Janie, don't know if this makes you feel better, but....

When I saw Bill Best last night he told me he is just starting to get ripe tomatoes, and hopes to have enough to sell at the Lexington market come Saturday.

Normally Bill has been selling 'maters for at least a month by this time.

Thanks Brook.
Seems like everyone around here is gonna have late ones.

I too have been fooled into buying "fresh" 'maters. Supposedly these were Arkansas fruit. They were pretty- bright red, but hard- I just don't care for tomatoes picked hard and semi-green so they can survive a 1000-mile truck ride. But, I took'em home anyway- desperate for the taste of summer.

Truth be told, I don't think a 'mater really has that magic flavor unless it's endured severe summer heat and is picked off the vine when it has that loose, jiggly feel of an about-to-burst water-balloon!

oh those lovely huge beefsteak tomatoes - ripe and juicy - sliced thin and piled high on a good crusty bread, drizzled with olive oil, with a light spinkle of salt and a good grind of pepper - and you have to eat it over the sink because it's so wonderfully juicy and so messy - but soooooooooo good.....

Well thanks to our very own KYH I decided to grow heirloom veggies this year. So I bought these heirloom seeds that were supposed to be a variety of different type tomatoes. Well they were different alright! WOW, I have got these deep maroon colored ones [brandywine], and yellow ones, and rutgers (red) and these other pink ones and they are all just delicious as they can be!!! I have never seen a green ripe tomato before! I feel I have been very blessed indeed with such a nice crop! Even the ones I grew in containers [rutgers] have done amazingly well!