Late night bliss

[valis2]

So. Over the weekend I bought tomato plants and planted them (YAY!). They're heirloom varieties. I hope that they'll be okay and that we'll get some tomatoes from them. *crosses fingers* I also attended an impromptu baby shower thrown for my cousin. And I visited my grandmother. I should do a grandmother update at some point.

I also have been dreading doing this one task--so I did it today. I spent most of today on it, and I'm glad to say that I am now downloading the last of it from iTunes. I hate iEverything, btw. I loathe the iPod with a bitter and deathless hatred. I am SO happy that this is nearly finished. Just another hour or so and it'll be under my belt.

Nearly forgot to make a present for my boss, whose birthday was last week. But have just finished crafting something nice so I'm nearly ready--just need to find the card I bought. It's somewhere around here.

Tomatoes! Yay! I'm so geeked.

I had other stuff to babble about, but I can't remember it now.

Comments

[droxy.livejournal.com]

OMG- homegrown tomatoes....I miss them. Too hot here for them.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Here in MI we have a bit of a shorter season, and I'm a little worried that we won't see many tomatoes, especially because heirloom varieties take a little longer...but these plants are already pretty big, so maybe we will, if we can just keep them going.

[greenpear.livejournal.com]

We'll be planting in two weeks. I and my relavant other's schedule are such that the 17th is the easliest we can do it. I hope that's not too late...

I told her to plant "extra" tomato plants this year.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Awesome! I hope it's not too late, as well.

I'm just really hoping that we actually get some tomatoes out of this. *nodnod* It's a fun thing to do, first and foremost, but it's also an attempt to save a little money. We really eat a lot of tomatoes. ;)

[privatemaladict.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit sleep derived so that might explain why I read your first line as "Over the weekend I bought tomato PANTS," and got no further for several seconds while I sat here wondering what on earth tomato pants might be, and why you might be excited about them, since they sound rather unflattering. (The mental image I got was of extremely baggy red trousers that taper towards the ankles, making the wearer and in particular their butt look like... a tomato. Yes, I am sleep deprived.)

[valis2.livejournal.com]

OMG I totally want tomato pants now!

I'll bet they would have been a smash during the eighties. Seriously.

*laughs and laughs*

[catyah.livejournal.com]

YAY, tomatoes!

Also, if you have worries about the season being too short, buy some more tomatoes and plant them in pots instead of in the garden. Then, when the weather starts to get cool-ish at night, you can bring them in and put them out again during the day.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

They're planted in a giant half-barrel thing which we will NEVER MOVE AGAIN. *nodnod*

*giggles*

Seriously, it weighs a ton.

*hugs*

[(Anonymous)]

I hate iEverything

Word. I'd hate it on iPrinciple, but really iTunes sucks so they make it very easy to hate.

My tomatos are blooming. I have some 'normal' celebrity and a couple of heirloom varieties too.

[artystone.livejournal.com]

*sigh*
that was me.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you share my iHate. I really loathe it all. My mind is not able to follow their strange setups.

Which kinds of heirlooms are you growing? I have the old standby, Brandewyne, and a Green Zebra.

[artystone.livejournal.com]

Brandywine (of course) and German Green. They're a bit slow to set, I already have babies on my Celebrity plant.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow! That's awesome. Here's hoping that my plants are still alive and thriving when I get back from WI in June...

[gina-r-snape.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I will always associate heirloom tomatoes with you. I hope you get a lovely crop.

I can understand disliking iTunes. But why hate your iPod? Is it by association?

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I will always associate heirloom tomatoes with you. I hope you get a lovely crop.

Really? Wow! That's lovely.

I am totally hoping that we get tomatoes. We buy so many tomatoes a week, especially during the season.

I can understand disliking iTunes. But why hate your iPod? Is it by association?

Well, it's not actually my iPod. It's my friend's iPod, the ones who own the store in WI. Years ago I volunteered for music service, so I maintain the music on it (1200+ songs). They have two of them, so one is always in MI with me.

My MP3 player is a Zen Creative Touch, which I adore so damned much. It makes so much more sense to me, it's intuitive for me, and I can even interface between it and my computer in three different ways.

*nodnod*

[gypsyjolie.livejournal.com]

Heirloom tomatoes FTW!! That's awesome :)
I am jealous that you have garden space. Are you gonna grow herbs and stuff too?

[valis2.livejournal.com]

There's some cilantro sprouting, and lots and lots of chives. I would love to get some basil going, too. She has those little planters that are perfect--they're high up and (hopefully) won't let the basil take over the universe, lol.

I am so excited about the tomatoes! ee!

And I miss you! *hugs*

really long comment about tomatoes. lol

[florence-craye.livejournal.com]

OMG tomatoes! We are not growing any this year due to the move, but we had 7 varieties last year. Some were heirloom, some weren't. I love tomatoes so much, and seriously want that perfume that makes you smell like tomato plants. Tomato plant is my favorite smell!

Here are my tips for successful tomato growing (not that you asked, but uh... I love to talk about tomatoes!):

Water them regularly. They love water, especially when it's hot! I watered ours every day during the hottest part of the year and the soil was still dry the next day. If you water and then let them dry out too much, they will crack or get blossom end rot. Also, don't water them from overhead. Just water around the base from a small container and do it at a time when the sun isn't directly overhead, as the sun through the water droplets could burn the leaves, and the water would evaporate before getting to the plant's roots. Also, keeping water on the leaves could lead to a fungus (my cucumbers got a fungus one year from being watered too much!). I water mine around 5-6 pm, but some say to water first thing in the morning.

