A watched tomato . . .

Maybe it's driven by my appetite for raw fruits and vegetables or maybe because I am impulse-control challenged, but for whatever reason, it seems like the "Sugary" grape tomatoes have taken an eternity to come to the table.

The plants started fast out of the gate, but then lingered and shilly-shallied and dawdled over ripening.  Why go red and be picked when you can be a unbothered green?

Way back in May, six plants went into two pots over Memorial Day weekend.  In less than three weeks, there were lots of blossoms.

Followed by fruit just a week later.  And then the pace slowed. The tomatoes hung on the plants, staying green.  Occasionally, one would just drop off, unripe.  Meantime, the plants themselves are starting to look exhausted.  Come on, tomatoes, get red!

At last, our harvest started coming in this week. After waiting 66 days, the crop was so welcome that the first sweet batch was almost all consumed right off the vine. But there are more still ripening . . . of course.