Last Tomato of the Season - Merry Christmas to Me!

This tomato was not purchased from a grocery store, in fact, I seriously doubt you can buy an Orange Russian 117 (the name of this variety) at any store.  But wait, Cynthia, you might ask: "How is it that you have ripe tomatoes on Christmas day?"  The answer is that this tomato was picked two months ago, in mid October, after our first mild frost.  That spelled the end of our tomato season here in central coastal California, so we took down all of our tomato plants (over 100) and stripped the plants of all of their green viable fruits.  "Viable" means no breaks in the skin and large enough to make them worth saving.  The four large flats of tomatoes spent the next 8 weeks or so in my south-facing laundry room window slowly ripening.  We've been using them one or two every day, on my son's sandwiches he takes to school and in our salads.  Today marked the last of the batch.  And although it was 24 degrees Fahrenheit in our garden this morning, I had a little slice of summer right here in the kitchen.

Comments

[Love Apple Farm]

Marian: You're one of my great success stories! Why don't you tell everybody about it? I can't believe you are still getting tomatoes from your hill. Did you take any pictures for me?

[Marian Kicklighter]

Cynthia, I'm still picking from my hill!

Marian

[Baroque]

Don't worry Cynthia, next season will come soon!