NYC Tomatoes

Photo credit: Davor Denkovski

You gotta hold on, hold on through the night
Hang on, things will be all right
Even when it's dark
And not a bit of spark
Sing-song sunshine from above
Spreading rays of sunny love
-- Pink Martini's "Hang on Little Tomato"

Tomatoes ripening on the vine symbolize all which is good of the summer season. Tomatoes ripening on the vine, catching the light of the summer sun, shining like a beacon against the cement shadows of New York City symbolize a gardener who has found their joy. Gardening, no matter the location, no matter the space. And, their joy becomes my joy.

Every year plastic buckets filled with tomato vines appear in their assuming apartment alleyway near my home. Terraced on the side of the hill, the alley lies on the precipice to the grounds of a churchyard below. The wide, open space is south-facing, and throughout the summer roasts pleasantly. Ideal tomato growing conditions. The plants seem quite content amid their neighbors of chain wire fences and cement facades.

Right around mid-July the first shades of scarlet and orange begin to appear amid the green of the vines. As the summer deepens so too do the tomatoes. They become scarlet chandeliers, visible, in fact, from several blocks away. The man who tends the tomatoes is a mystery to me. I have seen a glimpse of him once or twice. Yet even without seeing him, I know he has found his joy. His joy is tomatoes. His dedication and perseverance remind me that all good things are worth the effort. All good things take time. All things have a season. Welcome, locally grown, tomatoes of New York City!