Tomato Sandwiches

I do love me some tomato sandwiches. I have been eating them till I'm almost sick of them. I also put up a nice sized batch of tomato sauce as well.

Blossom End Rot

Yep. I got it. Well, the tomatoes have it at least. Calcium deficiency most likely.

It's time to start saving eggshells. Maybe I should have sent off a soil sample to the county extension agent.

Also, things are planted entirely too close together. It's plainly obvious now, especially with the melons and cukes.

Rough Layout

+-----+-----+   +-----+-----+
|     |     |   |     |     |
| SI  | SI  |   |  M  |  M  |
|     |     |   |     |     |
+-----+-----+   +-----+-----+
|     |     |   |     |     |
|  AR |  AR |   |  BW |  BW |
|     |     |   |     |     |
 +-----+-----+   +-----+-----+
|     |     |   |     |     |
| Ca  | Ca  |   |  S  |  S  |
|     |     |   |     |     |
 +-----+-----+   +-----+-----+
|     |     |   |     |     |
| Cu  | Cu  |   |  Be | Be  |
|     |     |   |     |     |
+-----+-----+   +-----+-----+

  <--N--        +-----+-----+
                |PS       PS|
                |           |
                |     R     |
                |           |
                |           |
                +-----+-----+


KEY:
SI  = Super Italian
M   = Mexico
AR  = Anna Russia
BW  = Brandywine
Be  = Beans
Cu  = Cucumber
Ca  = Cantaloupe
S   = Squash
PS  = Pineapple Sage
R   = Rosemary

This is just a rudimentary sketch of the garden to help me remember where things are or at least to identify the tomatoes.

The Mexico and Brandywine are coming along nicely. I would have expected as much though. They were quickly outgrowing my indoor growing setup and needed to get outside. The Super Italians and Anna Russias could stand the warmer, more consistent 'indoor' weather so I brought them out a week or so afterwards. There is truly no substitute for natural sunlight because the growth overall has picked up. I have noticed a few flower buds appearing on the tomatoes and the rest of the plants look good as well. There are even a few squashlings and beanlings present already! Hooray! I am definitely looking forward to the first homegrown tomato sandwich of the season.

I fashioned some tomato cages out of some fencing the previous owners left behind twelve years ago. I just knew I'd need it for something! I cut some bigger holes in the cages to make dealing with the harvest easier. I will more than likely need to cut more as the plants mature. I must admit however, the store-bought cages are much easier to deal with - no annoying scratches on your arms and hands. Of course a lot of the pain could have been avoided if I had cut the holes BEFORE putting them around the tomatoes and letting them get large! Lesson learned.

Pictures coming soon.

Showtime!

I met of with a couple of friends on Saturday to see Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Art rock. Not being an Art rock kind of guy, I wasn't really sure what to expect. There were times during their performance where the music was considerably heavy and complex. I enjoyed that. Of course, there were times that were complex - not heavy - and not very enjoyable. Fortunately the enjoyable parts outweighed the not so enjoyable parts. They played tons of instruments, even the kitchen sink. I heard they use a glockenspiel (sorry, no pictures.) We pondered why a group would pursue such a niche genre for a career in the music business.

I must say though, the voices on the lead singer (guy) and the girl were spectacular. The girl has great range. There is something to be said about loyalty and devotion to your craft. You could tell there was talent there and I believe that talent and ability comes in direct proportion with your commitment to practice.

Sticktoitedness.

Looking forward:
May 15 - Mastodon
May 30 - Testament

Drip System in place

Well, sort of.

I have installed a temporary drip watering system for the raised beds. It will have to suffice for the moment. I have the piping sitting above ground for the time being. I plan on hooking it up to the landscape watering system when I get that repaired (that's another story.) I purchased a battery operated watering timer as well.

I've got to take care of some poison ivy on the property pretty soon. I can't stand the stuff.

First post. Hmmm.