Dear Farm Journal,

It’s getting to be the time of year when the tomatoes are coming to the end of their life cycle. The leaves are browning, the plants are drooping, and the fruit has slowed if not stopped producing. There are still nice tomatoes on some of our plants, but some are ready to be pulled to make room for a fall planting of greens. Papa Rich and Charna helped us out by canning batches of tomato juice and salsa. Thankfully, we can look forward to a delicious treat this winter, when the only “fresh” tomatoes around are coming from California or Mexico. Yes, I am starting to get a bit fretful at the thought of not having fresh tomatoes in the near future, so I have been eating them like crazy, sometimes up to 10 in a day. I find myself wanting to keep nice heirlooms for myself, thinking, “These are not for sale”. We still have a newer planting of golden nugget cherry tomatoes that will hopefully produce in the greenhouse into the late fall, fingers crossed. Oh tomato, parting is such sweet sorrow.

~Joy