Q: How do I know when to harvest my tomatoloons and what's the best way of doing it?

A: One of the lesser-known vegetables of the kitchen garden world, tomatoloons offer all the rich taste of tomatoes with the lightness of, well, air. To tell when the fruit are ripe, give a gentle tug on their ribbon-like stems. If they float up again immediately, they are ready for harvesting. Fruit can be harvested with a pin as shown here. We recommend wearing protective clothing and having a receptacle ready for catching the pulp. Alternatively, the stems can be cut with scissors. Just be sure to place your hand over the fruit to prevent it from floating skyward.

Creative Commons credit: PhotoGraham