Monday, October 15, 2007

In a garden far far away...



First: I am sorry to the reader(s) of this blog for my lack of posts. This is a gardening blog, rightly so, the most severe drought in 50 years in this region, and the month of 100+ degree days kind of put me out of the mood. The fungus that I let go too long ended up killing nearly all of my tomato plants, but not before they paid off. The tomatoes were well worth the trouble I put in them, raising them from seed, and babying them so much my wife began to question my fidelity. After a month of dormant growth and neglect on my part, during which I changed jobs, started the fall semester and began a crazy house hunting campaign, the plants did something unexpected. They began to grow, flower and produce like it was May all over again. Going from brown crusty stems to vibrant bright green shoots over night, they are still on the mend, but laidened with fruits. I'm crossing my fingers for a fall crop of ripe, or semi-ripe tomatoes.


Second: After a couple of nights in the 40s, a welcomed break from the evil heat, something happened... The onions I set out this summer, bunching onions as they were called in the catalog, or as we call them in the West, scallions, which never grew more than chive size, began to take on a swamp-thing like growth spert. They quadrupled in size in a week, but what was more shocking was the seeds that I had planted, and thought died, never sprouting, sprouted near their now gigantor garden mates. That is when I learned about cold treatments for seeds, or stratification. Lettuce and onions are the two things I had the poorest luck in growing. Turns out I just needed to let those seeds chill out.
Right, well, I replanted enough lettuce to choke a rabbit. We'll see about that as well.



My posts may not be as frequent as when the blog opened, we are busy, but when we find a place, then steps in creating a real garden spot will be shared with all. Cross your fingers for Turkey Tomatoes.

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