, and while I know mine is a tad too under-hormonised, I heard the same problem has been occuring on other people’s gardens too. And these people are veterans. They ain’t no wannabes like me.
So since the temperature has been falling, I know the 5 tomatoes hanging out at Tomajoyah Momok is not going to ripe anytime soon, or later. My best bet is to pick them, store them in a paper bag, and let them ripe in it. Many people do that. As a wannabe, I just follow.
Then 2 mornings ago, as I was diligently watering my plants at the balcony – I saw 2 new tomatoes coming out of Tomajoyah Momok. I was stumped, because I am not expecting any new birth at this time of the year. I also thought that the timing was so off, there is no way the fruit can ripen in 80 days – which will be around mid January. Even if they do, they would be shrivelled, frozen tomatoes by then!
But the new tomatoes are commanding so much pity from me of their will to live, that I didn’t have the heart to not only pick them off the plant, but also the rest of their 5 bigger siblings. So now, thanks to me animating characters into green, stocky things – I don’t have the will to pick the tomatoes to ripe them out in paper bags. Such a simple decision to make, but oh so difficult.
What I DO know is that there will be no more tomato plants next summer. I’ll be doing pumpkins instead.