Red Gold. . .

The big payoff is here.

This is what I sweat and toil away in the garden for every spring and summer.  This is only about half of what's out there, especially for the cherry tomatoes.  I wish there was an easier way to pick those little devils, like with a tiny tomato vacuum cleaner or something.  There are still a jillion and one of them left and I just flat wore out.

Gardening is good.  So good.

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The Midnight Garden. . .

There hasn't been a whole lotta sunshine in my life lately, but the garden still offers it's quiet sanctuary where I can escape from the ghosts which haunt me.

I picked the first of what appears to be THOUSANDS of Cherry 100 tomatoes and they are just as sweet as they look right off the vine.  Bug poo and dirt included.. . .

From the photo below, it won't be long before I am inundated with cherry toms. . .but really, am I complaining?  Just means more cucumber and tomato salad this summer and now that I have three kinds of basil out on the porch, including a spicy purple variety, the salad will be a delightful and fresh way to beat the summer heat.

Here are the larger Celebrity variety that appear to be maturing nicely with no sign of blossom end rot which is the bane of the Southern gardener due to our clayey soils, but this year I see no signs of calcium deficiency.  So. . .yay!

Also, my sweet bell pepper plants are doing quite well as I have struggled with them for four years.  The lack of production and small, irregular sizes of the peppers have been a huge disappointment over the years, but it seems I have the soil conditions just right for good fruit.  Also, I hope to get some pickings before the real summer heat sets in.  All peppers I have ever planted produced more and appeared healthier either early in the season or once the heat has passed in September.

The okra is coming along nicely less than 6 weeks after planting.  I think the soil has never been better for gardening.  Lime, lime and more lime.  And lots of cow poo.

And finally, besides tomatoes, my next favorite garden vegetable, well legume actually, purple hull peas!  Remember what they looked like about a month ago?  Well, TA DA!!

If the insanely large elephant ear on the other side of the house doesn't eat us this year, this out of control goodness probably will, unless we eat it first, of course.

All I need now is my favorite cornbread recipe and the maker who makes it.  Where is my favorite cornbread maker anyway?

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Flower Power. . .

Last year, I bought this asiatic lily plant for the large barrel on the front porch and it never seemed to progress much once it was planted.  It was blooming when I bought it and immediately dropped the bloooms once I got it in the dirt and I never saw another flower.  Yeah, I was unimpressed.

The lily died off like the other three plants did and much to my surprise after wintering over, three of the four plants returned this year, with the lily leading the way in growth and healthiness.  It has literally bloomed overnight and this year was the first time I was able to enjoy the fragrance and the remarkable beauty of the flower.  I wish the internet had "smell-o'-net" because you would love it!  I'm thinking about planting some more this year simply to enjoy the complex scent of this lovely variety.

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Easy Pickins. . . .

One fact of life:  life will not be stopped.

And such is the case in the garden this evening.  remember the "baby squishes" from last week?  Well, TA DA!

Man, can't wait for some fried squash!

And those tomatoes?  They are coming along nicely too.  The weekend rain sure helped everything and without a doubt I am one happy garden ape.

Here is the Cherry 100 variety. . .

And below are what I think are Better Boy. . .could be Arkansas Traveler, I'll have to check on that.

Lots of good eating ahead folks.  And it's gonna be a toss-up between what I like better, fresh tomatoes or a pot full of purple hull peas.  Ah, the choices!  What do you think?

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How Does Your Garden Grow?

Pretty damn good in the Saturday afternoon rain, which, of course means that I cannot get out there to molest Mother Earth into making more fruit from my labor, dangit.

I did manage to get some purple basil, Genovese basil, globe basil, lemon thyme and a tricolored sage (salvia) planted before the rain rolled through.  And thankfully, after a three week battle with riding lawn mower blades and drive pulley belts which i won three days ago, I was able to cut half of the acreage yesterday evening.  Now?  All wet. :(

Alas, here we are.  So hey, let's listen to some music to cheer our sad souls!

