Thursday, July 31, 2003
Fruited Plains
I picked some tomatoes from the garden. Three roma tomatoes, about an inch long. That is what I have to show for three months of cultivating.
I bought the boldest, strongest looking tomato plant they had and placed it in that one foot sliver of space in the old apartment that actually got direct sunlight. I watered it and even placed it outside one day when the sun was beating down on the balcony (it was too cold to keep it there full time, thank you for asking.) Of course it eventually fell over due to it's own weight and some wind. i searched the apartment for something to stake it and eventually decided on a wire hanger, hey it worked. it was getting too tall so I clipped it back and even sprouted roots on one of the cuttings, now I have two ungrateful bushes.
Once I put them in the ground they took off, four or five feet tall and spreading shade over any plants that come near it. I tried pruning the big one but I must have screwed up the balance and it fell over, not the whole thing, just the part that was taller than the tomato cage. The fact that tomato cages are half the height of this beast tells me there is something wrong and I can only stay out of its way and hope to be spared. On a less apocalyptic note, the chili plant that I thought was sick is fruiting!
I bought the boldest, strongest looking tomato plant they had and placed it in that one foot sliver of space in the old apartment that actually got direct sunlight. I watered it and even placed it outside one day when the sun was beating down on the balcony (it was too cold to keep it there full time, thank you for asking.) Of course it eventually fell over due to it's own weight and some wind. i searched the apartment for something to stake it and eventually decided on a wire hanger, hey it worked. it was getting too tall so I clipped it back and even sprouted roots on one of the cuttings, now I have two ungrateful bushes.
Once I put them in the ground they took off, four or five feet tall and spreading shade over any plants that come near it. I tried pruning the big one but I must have screwed up the balance and it fell over, not the whole thing, just the part that was taller than the tomato cage. The fact that tomato cages are half the height of this beast tells me there is something wrong and I can only stay out of its way and hope to be spared. On a less apocalyptic note, the chili plant that I thought was sick is fruiting!
