Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Tomato Experiment: A Fungus Amongus?

About a week ago, I first noticed that the tomato plants I bought in Skaneateles in early June finally sprouted fruit! I Googled "tomato plants how long from fruit to harvest" and learned that I have at least another six weeks to go before I can pluck a ripe tomato off my fire escape. That is, of course, if I escape the dreaded late blight fungus that is making the rounds. Despite having purchased the plants from an organic farmer vs. a big box retailer, I am worried. One of the bigger green tomatoes has an ugly black bruise that I decided today is definitely some kind of fungus, but hopefully an isolated case of "contact fungus" (from the fruit brushing up against the wet leaves of the basil plant living next to it). So I did a bit of rearranging, pruned both the herb and tomato plants (probably a little too much) and have my fingers crossed for the best! In the meantime, I am buying tomatoes from the greenmarket. My new go-to breakfast is sliced tomato and cucumber on toasted sunflower millet bread with a schmear of cream cheese. With lots of fresh ground black pepper on top, this is the ultimate summer breakfast sandwich (McMuffin watch out). Something tells me I may be turning to the Union Square farmer Stokes Farms for tomatoes all season long. Check back in six weeks (mid-September) to find out.

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