Waves of Tomatoes

Waves. The nature of Nature often flows in waves--inward and outward, or repeating Herself. This truth washed over me this summer, not at the beach, but in my vegetable garden.

The cherry tomato plants I bought in May seemed innocent enough. But they became a virtual explosion, with waves reaching out and reverberating across half of my garden. The chard & basil were overshadowed by them, and the butternut squash would have been overcome too, if I hadn't returned from vacation soon enough to cut back the tomato tidal wave to give them sun and space. The small supportive cages I'd put around the plants before my trip were easily overcome and covered with branches, leaves and the repeating pattern of tiny yellow flowers.

Those flowers were arranged along the growing edge of the side branches. As they were fertilized and bore their fruit, the tomatoes themselves also ripened in waves, the most inner growing and ripening first. The tiny green globes grew to be that cherry size and then ripen into the red tomatoes we all know and love. And it was over abundance. I couldn't pick them fast enough-- some of them ripened but split. Whether this is a "condition" or just a usual course of events for cherry tomatoes is still unknown to me-- I'm too busy keeping up with the plant, along with the zucchinis, to search it out, for now.

I had to do major pruning of the tomato plants but felt that sadness of wasting all those green babies that hadn't yet ruby-ed up. So I found a recipe for pickled green cherry tomatoes, bought some canning jars and tried 6 jars of the stuff. Now, after the time of fermenting, they taste like---pickles shaped like green tomatoes. Yum--I love them. My family, fearing my inexperience at such a project and less in love with pickles, has shunned them. Oh, well, more for me.

And wow-- they do green up over time if you leave the green ones together. Magic gases are released from them and they help ripen each other. So somedays I didn't have to trek out, just grab what I needed for salads from my ripening bowl. And as I continue to prune my plants, as they continue their slow motion explosion, I can now save those unriped ones for later use.

Soon the waves of summer tomatoes will subside. But I'll still have some of my pickles to remind me of them, as I plan my garden for next summer-- with more room for tsunamis of tomatoes.