It's hard to believe that after 6 weeks the garden has grown and flourished into beautiful plants, each with their own characteristics and charm. It seemed like for the longest time I cared for the tiniest two-leaved plants that I sometimes would mistake for weeds. Did you know those first two leaves to pop out of the dirt are called feeder leaves? I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw green tomatoes on the vines. Small green tomatoes that will turn into ruby red wonders of summer, with a taste so succulent that you can't forget it, not even in the dead of winter. It's why people are obsessed with finding just the right plant and forsaking all other plants if they must, but never their tomato plants. It's why I dream about slices of tomates drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with fresh basil. We currently have: 3 brandywine, 1 beef steak, 2 romas, 1 cherry, 1 cherokee purple, 1 mexico midget, and two better girls. A few other things I've learned: The top part of the tomato plant is called the crown, and you only want one crown. If you accidently snap it off then two might grow. Always pull off the suckers that grow in between your larger stalks, keeping the plant mostly growing up. Next week we'll stake the plants.
We had an odd plant sprout up that was suppose to be cilantro. Anyone know what this is? We've ruled out broccoli though it smells faintly of it.
We have a new member of our family. Matt and I adopted a kitten from the shelter a week ago. Her name is Olive and she's so precious. We were overwhelmed the first few days with getting used to a litter box and skittish kitty, but she has really come out of her shell and is great. She looks like an opossum, which is actually kind of wonderful.
Signs of summer: a hummingbird buzzing around the back porch, a lightening bug in the parking lot, blackberries starting to bud, fleas, strawberries baked in everything, radishes, and THREE and a HALF more weeks until SCHOOL is over!!!!
Next post: I'll summarize my pottery classes and what I learned and made.
