Even though I have a home garden, I didn't know the most delicious moment.

Today's harvest.

It's a butternut squash harvest and a tomato festival. Since I basically grow them using natural farming methods, they grew well even without any fertilizer. I'm so grateful!

Some of the butternut squash cracked because I was late harvesting them, but I'm thinking of enjoying them as potage or freezing them to make smoothies.

I'm growing three types of tomatoes again this year.

Perhaps because they are thirsty from the heat this year, they are being targeted by bulbuls more than usual, so I decided to cover the fruits with bags halfway through to protect them.

This strategy was a success!!

…or so I thought, but
I somehow got lazy about taking the bags off to harvest them (talk about being lazy... haha).

On top of that, this heat!!
It truly is the Great Heat of the twenty-four solar terms. The sun is glaring down. While it hasn't exceeded 40 degrees around here yet, it's been over 35 degrees every day, so lately, if I can't go early in the morning, I try not to stay in the field for too long.

To be honest, just watering them every day is all I can manage, and the harvesting, which should be the fun part, has completely fallen behind.

So, today, I finally harvested them all at once.

One of them was a large tomato called 'Pink Whale.' When I harvested it, it felt soft to the touch, and I could clearly tell it was ripe.

Thinking it would be best to eat it sooner rather than later,
I cut it up for breakfast and tried it.

Whoa!! What is this? It's sweet.

Or rather,
isn't this basically a fruit now?

It was so sweet and delicious that I couldn't help but say that.

Pink Whale is a variety that originally has little jelly, thin skin, and mild acidity. It's right up my alley, but the one I had today was clearly different. It was at a level that moved me!

And, while eating it, I suddenly thought.

I've been growing these tomatoes for four years, but did I really know what they tasted like?

Yeah, it's turned red enough to eat.
Alright, time to harvest!

Looking back, it was always like this.

Even though I'm gardening at home and can decide for myself when to harvest,

"When is the moment this tomato tastes the best?"

I had never thought about that.

Once the fruit turns red, I harvest it and look at the next one.

Next. Next. Next. It was like an assembly line.

Of course, I'm happy when I get a big harvest.

But maybe harvesting a lot wasn't the only joy of a home garden.

Since it's a home garden where I can decide when to harvest,

Encountering the "moment food tastes best."

I think that way of enjoying it is also the real thrill of receiving the blessings of a home garden.

I have known for a long time that vine-ripened tomatoes are delicious.

But I think I only knew that in my head, or perhaps just as a piece of knowledge.

Today, finally,

"Ah, so this is what it meant."

I felt like I finally understood it with my own tongue.

And I was somehow happy that I could now talk about what it means to be vine-ripened using my own words and warmth. I want to gradually increase the number of things I know by tasting them for myself like this.

Have I ever truly tasted the things I thought I knew?

Today's Pink Whale left me with that question.

I am loosely participating in #My24SolarTerms organized by Hashi-san. Thank you very much!

Another View 🌿
Knowing as knowledge versus knowing by tasting for yourself. I once felt that difference from a single pair of chopsticks.

Thank you for reading until the end today as well.

May you also have a small discovery in your day today.