Tuesday, October 9, 2012

First Fruits

Here are the first fruits on our young tree tomato, known in some places as the tomarillo...




The graceful, big-leaved tree's starry waxy-white flowers blossomed at the end of Autumn, and the fruits grew and ripened over the long winter months.  We literally waited for the fruits to fall to the ground, and then foraged for them rather than harvested.  Grace discovered that she is not a fan of the tree tomato's fruits - a bit disappointing after being impressed by their smooth jewel-shaped elegance and watching their ripening in anticipation for so long.  She's a great lover of real tomatoes, but of course in the muddling way that we so often name things, this tree is not actually related to the tomato family at all.  So it was left to me to enjoy its unique taste sensations - a touch of sharp bitterness yielding to a soft, tropical, guava-like heart.

Now the long cold, wet winter has finally passed, and it has been time to rejuvenate our food garden - clear the mint that has been set on food garden domination, recondition the soil with compost and worm castings, and plant new seeds and seedlings.  We can look forward to spinach, celery, strawberries, Italian parsley, radishes, pumpkins, parsnips, carrots and some real tomatoes!