I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad about my first tomatoes. I'm happy that I have some, but sad that it is looking like I will have the worst ever tomato crop. (The sky is falling. The sky is falling) I'm not even sure if I will have enough to can. Oh, the horror! Let's try to focus on the positives. The winners are:
Jaune Flamme (a medium, orange) and
Orange Icicle (orange, roma-type). Is it just a coincidence that the first to develop are both orange or did I miss this in previous years? Ok. Other positives. The plants are still alive, even though they have a little touch of a fungus on the bottom leaves, they have flowers and there are some fruit, however few, in various stages of development. I'd expect to see a lot more fruit this time of year. Other news from the Bright Side is that I
have tomatoes AND plants, where I know a lot more people who are having bigger issues. This is just another pat on the back for me in bucking up and going with raised beds. It was a lot of work, but so worth it in so many ways. I will never regret it and I'd never go back. I don't even want to talk about the negatives. If you garden around here you already know what is going on. I did a little investigating and found that prior to yesterday's 2.0 inches we were already at 32.23 inches for the year. Our average annual precipitation is about 39 inches. We should be at around 20 inches, so we're talking 1+ foot of rain over average at this time of year. Oh well, such is the nature of gardening.
Here are the winners!
I'd write more and while I know there is a lot more good going on in my garden than bad, it's hard not to notice the bad stuff and I don't want to be a downer. I'll leave you with this quote, which I find hilarious.
“There is no need for every American to be lured into gardening. It does not suit some people and they should not be cajoled into a world they have no sympathy with. Many people after all, find delight in stealing television sets; others like to make themselves anxious with usury and financial speculation; still others rejoice in a life of murder. None of these is very good material for a gardener.” - Henry Mitchell, One Man's Garden
5 comments:
The few I have on the vine are still green, and I mean few. HUGE plants, a decent number of blooms, but fruit is sparse.
Our tomato season is done :(. I am currently mourning/pouting about our lack of limes. The hard freeze we had in January zapped all the flowers, so there will be no limes this year. Not a single one. But, at least the tree survived!
My tomato plants are pretty spindly for this time of year. I'm hoping this rain will let up and things will return to some kind of normal and I'll have a decent late-summer crop. Limes. Ha. I wish I COULD have limes. I did get a kumquat plant and there are tiny ones on it! Sounds like a season sans Margaritas for you!
You should be happy. My first tomato is small, green, and sour
You're right John. 1 homegrown tomato is better than none (or even a small, green and sour one).
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