At the end of October, before the rains came, I loaded up another bunch of ripe Big Rainbow tomatoes, as well as several green, ready-for-frying tomatoes. I walked up the street past the green-leaved redbud trees, marched through the still-green grass, climbed the back deck steps and met my neighbors at the door. I handed them the tomatoes and spent 30 minutes or so talking about whatever neighbors talk about.

This past summer, in addition to family, I was able to give three neighbor families bags of ripened tomatoes. Out of the different varieties I grew, the Big Rainbow was the favorite. My neighbor Fred — past the redbud trees — insists each and every tomato was delicious, but the Big Rainbow even held a special place on his plate. Try the tomatoes on a BLT or a tomato, cheese, Miracle Whip on multigrain bread sandwich. Neighbor Fred highly recommends them.

Sincerely,

Julie Johnson
editor in chief
editor@homegrownjournal.com

COVER Big Rainbow Tomato

2023 update: The weather at my house (literally, my house. It has been zigzag all over Springfield this summer) caused Big Rainbow to be less than stellar. My mom froze most (like, all but a handful) instead of eating them. The mushies got ’em. Maybe because of the intense, water-soaked, high humidity air we’ve had. Maybe because of the lack of spring rains. Maybe because I screwed something up. Regardless, the same packet of initial Big Rainbows brought not-so-perfect results this season.

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