In Defense of Tomato Girl Summer
Live a little, damn it!
Tomato girls.
Butter moms.
BRAT summer.
Cowboy copper.
Coastal grandma.
How many hyper-specific, oddly poetic vibe checks can the internet churn out? Too many to count. And while most of them lack any real meaning, I can't help but find them endearing. One of Gen Z's more redeeming traits — their uncanny ability to pin a universal mood to the most mundane objects and make it feel like a shared language.
Some folks call it brain rot.
I call it writing material.
Tomato girl summer — an interesting fruit to compare to as a lifestyle, but the inner gardener and lifelong lover of the tomato sees the vision perfectly: stained lips, wet hair in a sundress, mornings in the backyard, patio at sunset, gallivanting cobblestone streets, early mornings at the market. You get the point.
I don't care to write about erotic pop culture or trends; other authors on Substack do a much better job. I only find this silly little topic interesting because, for whatever reason, it speaks to something in me that feels real. However stupid that may sound.
I laugh saying this out loud, but I've got to give myself credit for loving tomatoes before they became aesthetic or TikTok told me to dress like one. My best friend once gave me a perfectly red Babaa sweater for Christmas, which is tomato red, unmistakably. Another friend gifted me a ceramic tomato plate that I now eat off of like it's fine china. Not because I'm trying to be a walking fruit-themed Pinterest board, but because tomatoes have always been there as small totems; they always meant something to me.
They're almost an emblem. My origin story.
I talk about my dad's San Marzanos like royalty. I wrote an entire piece on how to grow tomatoes in the desert, and the smell of a tomato plant — just the stem, crushed between your fingers — brings me straight back to my grandma's kitchen, where the patio sunroom was always warm, the air always thick, and the sauce always simmering.
The tomato is sexy, tart, and untamed. She goes with everything: dressed in vinegar, stewed into sauce, dried, salted, mashed. The ultimate shapeshifter. She's the "it" girl of the produce aisle because we love her quick shapeshifts. She shows up differently for all of us. Let her have her summer! She earned it!
Tomato Summer Hot House
At the base of South Mountain in Phoenix sits the Arizona Worm Farm's Tomato Hot House, a gardener's dream: hanging tomato vines of every kind, banana trees, thick humid air, and a permaculture system that turns garbage into gold. Literally. Compost fuels the soil, and the earth pays it back in fruit.
The greenhouse runs on ground heat and rooftop solar. Perforated pipes six feet deep pull air from above, cool it underground, then release it into the space. By night, the warmth stored in the soil radiates back up, keeping the place 15 degrees warmer than outside, crucial during Arizona's surprisingly cold winters.
Tomatoes grow upright here. Vertical roots mean healthier plants, and more vigorous plants make better fruit.
Sometimes, I stop by for no reason other than quiet. I'll slip in, close the screen door behind me, and sit for a few minutes in the heat and green. It's a good pause before the subsequent screen on a weekday.
Dressing the Part
I’ve talked about red before. She’s one of my favorite colors, though I give her credit by saying that out loud. These days, she’s been hijacked by you-know-who politics and inconsistent design. But when it hits, it really hits.
Don’t come to me for trends, I don’t chase them fast enough (and they don’t wait for me). But I’ll ride the tomato wave ‘til I’m leathery and sun-baked from my home state's warmth. Arizona’s already clocking triple digits, which means I live in linen, stripes, and crimson lipstick.
If you're like me and love a food listicle, here are some ideas to get the juices flowing:
Outfits
Tight tube tops and mid-length skirts
Wrap linen dresses
Spaghetti strap sundresses (best post-shower)
This sexy Miaou number for cocktail hour
Halter tops
A silk bandana twisted into a hair tie
Nisolo huaraches! I've worn mine for six years, and it's still as good as new.
Products
Naps In the Garden candle by a local Tucson maker, Art Over Order. We're also huge fans of the Subterranean Library candle.
Seedlings from Native Seed Search (your garden will thank you!)
Anything from Wonder Valley, especially the Hinoki body oil, smells like a luxury swim-up bar in Greece.
Mineral sunscreen: your moisturizer, your armor!
This tinned fish lemon squeezer might be my favorite thing to own.
Recipes
Guacamole isn't as good without a cherry tomato, okay? Douse it with fresh garlic, lime juice, and cracked sea salt!
I follow this recipe for a delicious Italian red sauce. San Marzanos for that one.
Impress your dinner party guests with a potbellied heirloom tomato and burrata salad.
This 10-minute marinated tomato recipe is perfect as a summer side dish.
I've GOT to try this tomato basil butter beans! Dips nicely with some local Noble bread, I bet.
Pairing your lunch with this Tuscan Giardino garden cocktail is a must.
Garden
Because I owe so much of my love for simple foods to gardening, I wanted to tell all my subscribers how much I adore Carmen in the Garden. She's been a joy to follow these last couple of years and is rich in the cozy, fulfilled, talented sort of way. Plus, she makes her family-owned natural wine, My Fruit Trees, which I need to order ASAP!!! Follow her, she's just wonderful.
