Recipes - Tales from the ArcaMax Chef

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Tales from the ArcaMax Chef

I slowly went over in the direction of where the tomato garden used to be. The entire yard was covered in leaves and branches including the location of what used to be my tomato patch.

I could just make out some of the chicken wire that used to make up my indestructible tomato protecting fence. I removed the branches from this general location and was shocked by what I saw. The entire chicken wire fence/roof was flat on the ground. The tomato plants that once held so much promise, and tomatoes, were all snapped off at ground level and had been torn to shreds by the chicken wire fence. Nearly all of the green and nearly red tomatoes were smashed under the fence. The garden was a complete ruin.

The plants all radiated out from the center of the garden in a strange pattern. It looked like a giant, one with a real hatred for tomatoes, had smashed his foot down right in the middle of the garden and then ground his foot down.

I later learned that something called a "downdraft" or "wind shear" was responsible for the damage. It is a violent concentration of wind in a confined area. Somehow, the downdraft had been centered directly in the middle of my tomatoes. Talk about bad tomato luck.

After so much potential, it was hard to accept the fact that my tomato garden was gone. It was too late in the summer to plant new plants. I would have to wait and try again next year.

After two tremendously successful years growing tomatoes with little or no effort, I had now experienced two years in a row with some disaster destroying my crop before I could pig out on tomato sandwiches. One year the varmints ate all the tomatoes and the plants. Then, when I had finally designed and constructed a varmint-proof garden, the weather came and took it all away.

Next year would be different ...

God Bless America.

Enjoy!

This news arrived on: 06/12/2008

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