This week marked the end of tomato season, my third since I started pushing little tiny seeds into 1” seed trays. This is the first fall where I made a decision to end the season (tomato plant euthanasia?) rather than letting the first frost end it for me. Turns out that here in Northern California first frost comes pretty late, way past the time when tomatoes lose their taste because the days cool off. So this year, I declared the Fall Equinox as the official last day of tomatoes. I also stopped watering them for the last few weeks. This seemed particularly cruel but I had learned that tomatoes start concentrating on making fruit once the water dribbles off. The taste is strong and tomatoe-ee.
I discovered the connection between taste and water earlier this summer when I reduced the watering schedule due to a watery taste in the tomatoes. This is one of the things that is cool about growing food from seed. Hands on experiential learning.