First is a boo-bap-ba-dee-bee-bob rendition of Donald Fagan's 1982 calypso melodrama The Goodbye Look  as performed by Mel Torme.  Yes, I dig Mel Torme and strangely, was digging Donald Fagan in 1982 when I was 12 years old.  Sue Me.

I know what happens
I read the book
I believe I just got the goodbye look 

Our second selection, in keeping with the island theme is the beautful collboration of Buena Vista Social Club performing El Cuarto de Tula (Tula's Room).  A lovely construction with so much going on in the music that my head just lolls with the beat.

And finally, for those who don't remember Donald Fagan's 1982 album The Nightfly, which includes the song New Frontiers that could quite possibly compete with my top Rush favorites, here is another one that you probably will remember, I.G.Y.

For you younger viewers who may not know, that revolving contraption above is called a record player.  That's what we had before laser beams and shit.

P.S.  I would really like to embed the New Frontiers video here, but since Warner Brothers gets it's panties in a wad over copyright, no one is allowed to post it anywhere outside of YouTube, which to me is ignorant.  Simply by sharing might possibly mean more revenues for WB in the long run.  But what the fuck do I know, after all, The Nightfly, written by one of the whitest crackers in music reached #24 of the Black Album charts in 1982, which is a conundrum enough in itself.

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Garden Variety. . .

Although it's been tough to find time to garden this year, I have managed to get a few items planted. So far we have four kinds of tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, crook-neck squash, okra and purple hull peas.

Life is coming hard and fast these days and the garden offers a quiet sanctuary to ponder weighty thoughts and be one with the natural world. There is something satisfyingly simple and soothing about being out there alone amongst the growing things and admiring the great tenacity of life.

Here is a close-up of the squash. I guess one might call those "baby squishes."

And here are the very healthy and much awaited purple hull peas.  And my homemade "trellis of disorder", which last year wasn't so effective because I did not have it constructed before these vining peas sent out the climbing "shoot" and flopped over on the ground to grapple with the grass and each other.  This year I expect better results.  Man, fresh oven-baked cornbread and purple hulls peas?  Nothing better!

And let's not forget the tomato, the true fruit of summertime labor.  You know I was wrong, I think i have more than four varieties planted.  Let's see:  Better Boy, Arkansas Traveler, Celebrity, Big Boy, Sweet 100 and another indeterminate cherry type tomato that I cannot recall.  No matter, all tomatoes are good and it's always the highlight of the summer to have a fresh tomato from the garden.  Can't wait!

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Colors. . .

of life.

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When Bugs Urinate. . .

. . or whatever.

I have giant sunflowers growing in the front flower bed at home. I'm not the biggest fan of sunflowers, as some can attest, but they were planted as part of a wildflower mix, so what can I do? They are there and the bees and hummingbirds love them. And I love bees and hummingbirds. Some kind of natural symbiosis there.


As the sunflowers have become larger, taller and thicker I began noticing what seemed to be tiny droplets of water falling away from the flowers. I never really investigated and was happy to sit on the porch in the evenings drinking a Heineken while I watched the drops fall from a distance and pondered the larger troubles of life like, "why did that long squiggly hair grow out of the neck mole of my dishwasher in Central America?"

But Saturday, I stepped off into serendipity of monumental proportions. I went to light the tiki torches that are residents of the front flower box too and as I reached up to the second one, it occurred to me that I was being wetted by this curious falling flower precipitation. Odd, I thought.

Then, and only then, did I realize that it was NOT curious falling flower precipitation, but bizarre bug butt ejaculations!

Put the evidence in the car Junior!


As you can see there is a bizarre bug, of which there are dozens, and to his right, arcing downward, what appears to be a photographic defect. I assure you dear reader that this is not a photographic defect, but sputum of some description from a bug butt.

After this episode, I am thinking of firebombing the whole flower garden!

