It turned hot again yesterday (Tuesday) but we did have a nice breeze. I still find some tomatoes among the tall grass that jumped up after that 6 inch rain a few weeks ago. I had bought a “pineapple” tomato plant in the spring, and was anxious to see what it would taste like. The lady at the greenhouse said it could produce a one pound tomato, and she liked the flavor.
Well, I found the plant in the garden’s grass forest and it had a huge yellow/pink colored tomato. I think if the garden had rain when it needed it, the plant would have produced more one pound tomatoes. As it turned out, it produced about three so far. While they have a milder taste, I don’t think I’ll try them again. I like the old fashioned taste of a red tomato.
At the family reunion a couple weeks ago my cousin’s husband showed me a picture of a “seedless” tomato that they had grown. He said it tasted like a regular one, but no seeds.
Well, enough about tomatoes! In this world of “instant” communication, fast food, etc., I found that it’s not always that way. The guys had to order a latch for one of the baler doors, and it will take five days. The big culvert on the road north of my house has to be replaced, and it’s predicted it will take eleven weeks!
Saturday of Labor Day weekend, great grandson Jordan was here, and we went to Colchester to see if the same fella from Blandinsville was there with old atlas pages. Last year he had a page of Jubilee township in Peoria County that I took to the reunion, and a page of McDonough’s El Dorado township.
This year he had a platted page of the city of Fandon and Industry and Chalmers townships, and a paperback about Marietta. While I was searching through old yearbooks, Jordan was looking at things. His excited comment was, “Grandma! There are things here I’ve never seen before.” He spent his own money and got a couple boxes of figures of athletes, and a couple packages of cards. It was a fun hour, but we were both feeling the hot sun on us and decided we were through shopping.
Some farmers are harvesting the early planted corn, and I saw a field of beans that are losing their leaves pre-harvest. It’s going to be a guessing game because the hot, dry weather will have taken a toll on the size of the corn kernels and the size of the beans. What is not a gamble, but a fact that the input cost of harvesting is going to see high diesel prices...one place had over $5.75 a gallon. Fertilizer prices are going to be higher, so even with grain prices going up, USDA predicts farm income is to fall 5.5%.
On that gloom and doom, I think I’ll quit for the day. I do want to share an old story about “Grandma’s Apron.” I think of it when I harvest something from the garden and don’t have a bucket or plastic bag with me. My Mom usually had an apron on and would fill it with whatever she picked. I don’t wear an apron so I use my rolled-up long shirt I wear to carry things to the house. Some habits and memories don’t ever die!
Sharon Chenoweth is a resident and farmer of McDonough County. Her column focuses on rural life and will be featured every other week in the Community News Brief Friday Edition.
