I picked exactly nine sungolds this afternoon at the farm. It was a good way to follow up a morning of slaughtering chickens out on Katama. Having tomatoes by the fourth of July is the perennial goal of Northeast farmers, one we often don’t meet. Judging by the fruit set on the plants and the weather we’ve been having I think it’s going to be a phenomenal tomato year, a fitting reward for the blighted washout of 2009.

I love pretty much everything about tomato plants. I love their smell, their messy sprawling strength, the sticky black tar they leave on your hands. Having the tomato haus perform well makes my little heart sing.