Death to bug butts!

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Garden, Day 98. . .

Ambient Temperature: 77°
Soil Temperature: 70°
Time: 7:23 p.m.
Date: May 5, 2009

Beginning to look a lot like summertime here in Mississippi. The humidity is high, temperatures are rising, the fish (and bugs!) are biting, and the garden in getting its grow on.

Another indication of warm weather would be the large number of water moccasins I've killed over the last couple of weeks. 6 total so far and there seem to be scads of the slithering bastards out there this year. I don't mind snakes so much and am not particularly afraid of them, but to see several of them quietly slithering across the surface of the pond in all directions at the same time is a tad unsettling. Snake? Meet the .22 rifle with 50X scope.

The garden is full and healthy, bolstered by recent, recurring rains and not to forget the phenomenal soil I turned over this year. Life being the unfair existence that it can be, I have only been able to get half of the ten raised beds planted, but so far so good.

The collard greens have been producing since early April and as you can see by the picture below, show no signs of slowing up. The greens on the left have just been harvested and the plants on the right are well past cultivations size, but hey, they still taste divine!


The tomatoes, after being stunted by a late season frost and a slight pruning of the burned foliage, have come back stronger and bushier than ever. This picture below highlights the shrubby nature of the plants after the tops were pruned out after the cold weather. I think I actually prefer them to grow like this. It appears, at least from last year's same experience, that a stronger and more fruitful plant is produced from this early pruning. The picture is misleading as there are 6 plants shown.


Deep inside you can see the first of the tomatoes. Shaped well, plump, utterly perfect and it's only a matter of time for fresh tomato salads, sandwiches, sauces, the list goes on. . .


I have 8 other plants that are about 6 weeks behinds these, so when the older plants poop-out during the height of the summertime heat, I'll have a nice fresh batch producing while I sow in the plants for the late season run into fall. In the photo below, a healthy cucumber grows in front of the second planting of tomatoes.


The red potatoes I planted during the winter came up nicely, but are now starting to peak and show a little wear and tear from the increasing heat, as well as the assault from various leaf-cutting bugs. Just out of curiosity, I dug a couple up to see the progress. These two are a little small, but I'm sure there are some larger ones buried deeper.

The peppers and squash are also doing well, but I failed to capture a nice looking photo.

In the planter box on the front of the house, Beatrice and I decided to sow-in wildflower seeds and just let nature take its course. Since nature rules all, it has done just that and the first of the wildflowers are beginning to appear.


Another few weeks, it'll be warm and humid for good and I'll probably be complaining about how hot it is during the summer and how the sun is kicking my butt in the garden, but when I sit down to have one of those fresh tomatoes, all will be forgotten at least for a moment, while I enjoy the fruits of mine and Beatrice's labor and the natural wonder that is nature and the cycle of life.

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Garden, Day 61. . .

Ambient Temperature: 63°
Soil Temperature: 66­°
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Date: March 28, 2009

Several weeks have passed since my last garden update and today was a glorious wonder of warmth, light and relaxation in the garden.

This past week, the state of Mississippi absorbed no less than four individual storm systems in the same number of days. Several tornadoes touched down causing moderate damage and multiple injuries, but luckily no deaths. The rest of us, well, we only had to suffer through a lot of rain, thunder and lightning. By my count, we received over 7 inches of rain, much needed, but the ground is saturated and should remain that way for a couple of days.

This, however, did not stop me from cleaning up around the garden as best I could considering the sloppy conditions.

To date, and with Beatrice's earlier help, I've managed to plant 6 tomatoes, 6 collard greens, several red potatoes, and 4 sweet peppers. There is considerable clean-up to be done in the four remaining garden beds and still left to plant are other varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and zucchini as well as Swiss chard, wild garlic from my brother's garden and whatever else I haven't thought of yet.

