I introduce you to my first beefsteak tomato ever. Yes, ever. Not just the first this year. The first ever. Despite me planting beefsteak tomatoes every year, I have never picked a beefsteak tomato until just a few days ago. How? Here’s how:

I took this screenshot shortly after picking my first beefsteak tomato. Many plants don’t like triple-digit temperatures. And tomatoes are definitely one of them. I have tomato plants that tower above me and have dozens of flowers on them, but it doesn’t matter. Those flowers always drop and never produce fruit. (Which is typical in hot weather, as the pollen becomes sterile.)

But I still plant beefsteak tomatoes every year. Every spring I’m so optimistic. Then the heat of the summer comes and I stand there looking at my tomato-less tomato plants asking myself: what was I thinking?!

But ha! This year it finally happened! I planted four beefsteak tomato plants (all Yellow Brandywine). Of the four, three never gave me tomatoes, as usual. But one of those four plants ended up producing fruit! That one plant has three tomatoes on it right now! As I write this, I just picked my second tomato, and anxiously await the third to ripen.

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But before we all celebrate my surprising success, let’s ask the important question (and really, the only question that matters): did it taste good? Oh yes it did! All of the tomato was supposed to make it into a panzanella salad but my tomato-loving three year old found his way to the kitchen while I was chopping and had himself an awesome pre-dinner snack. It was a delicious tomato so I couldn’t really blame him. 🙂