Tomato Delivery

I got REALLY carried away with starting tomato plants this year. Let's skip right over all the pictures of things growing lushly in the greenhouse to how things look currently: tons and tons of almost-root-bound tomato plants that need homes spread out over every conceivable surface both inside and outside the greenhouse. Between the three gardens on the property up here I've planted 20 tomato plants. Of course, the crazy person in me wonders if that is enough... THIS year I plan to preserve tomatoes! Last year I said I would, and had 5 healthy bushes, but we ate every single tomato fresh, and I was left with zero jars of anything tomato. But this is the year of tomato sauce, tomato paste, salsa, sun dried tomatoes... 20 plants should be enough, right???

The plants we couldn't fit have been given away to people, and today Titus and I made our final delivery to the next door neighbor. He (Titus) was very excited to hear I needed his help and that it involved his tractor. He was not excited to hear that he would have to drive SLOWLY down the driveway with the precious plants in tow, and that he was not allowed to purposely crash into anything on the way there. Boy did it feel good to get those things out of here!

Our trusty side-kick came along for the trip, limping along because he jammed his paw into a thistle plant before we left. Stepping in thistles is one of his spring-time traditions, though he's getting pretty darn old and these things are more difficult to recover from. He's taking a nap in the dirt next to some dust-bathing chickens right now.

It was nice to make an event out of The Tomato Delivery, rather than rushing around and cramming it in between errands. It is so beautiful outside these days - almost completely spring-like except for the slight chill in the air. The flowering pear tree that grows where we park our car is dropping showers of white petals down so thickly that it feels like snow when the wind blows. Too bad those blossoms smell like a huge pile of dirty socks - every time we get in the car the kids say "It smells like a dead animal around here..." and start looking for a dead chicken. Too bad, as well, that my children can so easily identify the smell of a dead animal. Hm. Another beautiful word picture ruined.

Things are very exciting and busy around here. Lots of planting, building, bird-netting, and waiting, as one of the hens is sitting on 6 eggs that should hatch next week, and one of the rabbits is due to have a litter the week after that. Spring is one of my very favorite times of year, so much to do, so much to look forward to. And of course, Easter. This year I feel especially full of tearful gratitude when I think about what Jesus did for me, for you. So grateful for joy and peace, and loving our simple little life.

It's happening...

That thing I've been fantasizing about since I first planted a garden 11 years ago, that thing that I've been jealously watching happen to my gardening friends is finally happening to me: THE TOMATOES ARE GOING NUTS! I am so excited! I have had many tomato problems: the problem of tomatoes not ripening, the problem of tomato plants freezing, the problem of chickens eating the green tomatoes, the problem of NO TOMATOES, but as of yet I have never had to deal with the blissful problem of too many tomatoes. Part of this is due to my stubborn refusal to buy tomato plants at a nursery. I start all my tomatoes from seed around late January/early February, where they grow into spindly little wisps of plants on the few windowsills of my house. Then I begin calculating when I should plant them out into the garden - is it too cold still? Even though it is warm, will we have an unexpected frost? Who knows; every year is a gamble. After spending a couple weeks hardening off the precious seedlings, I plant them in the garden. And they sit there. Doing nothing. Well, probably they are growing roots or something, or maybe it takes them a long time to recover from the shock of being transplanted, but every year my friends begin talking about their first tomato blossoms while my tomato plants are skinny stems with two leaves each, just hanging out in the garden taking up space. Every year about this time I despair - I must have started them too late, put them out too late, not planted the proper types for my region, etc. It is all very dramatic. And every year I get about four not-so-good tomatoes around November. Not so this year! Every day I go outside to water my garden, and every day I come back in with a small bowl full of juicy, sweet, ripe tomatoes. Sungold Cherry, Persimmon, Black Krim, Prudens Purple, Principe Borghese... and more to come. I see salsa and marinara sauce in my future! I really don't know what is different about this, my ELEVENTH try at growing tomatoes from seed, and may not ever be able to duplicate my success, but I plan on enjoying this year's haul to the fullest.