In between dipping a hook in the water and sitting on the front step watching a pair of Canadian geese that like to hang around here, I was able to get a handle on all the weeds that took over the garden beds, fence and just about everything else during my extended absence last year. I must say it feels good to have an orderly garden again. Not much left to tame really, except for a few persistent fire ant colonies. Stubborn little buggers I tell ya!

I was able to harvest four leeks that popped up over the winter. As you can tell by the bulging root bottom, I left them in the ground a wee bit too long, but they will taste delightful nonetheless.


The "sprunging" of spring brings with it countless variety of critter. Some beneficial, others pesky and some downright disgusting. I noticed today that we've had a bloom of caterpillars and generally they are harmless, interesting creatures until you notice several hundred of them loping along in their undulating, rhythmic lurching. I watched one trundle along the steps out front as I was watching the resident geese. He stopped on the leafy part of some weeds I've been trying to eradicate and burned through several leaf segments in a matter of a minute or two. Hhhmmmm.


Better stay outta my garden little buddy!


Bobcat, kill the bug!


How about you Wildcat? You game?

Lazy cats!

Another of nature's creations that reappear with the warming weather are snakes. Mississippi has it's fair share of poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, some 40 species, 6 of which are poisonous and some of them can be rather large! Last summer, I was driving on a desolate back road between Port Gibson and Highway 28 through a uninhabited game management area when I saw a snake crossing the road. His body stretched from the road edge to the centerline stripe. That's ten feet roughly. I tried to speed up ahead and take a photograph, but it was summer and I'm sure he didn't want to wait around on the scorching asphalt very long.

This afternoon, after pulling the leeks, I was turning the corner of the house when I looked down to see what I thought as a knobby piece of wood in the freshly cut grass. Much to my surprise and good luck, I found a little snake. So, as any good naturalist would, I went into the house, got the official snake-scooper-upper and captured the beast.


Thankfully, we've had a couple of nights of cold weather and the snake was more than happy to oblige. I'm glad he wasn't moving too quickly because poisonous or not, no one wants to mess with the business end of a snake.

When I first removed the lid, he threw his head back and opened his mouth. I knew then I was dealing with a dangerous critter as his fangs descended from the roof of his mouth. I tried to get a picture of him in this position, but as a reluctant model I guess he didn't understand me when I requested the he "pout" more.


Alas, what do you do with a poisonous snake? Most people would have killed it, but not me. I toted him out into the pine thicket as deep as I was willing to go into the woods. He seemed quite happy when I dumped him out on the carpet of pine straw and he snaked his way through the straw, flicking his little tongue, back on the hunt. I just hope he keeps moving north and doesn't revisit me later on this summer. Larger and more sinister.

Initially, I thought he was a copperhead, but after looking a little closer and with a clear remembrance of his white mouth, I realized now that it's a cottonmouth.

Either way, I hope he has a long productive life doing snake things in the woods where he belongs. He has no business hanging around my tomato plants. That's stinkbug territory!

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Garden, Day 17. . .

Ambient Temperature: 64°
Soil Temperature: 54°
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Date: February 12, 2008

I couldn't stand it. I had to cast of the chains of illness and go have a walk around the garden.

The ant mounds I treated last week appear to be abandoned except for the giant one in the compost pile. I poked it with a stick and ants appeared, but not thousands of them as before. My chemical warfare is working.

The potatoes that Beatrice and I planted a couple of weeks ago have not come up yet, but just to make sure, I dug down and found happy little potato nuggets setting beautiful roots, so it's just a matter of time before the tops breach the good earth. The soil is still a little chilly and is prohibiting speedy growth.

In the meantime, I will have to accept the fact that the only joy I will receive from gardening right now will be watching the seeds we planted sprout up inside the house.


We planted three varieties of tomato: Brandywine, Big Boy Hybrid, and yellow Jubilee. Also, jalapeno, cucumber (burpless), white creamer peas, purple hull peas, moon and stars watermelon and last but not least, an oddity in the plant world, Lunaria annua, aka "money plant" or "Honesty." Named so, because of the flat, silvery seed pods that resemble coins.

