Uncle Dick grew tomatoes.
He grew many varieties of pepper, both hot and sweet.
We canned them, froze them, or gave them away.
We harvested and prepared them for a meal right from the garden.
He grew radishes and onions and beans and greens and peas and squash.
He grew corn and melons and garlic, too, long ago.
He probably grew, at one time or other, about everything there is to grow.
Nothing tastes better than a vine ripened tomato ( with a little bit of forbidden salt).
It is a fragile fruit.
It will split and soften, as it cooks in the hot sun.
Bugs, raccoons and squirrels love to eat a tomato -
Even a whole garden full if given the opportunity.
A fried green tomato on sliced white bread is a delicacy to a southern farmer.
A sectioned ripe tomato in olive oil with chopped garlic and basil is a staple of and Italian meal.
A chopped tomato and jalapeno and garlic clove makes a tasty salsa.
Those gardening days are gone now.
The first tomato of the year is growing in a pot on the patio,
Along with the basil, some parsley, dill, and mint.
This earth has blessed those who will plant with fresh fruits and vegetables,
Enough to feed everyone,
Should we care enough to find a way.
Imagine the wonder released
When starving eyes behold
A first tomato growing in a garden
That, before the planting, was a barren patch of earth,
