Yesterday I managed to fit in a few hours working away in our garden. I had many plans like weeding the patio, mulching a few garden beds and planting succulents along our fence-line but got carried away with the tomatoes instead... Many months ago fifteen little tomato plants sprang up from the soil surrounding a rosemary cutting we were given. At first I thought they were weeds but decided to let them grow out of curiosity. Soon enough they were taller than the rosemary and the shape of their leaves resembled tomatoes, baby tomatoes. So I re-potted them and planted a few next to a well-lit north-facing wall until they all started competing for root space and light. That was until yesterday when I dug out the old coriander patch and transplanted these gorgeous little fruit bearing vines to their new home. I've attached a picture here for you all to admire them as well ;)
For our small area of garden I'm quite proud of these plants and have high hopes for their productivity. Especially since the price of tomatoes is expected to soar in the retail market. But more than that it's such a great feeling watching these plants grow and give life and then completing the cycle by eating their produce. Yuuumm! :P
On a related note some of you will be interested to know that my composting efforts are still going strong. I've learned through trial and error that a 20L bucket isn't large enough to facilitate the heating up of the compost or to allow enough air flow, hence the trouble I had with rotting veggies. So now I've moved to the traditional approach: a heap. The heap is brilliant! No bad smells, easy to turn, and plenty of natural oxygen exchange. It's also adaptable and can expand to any size we want, which is especially useful after a big party or when raking up lots of fallen leaves. Another awesome thing about my compost, although I'm not sure if this is meant to happen, is that a few little signs of life are springing up from the soil beside it. I've got a feeling they're baby pumpkin plants... same deal as the tomatoes I guess, I'll just let them grow and see what results...
Za, with my limited gardening experience, I have been told that if you harvest the best tomato from your self seeded produce - dry it out and collect the seeds - you can store them and plant them out and have even better produce next year. I am currently in the process of watching my most beautiful tomato wither for the sake of next year's crop. Mmmm - now there is a philosophy!
ReplyDeleteHi there anonymous :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. Unfortunately I had little luck with those little tomato plants. You could say the stakes were too high... lol. No really, in the end they all caught powdery mildew and started withering well before their time. However, I will try again next year! And I agree with you about harvesting your own seed. But only add that you should make sure you harvest originally from organically grown tomatoes :)
You might like to know I've now planted capsicum plants in that same little patch of garden and they too grew from dried out seeds.
All the best with your tomatoes fellow gardener :)