Monday, July 17, 2006

How Does My Garden Grow?

Not well. I'm not much of a tomato-ranchin' bum this year.
This is a close-up of "Patio" tomatoes in a pot on the (duh!) patio.
I have had to trim off some ugly, deathy leaves that were covered with a brown, mildewy powder. I'm no horticulturist, but I blame the tree that died over the past year just outside the patio gate, dropping its diseased (yet oddly gorgeous) leaves into all my suburban agricultural endeavors.
There are eight tomatoes in the early stages of ripening, and then there is a petite cluster of new, healthy green leaves at the base of the plant. I wish them well, but at this rate it will be January before they reach maturity. (Stranger things have happened.)
The way things are going, it will still be warm and balmy in January anyway.
Man, it's hot!
Is anybody else suffering in the heat?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have microclimates in my body.

Nice green on the tomatoes. Red can't be too far away.

Beansprout must be getting a nice tan.:)

Anonymous said...

Those patio tomatoes look beautiful to me. What about fried green tomatoes?

Heck yeah it's hot here in the Central Valley! It was around 109 today. I left a trail of sweat wherever I walked.

mary grimm said...

I'm not expecting much from my tomatoes this year either--we've had so much rain that some of them rotted at the roots.
Re your earlier post: I still have a freezer drawer full of pesto from last year!

Stacie said...

It's hot here too. Upper 90's with humidity, ahhh the midwest in the summer. It's almost as bad as the midwest in the winter. The weather sucks here! I'm a transplanted Bay Area gal who whines alot. We do have nice tomatoes though...

Dagny said...

Pretty tomatoes. Sher beat me to it on the fried green tomatoes.

I would not mind the heat so much if I didn't have to work. Standing on a playground with the sun beating down on you is not fun.

Wild Wisteria Farm said...

It is very hot and dry here in Carolina this week. The temps are mid 90's and everything is so dry it crackles. I water the garden but nothing beats a good rain, which we haven't had in over a week. The humidity hasn't been awful this week so far and rain is on the horizon for the weekend so, maybe we'll get a break. Probably so, since I will be going to a nearby music festival this weekend. It rained last year too. Your tomatoes are lovely, nothing like that first ripe tomato.

Anonymous said...

It's all very well for people to suggest you fry up your green tomatoes, but hang in there. Your pride in your little crop is ovbvious and you will appreciate the red 'uns so much more. If you want some good fried green tomatoes, go to Bubba's in San Anselmo. They make their own ketchup sauce to go with them (though I like them nekkid).

Kevin said...

CC,
To hell with S'kat's prudish ways, take your clothes off.

cookiecrumb said...

Jen's Mom: I have midi-chlorians in my blood!
And yes, I'm holding out for red.
Got that, Sher? Dagny? Thanks for the support, Kudzu (and I have had that fried-green tomato sandwich at Bubba's; still recovering from my burned, scarred mucous membranes).
Lucette (and others, no doubt) -- we gotta make a dent in last summer's crop!
As for the heat: Dagny, do you wear a sun hat? Sher, so much for my plans to escape inland for retirement. ATGG, I know that Southern heat-humidity with the dramatic afternoon cloudbursts! And Kevin: Beat you to it!!

Anonymous said...

Sandwich? Waitaminit. I just ordered a side of fried maters to go with lunch. Another question: did you enjoy them, in spite of the burn?

Dagny said...

Sunhat? Half the time I forget my sunglasses. I just look for a bench in the shade and drink lots of water. I try to encourage the kids to do the same.