“Apparently, as a tomato farmer, I peaked in my teen years.” That’s how I start a humbling tale of farm failure.
I have a piece I’ve written about growing tomatoes and how important they were in my family’s garden growing up. The story is also about my struggles in recent years to get good tomato production, and it also covers a bit of history about the remarkable lady responsible for Duke’s mayonnaise.
The good folks at the Museum of America offered some good editing and I’m proud to have it appear in their fine publication. There’s plenty of other good reading in Issue #19, which you can access here. This one is a free read — no paywall.
Oh, and this is a chapter in an upcoming project, so let me know what you think.
I hope you enjoy “Homegrown Tomatoes” and think about Guy Clark as well. Here’s an old clip of him.
YEP, old dogs , children and tomatoes
Another gem by Mike. I can taste the tomatoes in my garden though time has long past when I should have pulled the plants for the winter. If I leave them, the seed will return as plants next summer.
Ironically, my best plant this fall has been a volunteer. Thanks for reading and especially for the kind words.
Excellent, Michael. My mouth is wartering…
Thank you — your readership is much appreciated!