Tomato Christmas
June 20, 2008
Tuesday night I lugged all my trays of extra tomato plants over to my in-law’s garage to pass final judgment on the remaining 58 plants. I decided to keep about 10 plants for myself and had to find homes for the rest. I made a few calls and was able to find homes with Ottawa Hortiphillia (who asked for 4 so I gave her five), Hit Pay Dirt (who wanted 5 so I gave her 7) and a friend of a friend (who wanted 4 so I gave her 5). Ha ha, I’m Saint Tomatoless.
On Wednesday I dropped off the trays of tomatoes, putting a fierce dent in the extras back at home. Here they all are nestled in the trunk of my car:
There’s Old Flame, Mirabelle Blanche, Pruden’s Purple, Black Pear, Black from Tula, Hawaiian Pineapple, Bonny Best, Red Lightning, Color Mixture, Green Zebra and Arkansas Traveller smooshed in there. I also gave 10 plants to my mother-in-law to give out at her work.
I had a total of 25 left over of Mirabelle Blanche, Marmande, Earliest + Best, Hawaiian Pineapple, Color Mixture, White Wonder, Sausage-Opalka and Pruden’s Purple. I decided that they’d all get planted in the back yard at the in-law’s to be left to survive or perish. I did manage to save a few extra for my 7 year-old nephew who wants to put some tomato plants around his pool.
All I have to do now is to pot up my remaining 10 plants in storage containers, probably sometime this weekend. Busy busy.
June 20, 2008 at 3:23 pm
If your heart isn’t set on the in-law’s… you may want to post a message on the Ottawa Plantcycle group. I guarantee you’d get a whack of people who’d love to give them good homes.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ottawa_Plantcycle/
June 20, 2008 at 3:27 pm
PS – if I had room, I’d be begging for a donation myself. I have a wee tiny garden with only room for two tomato plants, and somehow I’ve managed to squeeze in three. Looks like my math works the same way yours does.
June 21, 2008 at 7:23 am
Hi ChzPlz, I’ve given stuff away on Ottawa Plantcycle before, however, I was wanting to get them to people the next day and needed immediate convenience. With the extras I have now I’m looking at using containers on the deck to experiment with plant growth. Now I really don’t have the space to take more!
Kathy
June 23, 2008 at 8:25 am
They are IN the ground now!!! Thanks so much Kathy.
June 23, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Hopefully this won’t post twice. Yes, thanks, I have just managed to squeeze in all the plants but expect a tomato hedge threatening the nearby gardening rows next time you see it. Thanks! No really, thanks!
June 25, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Hey, looks like you use the ‘new’ math too! I use that when I need it, as well. I love how 4 is really 5, 5 is really 7, in one case for me, 6 was actually 12, and 15 was 20. I think the rest are going to get potted up soon into the big shrub pots, and planted half way in the ground in my brug bed. Why not? The brugs are already sharing with potatoes and raspberries.
Cool with the sweet potatoes! I’ll be sure not to tell my hubby, as he is the only one who like them in our family!!! (kidding! Is that how you are supposed to do all of them I guess? never would have known! Experiments for next year!)
July 7, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Oh my, and I thought I had started a lot of tomatoes!!`
July 11, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Whatever you do, don’t let ANY rot on the ground. :-/ We have about a hundred tomato plants this year. That’s AFTER sending my husband to work with about 60 and accidentally killing about 50. NEVER let them rot on the ground. They wintersow frightening well.