Ugly Tomatoes and TMI

AlittleSalt · August 18, 2014

Before gardening, a few years back, for 40+ years, I had this picture stuck in my head that tomatoes have a few qualities:

#1. They are Red

They are smooth and perfectly round or egg shaped, but mostly round.
.
They are sort of juicy and most are tasteless.

Those sold, "On the Vine" smelled so good, but still had no taste even though they cost too much.

And in some cases, they tasted like some sort of cleaning solution.

Yes, I grew up eating supermarket tomatoes. I was too busy working and not caring to learn that there were better options. I have noticed that people of all ages that I associate with have grown up the same way.

Early today, I looked online at the, "Old German" tomatoes. I have 4 plants planted for our fall garden that I have grown from seed for the first time. I have taken care of them as if I were their over-protective-father without a clue as to expect from them. I gave up and looked online this morning. The pictures of Old German tomatoes I looked up today showed a twisted, large, yellowish, ugly tomato. My first instinctive thought was: "(Superlative", that is UGLY!") Then, I got it.

What I grew up learning or understanding isn't always right or fair. We/I have to remember to keep learning...it does not matter how old we are or how many times we experience things. Sometimes, we learn by society instead of what is real. I'm hoping that those ugly tomatoes taste great. After all, I've been babying them since July 1.

I built special cages to protect them from grasshoppers. The cages are only 14" tall and around 7" wide with a cap on top all made of 1/4 inch rabbit mesh. When they grew out of that, I replaced those cages with the 2.5' tall pepper cages just to keep the tomato plants from getting blown to the ground. Then when the high temperatures got to 98F, I put light colored cotton shade covers over the top of those cages. Others I put light colored cotton sheets over T-posts. I talk or breath on the plants daily and water when they need it. I'm trying to garden as I have been parenting and grand-parenting. I want to be the best role model as I can be.

Gardening is my way of combating the nerve diseases I live with 24/7 instead of taking morphine shots 4-times-a-day. My continuous pain level is 8+ if I take the meds or if don't. In 2010, I chose to never take pain meds again. My PCP said I needed to find something to occupy my time while I had it. I chose feeding my loved ones with good healthy food. Over the past 4 years, my health has improved due to healthier eating, positive influence due to gardening?, and no more Morphine shots.

I probably get too compassionate about gardening because of that. If I ever get on your nerves here - tell me.

Are there any tomato varieties you think are just plain ugly?

August 18, 2014	#1
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Ugly Tomatoes and TMI Before gardening, a few years back, for 40+ years, I had this picture stuck in my head that tomatoes have a few qualities: #1. They are Red They are smooth and perfectly round or egg shaped, but mostly round. . They are sort of juicy and most are tasteless. Those sold, "On the Vine" smelled so good, but still had no taste even though they cost too much. And in some cases, they tasted like some sort of cleaning solution. Yes, I grew up eating supermarket tomatoes. I was too busy working and not caring to learn that there were better options. I have noticed that people of all ages that I associate with have grown up the same way. Early today, I looked online at the, "Old German" tomatoes. I have 4 plants planted for our fall garden that I have grown from seed for the first time. I have taken care of them as if I were their over-protective-father without a clue as to expect from them. I gave up and looked online this morning. The pictures of Old German tomatoes I looked up today showed a twisted, large, yellowish, ugly tomato. My first instinctive thought was: "(Superlative", that is UGLY!") Then, I got it. What I grew up learning or understanding isn't always right or fair. We/I have to remember to keep learning...it does not matter how old we are or how many times we experience things. Sometimes, we learn by society instead of what is real. I'm hoping that those ugly tomatoes taste great. After all, I've been babying them since July 1. I built special cages to protect them from grasshoppers. The cages are only 14" tall and around 7" wide with a cap on top all made of 1/4 inch rabbit mesh. When they grew out of that, I replaced those cages with the 2.5' tall pepper cages just to keep the tomato plants from getting blown to the ground. Then when the high temperatures got to 98F, I put light colored cotton shade covers over the top of those cages. Others I put light colored cotton sheets over T-posts. I talk or breath on the plants daily and water when they need it. I'm trying to garden as I have been parenting and grand-parenting. I want to be the best role model as I can be. Gardening is my way of combating the nerve diseases I live with 24/7 instead of taking morphine shots 4-times-a-day. My continuous pain level is 8+ if I take the meds or if don't. In 2010, I chose to never take pain meds again. My PCP said I needed to find something to occupy my time while I had it. I chose feeding my loved ones with good healthy food. Over the past 4 years, my health has improved due to healthier eating, positive influence due to gardening?, and no more Morphine shots. I probably get too compassionate about gardening because of that. If I ever get on your nerves here - tell me. Are there any tomato varieties you think are just plain ugly?