# The first tomato **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2017, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-tomato/793236 "2017-08-10T08:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-tomato/793236/21 "2017-08-13T17:30:07Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > My wife planted 5 tomato plants in her new raised garden bed. The harvest started a few weeks ago now we are swamped in fresh tomatoes. \ I accidentally planted eight tomato plants instead of four (I thought I bought a four-pack of little plants - nope, that was an eight-pack!), so we are also swamped in fresh tomatoes. Like, I’m putting tomatoes in _everything_ I cook, we have a drawer full of green ones, and I have to go out and harvest again today because these are also extremely prolific tomatoes! Such a problem to have! 😃 (Let me know if you need tomatoes, **Spoons**. I think I can spare a few. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-tomato/793236/22 "2017-08-13T22:21:39Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I thought the First Tomato was Melania Trump. This deserves acknowledgment. I acknowledge. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-tomato/793236/23 "2017-09-26T02:13:08Z")
Just wanted to give a quik update - I have blooms on the fall crop! We’re supposed to have low temps down to the upper 60s later this week, so maybe some of them will set fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-tomato/793236/24 "2017-09-26T05:03:51Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I wish I could say I was harvesting right now. Some accursed rats and their evil cousins, grey squirrels, have been nabbing all my tomatoes just as they ripen. > > Are air rifles legal in the suburbs? I’m also around Silicon Valley, and had the same problem. I’ve been growing tomatoes successfully for over a decade, and this was the worst crop ever. Very late to ripen, and totally munched. I found a dead rat who I think was the culprit, but never had the problem before. I have a dog who patrols the garden, but didn’t do any good this year. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-tomato/793236/25 "2017-09-26T06:05:02Z")
Enjoy your tomatoes! 🙂 Your thread reminds me of reading about the declining quality of most commercial store-bought tomatoes – [here’s a typical article](https://www.livescience.com/57647-why-store-tomatoes-are-tasteless.html). It seems to be based on commercial growers aiming for yield and for sales-enhancing qualities like size and firmness rather than flavor. Your home-grown tomatoes sound a lot better than the stuff you can usually buy in the grocery store, which is no surprise, although I’ve never carefully scoped out the differences among the various types. I’m not a big tomato consumer and generally limit myself to the little ones, variously known as cherry or grape tomatoes. Those tend to have better flavor in the commercial varieties and I use them in salads and snacks. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-tomato/793236/26 "2017-09-26T14:53:06Z")
Is there another fruit/vegetable that can very so much in taste and quality as the tomato does? I’m actually about to give up on one of the restaurants I eat at regularly because their salads have the shittiest tomatoes in them. And this is an Italian restaurant! But it seems they get their tomatoes off the shelf from Safeway or something. I grew up eating crappy, supermarket tomatoes so I never really knew I liked them that much until I had actual, properly grown tomatoes. My neighbor grows some of the best cherry tomatoes I’ve ever had, and I usually get a basket or two every summer. Absolutely delicious!! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-tomato/793236/27 "2017-09-26T16:49:23Z")
I haven’t tried to grow tomatoes for a long time. The soil is crappy here and there’s no place in the yard that gets full sunshine. I always got the best yields and flavor from plum tomatoes. That’s what I prefer to eat also. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-tomato/793236.md?page=1)