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Arkansas tomatoes....straight from the garden. This is the way they look.

By Barbara S. Duncan

Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Advantage

July 07, 2011 04:10 AM

Arkansas tomatoes lesson

This is a perfect picture of the gatherings from a garden in Arkansas. Minus the three tomatoes at the top left, of course, who claim to be Arkansas tomatoes. They are imposters, pure and innocent, but the ones that we first buy when tomato season is supposed to be starting and those stands start setting up beside the road boasting "Arkansas tomatoes!"

The others, excluding the cucumbers, are the kind we desire. They come in all sizes and colors and perhaps even twins and in various shades of "ripe." These are resting on my kitchen counter and are a gift from a friend who dropped them off today! Who? Can't tell because he might get too many requests.

Cucumbers? Yes? The same description applies to them. Various sizes and shapes and all picked from a garden. They are also wonderful. The same friend gifted those. Thanks to our friend!!!

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John Howard

Century 21 LeMac Realty - Mountain Home, AR

GRI, Mountain Home, Arkansas 870-404-3614

Barbara, That is not fair...Now I am tomatoe Hungry and mine are still.....maturing...shall we say.

Jul 07, 2011 04:17 AM

Michele Connors

The Overton Group, LLC Pitt & Carteret County - Greenville, NC

Your Eastern North Carolina Realtor

Yumm...fresh is best! Here in the south we enjoy a tomato sandwich : Soft white bread with mayo (Dukes ) salt -pepper and sliced tomato.. delicious !

Jul 07, 2011 04:18 AM

Barbara S. Duncan

RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

John, just go buy some of those imposters and let them whet your appetite.

Michele, add 2 slices of bacon for perfection!!

Jul 07, 2011 04:43 AM

Anonymous

Debbie Wantulok

You are so very correct, Ms. Barbara. Bacon (naturally also home grown) and Tomatoe (Arkansas is best!) Sandwich...perfection.

Cucumbers! YES! My favorite! Anyway is the best way to eat them but my personal favorite is sliced with vidalia onions sliced refrigerated in a solution of apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, and mustard seed...my husband adds salt and pepper. Oh! I could eat them all day long and they go great with your bacon and tomatoe sandwich. We had a friend that gave us enough cucumbers to can but we ate them all up fresh. I sympathize with the Isrealites when they left the cucumbers and onions in Egypt. I guess that would be "pickle" instead of just can...but you get the point.

Jul 07, 2011 07:14 AM

Luke Jones

Garver - Little Rock, AR

Tomatoes were historicaly one of the only foods I strongly disliked - I'd take them off of hamburgers and avoid sandwiches that strongly featured them. Then Jenna made BLTs with fresh Arkansas tomatoes, and I was a changed man forever.

Still don't care for beans, though.

Jul 07, 2011 07:30 AM

Anonymous

Cliff

"Only two things money can't buy,

that's true love, and home grown tomatoes." - Guy Clark - song writer

Jul 07, 2011 07:39 AM

Barbara S. Duncan

RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Mary, the tomatoes are my favorite. I used to love frozen strawberry preserves but know no one who makes it anymore.

Debbie, I never heard of putting mustard seeds in the solution to marinate cucumbers. I like to use sour cream, vinegar and oil and salt and pepper and onions. I need to add your mustard seeds.

Luke, I don't blame you for not liking the usual bought tomato. They are horrid and not worth the money. But fresh ones ripened on the vine is what changed you. Welcome to the club.

Cliff, just one little correction. It should be home grown tomaters. It then becomes a great song. LOL

Jul 07, 2011 03:35 PM

Anonymous

Ludean Kidd

You can add me as a home grown tomato fan. They are so good fresh from the garden.

Jul 08, 2011 02:03 AM

Anonymous

Anita Fuller

Nothing better than a home grown, Arkansas tomato - unless it is my mother's fried chicken!

I have tomato VINES growing in big pots on my deck, two plants out in the yard. I am many things, but a tomato grower I'm not. Don't anyone hold their breath until I can bring you one of my home growns.

Jul 08, 2011 02:13 AM

Don Thompson

Donthomp Associates - Sunnyvale, CA

I have tomatoes out but this hot weather is stunting them. Maybe by October there will be some edible tomatoes or not.

One thing I miss about living in California is growing tomatoes.There I would just put out a few plants in April and have tomatoes all summer with no effort. I seldom even fertilized them. I did water because there was no summer rain.

I have a picture to prove my statement.

California Tomatoes

Jul 08, 2011 06:48 AM

Barbara S. Duncan

RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Ludean, vine ripened!! Must be vine ripened!

Anita, you sound like my husband. I think you may have read my blog where he put hair on the tomato plants. After two horrible failing years of tomatos, he gave up this year. He didn't even try.

Don, that is the picture of perfection! Plants with growing and ripening tomatoes. I wish they were not so hard to grow.

Jul 08, 2011 02:15 PM

Steven L. Smith

King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. - Bellingham, WA

Bellingham WA Home Inspector

Barbara,

Our weather is such that the tomatoes must be months away. Lucky if they make it before fall.

Jul 08, 2011 04:44 PM

Anonymous

Anita Fuller

I hate Don! Not only is he the guru of all computer gurus, he is also a tomato grower extraordinare....or however you spell it! The only tomato I've had ripen this year was eaten by the man I had watering my tomato plants while I was in Canada fishing. He said it was sorta mushy.

When we lived in Oak Park, Illinois we planted tomatoes but would never get the first ripened one until about Labor Day.

Oh, Barbara: I thought Dude put the hair around his plants to keep the deer away. I don't have that problem up on my deck, or out in my yard!

Jul 09, 2011 01:30 AM

#13

Barbara S. Duncan

RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Steven, I'm so sorry.

Anita, Don is what we'd call "a jack of all trades." No doubt about it! Rodger did put hair out to keep deer away but it didn't seem to work so well. Charmed child that you still are, you have a magnificent deck and yard!! But do you have a fox? We have one that comes every night to see what we cooked for him. Sometimes 3 will come but lately we've only seen one. I think they've decided I'm not a good cook.

Jul 09, 2011 10:32 AM

Anonymous

Anita Fuller

No foxes (that I know of).....but several weeks ago - when it was cool enough to sit out on the deck in the early morning - I was sitting out, with my computer on my lap, looked over to see our resident SNAKE reclining against the wall! Now I ask you: fox or snake? What's your preference.

And yes, Don is a "jack of all trades"....and master of all! Is there anything this guy can't do? (besides play the violin?)

Jul 09, 2011 11:54 AM

#15

Steven L. Smith

King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. - Bellingham, WA

Bellingham WA Home Inspector

Even in the warm years, with the moisture, tomatoes are prone to various icky skin disorders.

Jul 10, 2011 11:39 AM