It's hot, stormy, depressed, and can't win at basketball. But come every June the patch farmers sell tomatos. These are nothing like the "shippers" you find at the chain grocers. These are known by "Pinks", "Indian", "Big Boys", "Little Girls", "Heirlooms", and other names. They are thin-skinned and have a bite of acid. These are some of the 1st of this year's crop. I picked up a couple of Kroger sacks full this morning. I got to visit with old friends and catch up on the Deer hunt and Turkey season. Buck and a quarter a pound but well worth it. I have a few cooling now. The first meal will be tomatos with a little salt. After that, salads and BLTs will follow. Blood sugar will go crazy but this doesn't happen but once a year.

Did you pick up a few of those onions, too? They look pretty good to me.

Andy

Good looking produce for this time of year (and not imported from Mexico). Here is NW Ohio, we have to wait another month or two. I frequent a local producer called Keil's. Good stuff at a reasonalble price.

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Inconsistently consistent

The onions, squash, new potatos, are almost as good as the tomatos. I've known the grower for all my life. He's a well known turkey guide in our area. His garden is within 50 feet of where I took the snaps. An old school chum in South Dakota says we are about two months ahead of them in the garden. Bad thing is if I wanted to catch a trout I'd have to go 150 miles of further. A pheasant would need a visa.

Are those from Warren, butch?

I'm retired from the produce business and I shopped the Louisville Produce Terminal for 25 years. Back in the day, Arkansas tomatoes were a big deal when they showed up on the market. They were always packed in 2 layer boxes with each tomato tissue wrapped. Mostly pinks were shipped and they had great flavor when fully ripe. Now Tennessee rules the early homegrown mkt and we don't see many from Arkansas. Mostly star pink breakers packed in 1/2 bu baskets from the Memphis area.

I paid $1.99 a lb for Tenn tomatoes today. My little patch of 18 plants is still a month away.

No, I'm in Crossett and the farm is a couple of miles East of the Ouachita River. I think Warren is having their annual Pink tomato festival, today. My guy usually has some Bradly tomatos but either he didn't plant any or they haven't come on yet. A long time ago those young ladies up there around Warren made a trip to the Festival worthwhile. I guess working at the tomato sheds made 'em grow long legs and and unabashed smiles. Dang they were cute. I married me one of 'em onetime. It didn't take her long to see that she could better. She is a sweet memory now. Did I mention she had long legs?

--Yessir, a long time ago my runnin' buddy and I would make the 40 mile pilgrimage just to try and hook up with the Miss Pink Tomato contestants.
Good days.

Yer huntin the wrong game.

D.G.

Reminds me of the old saying "Can't buy love nor home grown tomaters" I got a box of creoles grown down in placquimine patish along the Mississippi. Something about the aluvial soils there that give these 'maters a flavor like nowhere else. Been eating them like apples with a little salt for the past week. I will not buy those cardboard ones they sell in the store.

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Forum consigliere

You just can't beat locally grown produce, lets us know what tomatoes, corn, carrots, etc actually taste like. We only have about 3 months to purchase these goodies up here in MA. Then back to the supermarket to buy imitation produce.

Just got done eating local grown strawberries, fantastic.

Nice looking produce. Our tender plants went in the ground last week and we are still wondering about frost.

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Front sight and squeeze

And I'm concerned about heat stroke. 95 ambient yesterday with a similar humidity. The tomato's acid from my week-end made the morning coffee uncomfortable on my lips.

Now about them mater samwiches.

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My Mother likes me.

You could move to the central valley of Cal and have that stuff most of the year. But then you would have to put up with the Nazis in Sacramento.

One of the things I really miss, the foothills produce. I knew summer was here when I could bite into a peach and the juice would run down my front.