I love the smell of tomato plants.
It is the quintessential scent of summer for me – sweeter and more vegetable than basil, cleaner and more refreshing than mint, and stronger than pretty much any other vegetable in the backyard. It’s also the cheapest time machine I own – nothing transports me back to growing and picking tomatoes in my grandmother’s backyard faster than the smell of tomatoes.
I learned today that my favorite summer smell doesn’t come from the fruit itself but from these tiny little hairs, aka “glandular trichomes.” According to this article, that strong summer scent doesn’t just smell good, it also protects the plant in various ways from various insect and pathogenic attackers.
Fortunately, it’s not terribly effective against gardeners.
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