Friday, May 30, 2014

did I admit....

to planting tomatoes recently? Every spring, I swear I will not, adamantly refusing to get lured into that again. Determined to not go through the process of buying, digging a trench (my dad said you should plant them horizontally, to bury all but the top few leaves, and allow the length of the stem grow more roots, make a much stronger/sturdier plant), putting in my premium/home-made 'good' dirt, mulching, watering, tying up, fertilizing, waiting, watching, feeding, observing, watching, waiting, etc.... to get such a diminutive, annoyingly under-performing crop as a result for all my effort.

I did it again. Bought them when I heard the 'siren call', voice of possibility one day when I went into Wallyworld through the garden shop entrance. Meaning to run in and grab a bag of kitty litter and be on my way. Lured into purchasing a couple of little peat pots of 'celebrity' plants. About eight inches tall, with two plants in each pot (I'm always a sucker for a bargain! But suspect the price included that possibility of plants x 2.) I took them home, where they sat by the back door for weeks, neglected, drought stricken, ignored, until they actually had quarter-sized tomatoes on the struggling plants. So certain they wanted to grow, they put roots down into the clay where the peat pots were sitting.

I got them in the ground, nice good rich home-made dirt, a couple of weeks ago, watered well, then said: "OK, guys. You are on your own." Which is what I generally say to things that I put that much effort into planting. I've been out a couple of times to water them, and put some mulch on them this morning.  I'm not expecting great things: with a history of remarkably poor production despite good effort and best intentions, I will be pleasantly surprised if I get to enjoy even a semi-decent crop.

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