Watch out for worms! Check your plants once a day and see if there are any signs of worms: missing leaves, holes in leaves, brown or black droppings on the leaves. Hornworms are famous for being almost invisible and eating your plant in a day. Worms generally like to hide on the backs of leaves, so check there as well. Once you find a worm, squish it or just pull it off and throw it on some plants you don't like. XD

Fertilizing once a week (or every 10 days) during their fruiting season is really helpful, but don't fertilize it as much before then. I use Miracle Grow tomato and vegetable fertilizer, along with an amazing thing called superthrive. It helps plants grow and make more flowers and fruit. You can get it at some garden stores. They don't have it at places like Home Depot or Lowe's, but at independent garden stores. It is made from things like beets, carrots, and other vegetables. You only use a little bit of it at a time (2 tsp to 2 gallons water), and I have never had to buy any more in the few years I have used it.

If you don't see a lot of bees around the tomato blooms or see that the plants are flowering but don't have any fruit, you can hand-pollinate them. Most tomatoes have both pistil and stamen inside each bloom. So all you need to do it jiggle the flowers once a day so the pollen gets where it needs to for fertilization. (You can also do this kind of thing with cucurbits like cucumbers, squash, and melons, except that they have male and female flowers and you have to rub the pollen from the male flower on the female flower.) Doing hand-pollination really made a difference to my garden in past years.

I would check on my plants every day after I got home from work, and it was so nice to see them grow steadily but surely. If you want a lot of tomatoes in a short season, cherry tomatoes are always good. We have a longer season than you, but every day another cherry tomato would be ripe and I could eat it. lol The larger tomatoes took forever to grow and ripen, but cherry tomatoes are fast and small. Plus, they taste just as good!

I imagine your state's agricultural extension office might have more information about growing tomatoes in your area, because we have a different summer down here.

Re: really long comment about tomatoes. lol

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Wow, this really is a long comment about tomatoes! Awesomesauce!

*digests*

There is so much super advice here that I'm all aflutter!

And all of the delicious links! *drools*

You are SO sweet and wonderful to disseminate all of this info. Thank you SO much!! *giant hugs*

*hugs*

[florence-craye.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you found it helpful! I always wonder if I should say much because the person I'm talking to might already know what I am saying. "Am I being a pest or not?"

I really do love gardening and can talk about it for ages. And if I don't know, I have some good books and a horticulturist dad who worked for the agricultural extensions office for further reference. Rodale's Problem Solver books are good, and google is very helpful when I have no idea what I'm seeing.

I hope your tomatoes do well. I feel like Mad-Eye Moody, saying gardening requires CONSTANT VIGILANCE! XD

Re: *hugs*

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I am so going to wear a magical eye as I stand over my tomato plants! Dude, that rocks! *laughs and laughs*

Really, it will be up to Husband, as I'm leaving on Tuesday and I'll be gone a month. *nodnod* So I guess he'll have to wear the magical eye.

Re: really long comment about tomatoes. lol

[artystone.livejournal.com]

I can't think of anything better than home-grown cherry tomatoes, except home-grown grape tomatoes. They're like candy.

Re: really long comment about tomatoes. lol

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I had these teeny cherry tomatoes in Cape Cod--they're almost like tomatillos, they grow with a paper wrapper--and they taste like a cross between a strawberry and a tomato. Quite yummy, surprisingly enough.

Re: really long comment about tomatoes. lol

[verdenia.livejournal.com]

That is so much awesome advice! Good to know about the pollination, too -- where I am, there is a ton of fog, so it is often not hot enough -- I was thinking of trying some in the center patio / atrium of the house... no bees there!
And cherry sounds best. [or grape. mmm, grape!]
Suppose I'll have to ask our local garden store!

[imafarmgirl.livejournal.com]

Yes, do a grandmother update.

Cool about the tomatoes. Some of those varieties look so neat.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I will definitely do a grandmother update, then, if you're interested. ;)

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

Mmm, tomatoes! They like heat and sun. We have a similarly short growing season around here. If you can, plant them near a masonry wall or driveway or something that will radiate heat. I plant mine by the chimney, on the south side of the house.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

They're next to the shed, so hopefully that will work out for them in the long run. I'm just so worried about critters eating them, too. :(

[florence-craye.livejournal.com]

The only things that bothered my tomato plants were those darn worms and squirrels. Squirrels LOVE tomatoes and will destroy a plant to get to them.

If you don't have a lot of squirrels, no problem. Two years ago, we ended up building cages out of chicken wire with tops to keep the squirrels from eating our tomatoes. Last year, we just planted them close to the house and the squirrels were too afraid to come over there. XD

Baby rabbits ate my cucumbers once, but I have not seen them bother tomatoes too much.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

We do have some squirrels. Not a lot, thank goodness. Or maybe they're just hiding and I haven't noticed them yet. *wonders*

[dbassassin.livejournal.com]

I hate iEverything, btw.

Me too! And I own a Macbook. Though I refuse to buy an iAnything. I'm perfectly happy with my regular old MP3 player and ordinary old cell phone. Mac products are so badly made it makes me weep.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I adore my Zen MP3 player. It is beautiful and functional. I can access it from my computer in three (yes, THREE) different ways, and this makes me extraordinarily happy. *nodnod*

*hugs*

[verdenia.livejournal.com]

OMG tomatoes! We don't have enough hot weather for them, really. It might be nice to try them in the atrium though...

[valis2.livejournal.com]

The tomatoes are not so happy, unfortunately. I think it might have been frost damage. Such a strange June we've been having!

[verdenia.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow... I remember seeing someone - maybe in new england? - had massive hail on Memorial Day weekend!
& my 'hood puts the fog in fog city! ;p
"San Francisco, where it's 55 degrees year-round"
...although we actually had some real sun today, and have blue skies right now! *loves*