Big tomatoes

Urban gardeners, like country ones, have to contend with pests. In Baltimore, rats are our counterparts to Seattle's raccoons and possums. I am learning that the timing the harvesting of tomatoes can be a delicate art - leaving the fruits on the vines for as long as you dare to get them to be as sweet as possible but not so long the furry critters start to nibble on them. That is why today's tomatoes are slightly greenish around the stems. I could not bear the thought of having to loose these gigantic ones into the compost. According to our office scale, they weigh over a pound each. (I am not sure what one has to weigh to be considered to be of county fair championship caliber) Here is a snapshot of our house mate, Anna, modeling with the fruits. Also, while I was watering the tomatoes this morning, I met the owner of the first row house north of us. He was patching the broken concrete on his front steps. We had a nice visit.