Posted by Heather Harris

The gravel is in! Now for the tomatoes...





Greg and I celebrated Valentine's Day yesterday. Yes, I know it's April, but we're like that. A holiday is just a recommended time for celebration. It can be enjoyed anytime. Birthdays are known to go on for weeks. Thanksgiving is a 5 day family extravaganza in Sunriver. Our tenth anniversary hasn't even happened yet, but we've already been to Belize! As long as the event is noted, it can really go anywhere on the calendar. Anyway, for Valentine's Day Greg and I got each other tickets to Shovel and Rope, the best band ever. Well, actually, the tickets were for Drive-by Truckers. Anyone heard of them? Me neither. So, in true Portland hipster fashion, we went for the opening band, and then mocked the bland, monotonous guitar jamming of the main event. We didn't even stay for them to finish. We're so cool.When I wasn't mocking the band, because honestly it was exhausting to yell witty comments over the blaring guitar solos for very long, I was sipping my IPA dreaming of, naturally, tomatoes. Tomorrow is the big day, the true main event. Tomorrow is the Tualatin Valley Garden Club's Annual Plant Sale. Row upon row, stall upon stall of gorgeous, green, leafy tomato starts will be glistening in the morning dew, their peppery scent wafting through the air, waiting for my eager fingers to pick them up, put them back. No wait, pick that one up, put it back. Oh wait, that one looks good! No, what's THAT over there?! This is not an event that I take husbands or children to. It can take awhile.Therethree darlings that never get put back on the saw-horse supported table. My three amigos (amici?): Lemon Boy, Speckled Roman, and Principe Borghese. Now how they ended up in my wagon the first time is just pure luck, but I will now knock over grandmothers, dogs, and chubby toddlers to snatch them up.Lemon boy is the most delicious, yellow tomato ever, and it ALWAYS produces lots of tomatoes. It is the first to ripen up as well, even before the so called "Early Girls". I don't know about you, but my "early" girls like to party the night before and sleep in. Not Lemon Boy. He's up bright and early.Speckled Roman is my newest find. It produces huge, beautiful red plum tomatoes with yellow, marbled speckles. I've never eaten one raw, because they are so perfect for canning. I swear one tomato can fill a quart jar. They are also wonderfully reliable, but unfortunately a true delight for the loathsome slug. I can't tell you how many giant, perfect tomatoes I've angrily chucked across the yard because some nasty invertebrate found it first. Slug bait-it, people.The last, Principe Borghese, is my oldest friend. Originally chosen solely because of the romantic name (not a strategy I would suggest for selecting the best tomatoes. Do as I say, not as I do), this large cherry tomato is great for drying and freezing. I've also had them re-seed in my garden and come back all over the place the next year. They produce early and keep going until late October. They're not real tasty fresh, but again, great for preserving.Of course, this is just the start of my wagon load. Many, many more will eventually pile in. The boys will have to move over and make some room. Last year the checker laughed at me and said, "That's probably too many tomato plants. You know they get pretty big, right honey?" Oh, silly man. There is no such thing as too many tomatoes.