While Jim and I were enjoying a leisurely weekend breakfast this morning, our power went out, which left me without internet access for an unknown period. Since I needed to complete an online search for my planned topic, I decide to revise a column from 2022 about a topic of concern to tomato gardeners every summer: What causes my tomatoes to look so ugly now when they started out red and luscious and sweet a month ago?
The tomato, the unofficial emblem of summer, red and juicy, plucked from the vine on a hot July day and eaten like an apple. Who hasn’t stood in the garden with tomato juice running down their chin? What about a tomato sandwich for lunch, on white bread with mayo (we won’t haggle over brands here), and a glass of ice-cold tea, preferably sweet? Sandwiches, salads, soups, sauces, we use tomatoes in a thousand dishes every year.
We try to grow them, because homegrown is so much better than store-bought, but sometimes the growing is a lot of work, and the harvest isn’t alw...