I just caught something out of the corner of my eye and thought it was the biggest squirrel I have ever seen. Turns out it was Wildcat chasing Bobcat up a pine tree.

Now get down from there!

And you. You're a BAD kitty!!

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Where There's A Will. . .

. . .just a Springtime wish.

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Garden, Day 8. . .

Ambient Temperature: 29°
Soil Temperature: 39°
Time: 5:30 a.m.
Date: February 3, 2008

Well, Puxatawny Phil, thanks for your glorious spring outlook you dirty little wombat!

The garden is coming back to life, whether it wants to or not. Someone, namely me, has the fever and it is an illness with no cure. My thumbs are already turning green after a long winter sleep.

Beatrice and I spent the weekend with an all-out assault on the weeds, brambles, scrub bushes and fire ants which took over the garden last summer. Most everything is dead, which facilitates easy removal, although the ants are alive and well. Especially the giant mound in raised bed number 7, which served as last years compost pile. WE MUST RETAKE THE COMPOST PILE!

Beatrice led the charge on the riding lawn mower, which was recently repaired for a dollar to a dime.


The damn field mice made off with half of a wiring harness that controls the ignition and fuel pump. God only knows what these mice do with the plastic coating. Maybe you can enlighten us Mr. Greasywrench on the propensity of small rodents who shred the sheathing off electrical wires.

I spent the afternoon turning dirt, folding in composted manure and lime and pulling out those dastardly weed things that the stinkbugs love so much. And I poked around in an abandonded ant bed or two ensuring that no one was home before I turned the dirt over. You really don't want to stir these ants up because they don't call them fire ants for nothing.

In bed #2, we planted a row of red potatoes, which after a week of living in the warmth of the kitchen, had sprouted eyes and were looking for a new place to call home. Bed #2 seemed like a prime candidate, so we cut the potatoes down, isolating the budding eyes, leaving behind enough potato to form a root mass and planted about a dozen of them down the middle of the row. If they survive the next couple weeks of cold weather, we should have a deluge of red taters by mid to late spring.

In other news. . .


Camp Burning Toast is much like the United Nations rotating Security Council presidency, we have a rotating parliamentary body in the form of animals. The last seat was vacated by a skinny black dog, who had apparently escaped from some form of bondage and spent about a month with us before departing into the great unknown. Friday night, I heard cats howling outside and found Black Kitty all bowed up and ready for a fight in a face off with another cat. I stepped outside assuming that my mere presence might scare away the intruding cat. Buddy, I was flat wrong.

In my lifetime, I've raised an army of cats and I know, understand, and can emulate perfectly cat behaviour, body language, calls, and let me tell you, this skinny little beast, had you heard him in the woods in the dead of night, would have scared the skin right off your body. He knew how to curl his body up into the oddest, and probably for another cat, most frightening contortions ever seen, and when I breached to doorway of the porch, he paid no attention to me. Black Kitty, who is a lover not a fighter, and who would throw himself in front of the mouth of past body president Black Puppy only for the affection of a few licks, did not know what to think of this feral animal.

I tried my best to intervene in the situation which resulted in both cats charging into the house at the same time. Black Kitty scared to death (he's a nervous cat anyway) and the new cat quite comfortable in his new surroundings. So, I guess we have a new cat and of course he has the curse of big furry cat balls leading me to predict a trip to the vet in the near future.

Everyone? Meet Wildcat.


He's not too fond of the other cats obviously, but he's a juvenile and removal of his manhood should reduce the incidences of cat on cat violence. In the meantime, Black Kitty will just have to toughen up and Bobcat, well she has razor blades for claws and knows how to use them.

Anyway, I like my new kitty. He's got spunk, ain't afraid of shit, including the lawn mower, and well, just seems like my kinda guy.

Might have to stock up on Heineken though.

