Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024 - 7

Tomato Grades
A+ FOR SANDWICHES
FROM THE EDITOR
CONTRIBUTORS
Alan pell Crawford
KURT
RHEINHEIMER
G
iven the goal of
a first tomato by
the 4th of July
and the last at Halloween,
there should be, as this is
written in nearly August,
many weeks of tomato
season left.
But given the vagaries of heat and
stick you shoved into
the ground next to the
plant that yielded it.
The exception beGAIL
RHEINHEIMER
ing at least one cherry
tomato plant for salads
and for that warm,
nearly baked feel of
lack of rain, of cardinals and bunnies,
of weeds and wilt, who's to say?
We did get off to a good start, cutting
the number of plants in our 12' x
6' raised bed from 12 to six, and having
the soil offer good easy shovel entry
after a " winter " of last year's leaves
working to become part of said soil.
The first sign of a lesser grade was
the immediate legginess of the plants-
good and green and healthy, but a bit
reachy in their growth. So give us a solid
D for not looking up a little more to
realize that this would be the year when
the rising trees around the patch would
cast too much shade for too long.
It'll make for a good fall task to
clear a new spot on the back 40 (square
yards) and move the boards and soil
for 2025.
Varieties? I'm interested at selection,
but then slide toward a D- as
things begin to grow. A big red tomato
in your garden is going to be
delicious, no matter what little plastic
CORRECTION
Cascades & Cascades
Our apologies for the mis-stating (as in
placing it in the wrong state) of Crabtree
Falls, North Carolina on the opener of
July/August's " Top Water Spots in the
Mountains Reader Poll Results. " Our
thanks to all who noted. Here, to distract
from the egg on our face, are photos of
both fabulous falls.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 7
popping a few straight out of the sunshine
and into your mouth.
Weeding? It always gets a solid
Incomplete, as one day-every three
weeks whether the patch needs it or
not-a pretty good sweep cleans
things out. But that B is back to Dwithin
several days of I already did that.
Pest control experiences similar
bursts followed by total lapses. The
chicken-wire surrounding-complete
with the inevitable few slide-under
spots that draw laughs from the birds
and chipmunks-went up at first fruit.
And the mesh netting got spread after
a major cardinal party eliminated the
first half dozen fruits to show color.
Tomatoes are a pleasing and
proud tradition carried along since
who's-first competition with my
grandfather beginning more than
50 years back. And it's always worth
repeating the wise words from noted
philosopher Guy Clark: There's only
two things than money can't buy, and that's
true love and home-grown tomatoes.
Crabtree Falls, North Carolina
(Kings Mountain) is the author
most recently of " This Fierce
People: The Untold Story of
America's Revolutionary War
in the South, " described by the
Wall Street Journal as " incisively and
carefully written, [and] splendidly paced. "
A former congressional press secretary in
Washington, D.C., he lives in Richmond,
Virginia.
angela minor
(14 Towns for Fall) is a
contributing editor and
writer of travel and nature
articles for regional and
national publications. She's the
" Park Watch " Beat Writer for 10,000
Birds; and she created and authors the Bird
Watcher's Digest state park birding series.
nancy henderson
(Creature Feature, Josh
Shapiro) is an awardwinning
journalist and
author who enjoys writing
about interesting people and
places. Her work has appeared in
Smithsonian, The New York Times, The Wall
Street Journal and many other publications.
An avid flower gardener and nature
enthusiast, she's written the Creature Feature
column for Blue Ridge Country since 1998.
eric j. wallace
(Easy Hikes, Dave Green) is
an award-winning lifestyle
journalist based in Staunton,
Virginia, who has contributed
to WIRED, Outside, Reader's
Digest, Atlas Obscura and more.
He is a two-time James Beard Foundation
media award nominee and was named
an International Association of Culinary
Professionals Best Feature Story media award
finalist in 2021.
Crabtree Falls, Virginia
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024

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