Last Tomatoes of Summer

Tomatoes - 25th October 2012

The title I know, sounds a bit like that of a Victorian ballad belted out by a besuited baritone. For many the last rose of summer is a sadder and more profound event than the last tomato. Nonetheless both occasions mark a definite change in the weather. Overnight frosts will soon be the norm as we head into another winter, with Christmas galloping along behind Halloween. 

I spent a portion of yesterday afternoon stripping the tomato plants of their remaining crop.  There were rather more tomatoes still on the vines than I had anticipated. I picked a total of three tray fulls of which one contains the green crop. I will lay these out in a single layer in a large tray and place them in the cellar. Most of them will redden up and I suspect that I may be able to eat, "fresh," tomatoes until the middle of November. Not too many months after that and I will be sowing the seeds for next years crop! And so the seasonal circuit goes around.