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Garden, Day 1. . .

. . .remember this historic day. Uh, wait a sec. No. Remember yesterday, history in the making.

Soil Temperature: Unknown

I turned over the soil in three of my eight raised beds and after three years, our clayey soils are finally beginning to look like garden soil should. The soil was moist from recent rains, but black with organic matter and soft, with a crumbly texture. This is the stuff great gardens are made from and it's been years, a lot of sweat and a little blood in the making.

I incorporated four bags of manure and 10# of lime per bed, folded it in nicely with some of the dried up and dead plant matter that grew throughout the summer. This year, at least for my tomatoes and peppers, I intend on using this product to help with weed control, because as it is, my life is subject to drastic change and long absences. This should save me a little back-breaking labor throughtout the long, hot summer.

Ahhh, if spring would only sprung!! I've got the fever and it ain't for no Pringle!

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The New Leaf. . .

Computer Status Update: still farked!

Near-Term Future Outlook Parameter: closer to unfarked

Alright, alright. I know it's been mighty damn boring around her without my usual vulgurated banter and news ANAL-y-sis, but please people, don't crowd and by all means REMAIN CLAM! (p.s. it's misspelled intentionally and just be glad I never left a cheese sandwich hidden in YOUR couch.)

The computer device is on it's way to happily calculating ones and zeroes again and I'm well aware that I have considerable catching up to do. With our new black president and all, I feel like the world is leaving me behind. I even broke free of the beautiful gravity of Egypt Hill to come "in town" to talk to you people. See how special you are? How 'bout a round of applause for the audience!

**cricket chirp**

Ahh, actually I came in town to purchase the necessary augmentation for my garden. Yes folks, it's almost that time of the year again. Last year's garden went to hell in a handbasket when I was traveling and staying in Gulfport over the summer. The weeds got out of hand and I got all involved with Beatrice, so in essence, it's her fault. I blame her. Yes that's it. ALL. HER. FAULT.

After I finish this I am headed over to our local mom and pop garden store to purchase no less than 20-40# bags of manure, 50 pounds of lime and the latest widgetry they've invented for the nouveau riche gardener like me. Garden Weasel anyone?

Oh, does anyone else find it oddly entertaining that there is actually an industry, outside of politics, where 'mierda' is an openly accepted and desired end product? Hhmmppphh.

So, I'm off now. I leave you with a excellent live version of We Were Born To Be Loved by King's X, which was filmed in Germany. Although the goddamn Germans had nothing to do with it.

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Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes!!!

Here is the first big haul from the garden. These are Better Boy, Celebrity and Arkansas Traveler varieties.

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Radiation. . .

Today was a battle. Me vs. the Sun.

I was out in the garden this morning trying to weed and clean things up a bit. I'm still fighting the blossom end rot problem and bugs. I do my best to have an "organic" garden, whatever the hell that means. I try not to use any pesticides because Bobcat likes to dig around in the dirt and do her kitty business and also the pond is only 15 yards away and I don't want any nasty chemicals floating around in there. Last year I did have to use Sevin dust once when the stinkbugs got out of hand. This year I haven't had much of a problem with stinkbugs, but there are an infinite variety of aphid-like critters hiding out underneath the leaves of the tomatoes. And apparently, as indicated by a couple of completely bare tomato plants, the leafcutters are out there too. I suspect I have no choice but to use the dust.

I considered buying some ladybugs in bulk to release into the garden, but my brother told me he tried that once and the damn things just flew away up into the eaves of his house and lived up there for a couple of years.

*Sigh*

Oh yeah, Me vs. the Sun. The Sun won that battle. I had to come in and take a cold shower to cool off this morning. Then a nap. I just don't see how people farmed in Mississippi back in the day with summers like we have. It's a miracle.

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The Harvest. . .

For the last weeks, I've been quietly ignoring my garden, first because I'm lazy and secondly, well. . .see reason #1.

