A Tomato Story

I reader asked the question about how to tell when the heirloom tomatoes were ripe since they definitely don’t look ready. The easy answer to to give the tomato a light squeeze. The tomato will have a slight softness to it just like a very red tomato when it is ready to harvest.

The comment about the heirloom tomatoes that I have been growing reminded me of a story from many years ago…

Back when we had our old, blind farm dog named Dead Dog Gus (that name is a whole different story) we had trouble growing tomatoes. Actually the growing wasn’t the problem so much as getting them to the ripe stage.

Come to find out that the decrepit old mutt had a hankering for fruit and vegetables of all kinds. His blindness didn’t faze him because he used his other senses quite well. When we were busy with other farm activities, Dead Dog Gus would go scouting in the garden for tasty treats.

Dead Dog Gus would meander around the prune trees and snarfle up all the downed fruit as it fell. He would munch all the fallen apples and even take naps under the pear tree, only to rouse himself when he heard a pear drop to the ground so he could quickly eat it up. But the tomatoes were one of the prized snacks that he preferred.

Dead Dog Gus would tiptoe around the wire cages holding the tomatoes in place and when he thought the coast was clear, would place his mouth over the ones that smelled like they were getting ripe and would lightly close his jaws to feel if they were soft enough. Those delicious tomatoes that were ready would get plucked from the vine and eaten before he left the area. Those that were nearing ripe but still needing a little time to mature were left on the plants.

Oblivious to the connoisseur  canine and his appetite for the red orbs, I could not understand why my tomatoes looked so bruised and beat up when I tried to harvest some for dinner. They all seemed to have puncture holes in them where rot would begin.

It was after much sneaky reconnaissance before I noticed the culprit was the pooch.