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| First tomato of the season (next to a Pez dispenser for scale) |
Growing up on a farm, I felt that if farmers could grow acres and acres of crops from a few seeds, some decent ground, and water; gardeners could certainly produce a few tomatoes and green beans fairly easily because the operation was so much smaller. I was up for the challenge. How cool would it be to be the person in your neighborhood that supplied everyone with fresh produce because your green thumbs were producing more than you could handle? I had dreams of selling my goods at the farmer's market. People would come from miles around and comment how colorful and fresh my vegetables were. I'd learn to can and make jams and I'd turn into the Midwest's version of Martha Stewart (minus the SEC situation and hard time in a minimum security facility). It would all be fantastic...
The past couple of years I've been trying to develop some "mad skillz" at gardening. My first year produced a few ping pong ball-sized onions and bell peppers. Last year I couldn't get anything to grow but a jalapeno plant. I started out diligently watering the plant, but then stopped sometime in June because we had so much rain...it was too hot...I didn't like winding the hose back up everyday after watering the plants...you get the drift. Apparently, my self-imposed drought caused my single jalapeno plant (I had planted on a whim) to produce and produce and produce. I probably picked 50 jalapenos from that single plant through the end of October.
This year I thought I'd try tomatoes. Again.
I planted three tomato plants Easter weekend. The conditions have been great because these plants are waist high and huge with flowers and small tomatoes growing every day. Tonight I picked the first one of the season. Although the tomato was only golf ball-size, I was still excited about it and all of the future tomatoes I would harvest this summer, chop up into homemade salsa and give away to the neighbors. Unfortunately, I noticed the bottom of the tomato was rotten as soon as I plucked it from the vine. Ughhh...
The past couple of years I've been trying to develop some "mad skillz" at gardening. My first year produced a few ping pong ball-sized onions and bell peppers. Last year I couldn't get anything to grow but a jalapeno plant. I started out diligently watering the plant, but then stopped sometime in June because we had so much rain...it was too hot...I didn't like winding the hose back up everyday after watering the plants...you get the drift. Apparently, my self-imposed drought caused my single jalapeno plant (I had planted on a whim) to produce and produce and produce. I probably picked 50 jalapenos from that single plant through the end of October.
This year I thought I'd try tomatoes. Again.
I planted three tomato plants Easter weekend. The conditions have been great because these plants are waist high and huge with flowers and small tomatoes growing every day. Tonight I picked the first one of the season. Although the tomato was only golf ball-size, I was still excited about it and all of the future tomatoes I would harvest this summer, chop up into homemade salsa and give away to the neighbors. Unfortunately, I noticed the bottom of the tomato was rotten as soon as I plucked it from the vine. Ughhh...
| Icky--a rotten tomato |
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