The truth is, I knew some of the Johnson grass has gotten out of hand and there is a fire ant bed that requires removal and lastly, I need to tie up some of my indeterminate varieties of tomatoes as I have just let them flop about and become a sight unruly. I sorta like the unkempt, disheveled look around the garden, it fits my style.

The glorious thing about Mother Nature is that she could care less about the Johnson grass, or the ants or the tying up of sprawling tomato plants. Leave her to her own devices and she will create beauty and take it all in the same breath. That is her will and we are mercilessly powerless against it and her.

As it is, life continues. . .always.

We can only step back in awe at the persistence, strength and tenacity of life. Life is all around us and a large majority of the daily living and breathing is simply ignored. So, stop and take a long look every now and again, bend over and truly examine the pattern of a plant leaf, the brilliant color of a flower or the tiny spider who engineered a web in your windowsill.

Revel in the glory of the creation.

Life is a unique phenomenon and to begin to understand it starts with seeing and acknowledging it first, and secondly, respecting it.

Here is what Mother Nature was kind enough to yield for my enjoyment today:



Leeks, tomatoes, squash, zucchini and red potatoes.



This sure beats dumpster diving.

Link Tip: JWF

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Garden Happenings. . .

Below is a prime example of the beginnings of Blossom End Rot. BER, simplified, is a calcium deficiency in the tomato plant which causes it to rot from the blossom end, hence the name. The condition is typically exacerbated by extreme pH imbalances, either high or low, or by intermittent watering or drastic swings in the moisture content of the soil. Other culprits can be too much nitrogen in the soil or even physical damage to the root system. In Mississippi, central and south central, BER is usually a LACK of calcium in the soil. Our soils are generally clayey and we add raw, ground limestone (agricultural lime) during initial soil bed preparation to help "break down" the clays and add the necessary mineral, however this methodology is very slow and when the plant is making fruit and BER appears, there is no time to waste.

Mix up a slurry of ag lime and water and apply it to the base of each plant affected. To the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing as overdosing the plants with too much calcium, but use good judgment. If you're out there slopping the stuff around like Inspector Clouseau investigating the latest crime, surely something bad will befall your plants. As a rule of thumb, less is probably better than more in this case. And should you splash a bit about the leaves and fruit, spray the areas liberally with water. Lime will burn your plants with direct contact.

I am expecting a bumper crop of tomatoes for the first harvest, so any of you so-called friends who never send me Christmas cards or Birthday greetings can rest assured that if my gifts are mailed by the end of next week, we might be able to work something out.

And finally, below we find the beautiful surprise turnips and there are a few whoppers in there. I'd give some of these away too, but I know that none of you jokers like turnips, so tough tooty.

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Tasty Eats. . .

Remember THIS tomato?

Here it is today. A big, juicy, well-formed fruit. I suspect in a couple more weeks it'll be ready. I've had a little trouble with blossom end rot, which is not uncommon with our clayey soils and is nothing that a blast of lime won't fix, but man do I hate tossing tomatoes over the fence. Call me greedy.



This dandy little turnip below and his turnip friends are quite the Spring surprise. They are in the same bed with my Celebrity tomatoes. I noticed some rather familiar looking leaves popping up here and there several weeks ago and I thought, at first, that it might be immature arugula because of the shape of the leaf, as I had let the winter arugula go to seed before I pulled the plants. I let the mystery plants grow just to see what the heck they were.


As the leaves became larger I had convinced myself that they were dandelions or some other weed and once the leaves grew taller than the tomato plants it was time for them to go!! Much to my surprise when I pulled the first plant, there was a tiny little turnip attached to the end. I was bumfuzzled. Where the heck did these come from? And then I remembered. Last year I planted a row of turnip seed that never germinated. I guess the little beggars sat there throughout Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, only to pop up this year as the biggest garden surprise to date!

"I's loves me somes turnips" someone once said and you know what. . .I's doos toos.

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