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We meet again, My-Lar
Yes, it's tomato time again. Longtime fans and stalkers will know that I can't resist planting tomatoes, and that it's usually a great big failure. The first time was in 2001, back in Saint David, Arizona, and the sucking was truly epic. Then I tried in 2006, here in Tucson, and an auspicious start just didn't pan out. I think our neighbors ( Read more... ) -
Ph34r my sc4ry t0mat0z
My tomato plants have grown. A lot. We haven't had a freeze yet this year in Tucson, and some years it doesn't freeze here at all. A freeze would normally kill the tomato plants and let me start fresh again in the spring.
I am afraid.
Before:
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A new record!
Today, May 8, Ted and I ate the first wee little tomatoes off one of our plants. I didn't even know there were red tomatoes on it until I tended the plant this afternoon. The tomatoes were tiny little fellows, hardly more than a centimeter in diameter, with a nice flavor.
I'm not certain what variety they are, but I think it's the vaguely-named ( Read more... ) -
The Gashlycrumb Seedlings
Blessed with unbridled optimism and a short memory, I planted some tomatoes today. Longtime fans will recall that I've never had much luck growing tomatoes in Arizona (or anywhere else). But I'm trying again -- I planted "Big Beef", "Early Girl", "Ciudad Victoria" and another local variety whose name escapes me. I have no real expectation of ( Read more... ) -
Fort!
Mean Mr. Sun is very hard on tomatoes ‘round these parts, so I asked the nice Ted to help me put up a shade cloth, and he went ahead and built this nice canopy:
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Good news, bad news
Most of the tomato plants thrived while I was away. Some of the fruits are nearly ripe now -- I think they'll be ready to eat within a few days ( Read more... ) -
More from the garden
My "Early Girl" tomato plant has been growing like crazy and is now heavy with unripe fruit. But the little bitty stake that I planted it with is no longer up to the task of holding it up. In fact, said stake turned into a problem -- the stem started to bend right where it's tied to the stake, and I'm a little concerned that serious damage has ( Read more... ) -
Yard pix
No dead plants yet, though Yellow Pear is still in a slow downward spiral. But the net total of living plants went up today when the landscapers came and planted three citrus trees: tangerine, grapefruit, and lemon. So now it appears our planting is complete, except they seem to have given us the wrong variety of lemon tree. No problem -- I left ( Read more... ) -
Weekend update
Here are the main points:
- The tomatoes are still alive, to varying degrees. Yellow Pear is not so happy, with curling leaves and such. Celebrity is doing a bit better, but it's not really picture-perfect. Early Girl, however, seems quite happy -- lots of new little leaf clusters emerged today -- and Santa F1 has one or two new flowers. ( Read more... )
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Tomatoes: the deathwatch continues!
They're not dead yet, but they've entered the could-go-either-way phase where they're a little sad in the wake of being transplanted. They'll either perk up in a day or two, or they'll shrivel and croak. Which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, actually, since there would be some advantages to starting from scratch. Here's the tale ( Read more... )