ToPumpkins? PumMatoes?

I present to you these first plump specimens of my Cherokee Purple tomato plant.
Wow (if I do ever-so-humbly say so meself)... they are spectacular! The ripening one on the left really looks like a miniature pumpkin. (Hmm, is it possible to cross-polinate these with a pumpkin plant, and come up with a hybrid? Things to ponder.) It is just beginning to show the purple streaks this variety is known for and gets its name from.

I've slavishly devoted myself to this plant, providing it with a safe, happy and organic environment for it to flourish. Each day, I make sure it's been well-watered (including giving it a home-made calcium concoction I create in my own kitchen from the crushed eggs of organic, free-range chickens, to ensure its beauteous tomatoes retain their perfect, blemish-free skin), pruning it just so, and instantly removing any sort of offensive pest that may deem harm a single green leaf. Miss Cherokee Purple has rewarded me by growing into more of a giant bushy tree than a mere plant at lightning speed, and is now laden with (at last count) 17 gloriously plump fruit of various size and stage of development, all glistening like sweet, vitamin-C infused jewels in the hot Tennessee sun.


This shot was taken this morning, showing a small section of what I'm growing this season on my patio. It includes the Cherokee Purple tomato (the big bushy plant in the back), various types of lavender (another big favorite of mine), rosemary (mmm, num num num!), poblano, bell, and two types of jalapeno peppers ('cuz Mama likes it hot, baby), mesclun lettuce, lemon thyme, mint, stevia, arugula (I just love saying 'aruuuuugula'), and luscious purple basil.

Not too bad for a (former) city girl, eh?