I’ve had to leave quite a few tomatoes behind on the vines. Some are half eaten by snails, some of whom no bigger than half a fingernail, the others giant snail sized, fully fattened on my fruit.

In truth, I should have cut the vines back weeks ago, some are now starting to blacken in the damp October rain and there is no chance of them ripening outside now. If I were to ripen them on the vine inside they’ve already missed their sunny peak, so the best thing to do is celebrate them as they are, indoor ripened tomatoes being quite a disappointment. 

I’m tempted to fry some, Southern USA style for breakfast as much as I want to make a spicy green salsa with them in place of the tomatillos that are next to impossible to find in England. I’ve yet to grow those, perhaps that’s a project for next year.

Then there is green tomato ketchup, pickled green tomatoes or a spicy chutney, more Indian-style than village green. With all these possibilities, I’m beginning to think I may not have enough.