Hello Everyone!
Today I picked the first tomatoes of the season from the garden! I'm so excited because I usually don't have good luck with them because of all the heat and humidity and the diseases that affect them. This year is really no better than last, but I have recently started planting the "heirloom" varieties and I believe they are more suitable to the growing conditions in my garden.
Last year I planted three heirloom varieties, "Cherokee Purple," "Brandywine," and "Oxheart." The "Cherokee Purple" was a great success! It has large fruits that were "smoky" in color and made an excellent slicing tomato with a great old-fashioned taste. It made great tomato juice that I "canned" and used throughout the fall and winter in soups! The "Brandywine" is an old Amish variety that has large, somewhat irregular shaped fruit, but its taste makes up for what it lacks in looks. The "Oxheart" is a pink tomato that has low acid content. It is shaped like, you guessed it-the heart of an ox! It was my mama's favorite tomato.
Heirlooms are excellent if you are looking for an "old-timey, tomatoey tasting" tomato. They might not be the prettiest, most symmetrical tomato, but they have "character" and do not taste like "cardboard," the predominate taste of grocery store tomatoes.
Heirlooms are flawed in their appearance, just like me! Beauty, after all is only skin deep! It's the content of the wrapper that is the test of a "great" tomato or person. Life's little blemishes and irregularities are what refines us and makes our "taste" sought after. Many can be comforted by the knowledge that "she has been there," or "she has had difficulties of her own." I think that our blemishes and irregularities are the way that God uses us to draw the attentions of those who are hurting and uses our "taste" to minister to them.
I know that this is not the best illustration and you probably think I am a "nut" case, but this came to me today and I am "pondering" it now, as I type. My thoughts are scattered, and my ability to collect them has not been enabled as of yet, so I will continue to ponder and hope that I am able to better convey the message I want to leave with you. I hope I haven't thoroughly confused any of you with this rambling - one more of my blemishes and irregularities!
Oh, by the way, this year I planted the "German Johnson" variety- my favorite for slicing and making sandwiches. If you ever run into some "heirlooms" - try them! When you taste them, you'll never look for perfectly shaped, "cardboard" tomatoes again! Remember - they have "character," blemishes and all!
Have a great day and God bless our blemishes!
Be Encouraged!
Plant Lady
Today I picked the first tomatoes of the season from the garden! I'm so excited because I usually don't have good luck with them because of all the heat and humidity and the diseases that affect them. This year is really no better than last, but I have recently started planting the "heirloom" varieties and I believe they are more suitable to the growing conditions in my garden.
Last year I planted three heirloom varieties, "Cherokee Purple," "Brandywine," and "Oxheart." The "Cherokee Purple" was a great success! It has large fruits that were "smoky" in color and made an excellent slicing tomato with a great old-fashioned taste. It made great tomato juice that I "canned" and used throughout the fall and winter in soups! The "Brandywine" is an old Amish variety that has large, somewhat irregular shaped fruit, but its taste makes up for what it lacks in looks. The "Oxheart" is a pink tomato that has low acid content. It is shaped like, you guessed it-the heart of an ox! It was my mama's favorite tomato.
Heirlooms are excellent if you are looking for an "old-timey, tomatoey tasting" tomato. They might not be the prettiest, most symmetrical tomato, but they have "character" and do not taste like "cardboard," the predominate taste of grocery store tomatoes.
Heirlooms are flawed in their appearance, just like me! Beauty, after all is only skin deep! It's the content of the wrapper that is the test of a "great" tomato or person. Life's little blemishes and irregularities are what refines us and makes our "taste" sought after. Many can be comforted by the knowledge that "she has been there," or "she has had difficulties of her own." I think that our blemishes and irregularities are the way that God uses us to draw the attentions of those who are hurting and uses our "taste" to minister to them.
I know that this is not the best illustration and you probably think I am a "nut" case, but this came to me today and I am "pondering" it now, as I type. My thoughts are scattered, and my ability to collect them has not been enabled as of yet, so I will continue to ponder and hope that I am able to better convey the message I want to leave with you. I hope I haven't thoroughly confused any of you with this rambling - one more of my blemishes and irregularities!
Oh, by the way, this year I planted the "German Johnson" variety- my favorite for slicing and making sandwiches. If you ever run into some "heirlooms" - try them! When you taste them, you'll never look for perfectly shaped, "cardboard" tomatoes again! Remember - they have "character," blemishes and all!
Have a great day and God bless our blemishes!
Be Encouraged!
Plant Lady
6 comments:
Hello, Plant Lady!
My husband is a landscape architect, and I used to be the NC Am. Soc. of Landscape Architect's Assoc. Mgr. Keep on greening up the world!
We lived in Wilmington, NC for about 9 years prior to moving to Charlotte.
Just wanted to say hello!
Kelly Langston
The tomatoes sound sooooo good, it makes me hungry for a really good juicy tomato sandwich and I bet yours don't have salmanella. There is a farm up the road from where we lived in Landis that grow a lot of things and tomatoes is one of them. My husband said that Wal Mart is buying their tomatoes to sell. I assume you have heard about the tomatoes from other countries that have made some people really sick.
Your description of how God sees us is great. You did a beautiful job so don't sell yourself short.
Be blessed,
AliceE
Just a few minutes ago, I fixed a sandwich, looked in the frig. and no tomatoes!! What, no tomatoes??
So much is missing without that delicious tasting tomato!
That was a good illustration that you gave. And it's true, we all have blemishes. I just pray I won't become rotten! No one likes a rotten tomato!
mary
Plant Lady,
you did a great job of saying about us all having blemishes. As the teenagers say... "I'm picking up what you're laying down" :)
I haven't done well on the excercise this week and just so so on the eating, but I'm jut keeping on.
Thanks for sharing another story.
I'll try to post tomorrow.
Love,
Lynn
There is nothing quite as good as a warm home grown tomato well almost. Just your descriptions make me drool.
Have a great day
Katrina
Someone in our household is very jealous of your tomatoes. I won't mention any names.
Dorothy
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