Tamara Tattles

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You are here: Home / Gardening / Tomato Talk!

Tomato Talk!

March 25, 2017 by tamaratattles 46 Comments

I promised I was not going to plant this year, but I had to go to Home Depot and there everything was. So I bought my annual cheat plant. For the new people a cheat plant is one of those hideous hybrids that and big and already budding and sometimes even have fruit. This is the tomato plant to get me through until the heirlooms produce. If they do. I have bad soil, that was infected with spores so I know I am doomed to failure yet I go on. I bought two cilantro plants (one for me and one for TeeCee who loves cilantro), a curly parsley, and a new oregano plant because my last one finally dies over the winter. I noted when I planted it that it is hot and spicy oregano! WTF? Now I have to buy another one. I don’t even know what hot and spicy oregano is other than a GMO, like the cheat plant,

I bought a green pepper and a yellow pepper and a Tabasco pepper.  I bought a Tabasco pepper by mistake last year and it was a very pretty plant and I pickled the peppers to make hot sauce.  Organic peppers are hugely expensive so I hope these do well. I also both 5-6 rutabaga plants. I’ve never grown them before. I planted them in a spot I rarely plant in and don’t plan on fussing over them much but hopefully by fall I’ll have some rutabagas. So the first round of planting has happened. I’ll probably try to get up next Saturday and get some more tomato plants at the farmers market.

I hope like hell this is my last growing season here. My stalker/peepingtom neighbor who has cameras pointed at my house 24/7 for his spank bank was of course outside watching nearly the entire time. Yep, time to move.

Has anyone else planted yet?

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: tomato garden, tomato plants, tomatoes

About tamaratattles

Come for the tea. Stay for the shade. Not for the easily offended. You're a special snowflake just like everyone else.

Comments

  1. noellemybelle says

    March 25, 2017 at 6:57 pm

    Haven’t planted yet. In Kansas it was unseasonable warm this winter and I’m disappointed that my grass is already green and weeds are already blooming. Its hard to believe we are almost in April. I need to plant, but just not sure what I’m going to plant this year. Last year I planted baby watermelon in a dry spot that I could not grow anything else in (not even grass or weeds), and boy did those things take off…..spread through my entire bed. Maybe, I should read the direction for spacing this year. I’ve been container gardening for approx. 3 years, and I’ve noticed that its pretty much just a hobby, because the only things I can successfully grow and eat are: peppers (lots and lots of peppers) watermelon, tomatoes and basil.

    Last year was my first year planting in the ground – as I said the watermelon did well.

    Would like to plant onion, tomatoe, peppers, cilantro (salsa), cucumbers and cabbage.

    Reply
    • tamaratattles says

      March 25, 2017 at 8:19 pm

      Did you grow the watermelon from seed? My nephew planted in sort of a raised bed thingy that is part of the front yard and they grew, but I don’t know how good they were. I might try it in the back yard and see if banjo leaves them alone.

      Reply
      • noellemybelle says

        March 25, 2017 at 10:40 pm

        No, I purchased 2 starter plants from a Farmers Market. They yielded about 4 or 5 fruit a piece. The first few I picked too soon, I was just so excited. I planted it on the north side of my house, in a pretty sunny, dry area.

        Reply
        • tamaratattles says

          March 26, 2017 at 12:00 am

          Did you water them a lot?

          Reply
          • noellemybelle says

            March 26, 2017 at 12:34 am

            not much water, only watered every other day. I think it liked the drier conditions. I was not prepared on how much it spread. At one point it has so many yellow blooms that I was online looking to buy a colony of bees….until my husband gave me “the look”, the look I get when I get when I come up with fantastic ideas, that never turn out well.

            btw – I love me some housewives’/teen mom drama, but I really enjoy these light refreshing post as well.

            Reply
  2. Cake says

    March 25, 2017 at 6:59 pm

    Now you’re just being mean.

    Up here in REALITY we have 2 more full months before planting in the ground. It’ll be quite some time before we taste a fresh tomato again.

    😉

    Reply
    • Toni Lee Gildea says

      March 25, 2017 at 9:05 pm

      As I am reading this, it is snowing outside. Again. Somemore.

      Reply
    • P.J. says

      March 25, 2017 at 10:05 pm

      Yeah, if we’re lucky, tomatoes are ready by about August.

      Reply
  3. YetAnotherKatie says

    March 25, 2017 at 7:29 pm

    This makes me itch for the opportunity to have a garden again! I am starting construction on a house in a couple of months, and I can’t wait until I have my own garden again, my own back porch with a little container herb garden, and flowerbeds full of marigolds. In the meantime, I will live vicariously through your plant endeavors, Tamara.

    I wish you lots of success in getting into a new house too. Your humorous descriptions of your “ghetto” neighborhood aside, I do worry about your location, not to mention your creepy peeping Tom neighbor. Yikes!

    Reply
  4. SLM says

    March 25, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    Where I am we don’t put anything in the ground until first week in July because we’ve actually been known to get a freak snow in May. We already seed started indoors, and a few are starting to come up. We start tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and chili plants indoors and direct sow beans, peas, greens and herbs outside. We also grow cucumbers, but I usually buy those as plants from the nursery because I’ve never had good results with direct sow or starting indoors for those.

    That’s really creepy about your neighbor and his cameras, TT.

    Reply
    • SLM says

      March 25, 2017 at 8:09 pm

      Sorry, I meant first week in JUNE, not July. I think my autocorrect got me ⬆

      Reply
  5. Miele says

    March 25, 2017 at 8:13 pm

    This year I wanna try to grow some on my balcony! I worry it may get too hot for them, though.

    Reply
    • tamaratattles says

      March 25, 2017 at 8:20 pm

      The should do find on your balcony. Tomatoes love sun and heat. Just water them every evening or every other evening depending on the heat.

      Reply
      • Miele says

        March 25, 2017 at 9:05 pm

        Awesome. Thank you! I’m so excited about this!

        Reply
        • tamaratattles says

          March 26, 2017 at 12:02 am

          People in the past seasons here have reported good things from those upside down hanging baskets, too.

          Reply
  6. Navymommy says

    March 25, 2017 at 8:44 pm

    I will be planting over the next two weeks. I am in SE Virginia and the weather seems to have settled. I,too, do cheater tomatoes while waiting on my heirlooms. My San Marzanos didn’t do too well last year but my others gave me tomatoes into November. My English peas were meh, my watermelon grew like a monster but no fruit. I direct seed my cukes. The past two years plants were hard to find due to the cold spring. My peppers stall during the heat but come back as it cools. My parsley has grown all winter. My chives are back. My basil self seeds and should be back. I also just cut back the dead on my petunia baskets, put them behind the shed, and they regrow! My beautiful rosemary plant was killed by two new non-neutered male cats in the neighborhood. I don’t know why they hang out. My brood are all spayed and neutered. If anyone knows a good deterrent for the little bastards, please let me know.

    Reply
    • spunky2015 says

      March 25, 2017 at 10:12 pm

      I’m in SE Virginia too and can’t plant anything due to the deer and rabbits. Last year ordered 24 day lily plants and only one left that gets eaten down so it won’t bloom. Thinking of putting a baby gate on my deck and try container gardening for veggies this year. Glad you’re having luck.

      Reply
      • LA_in_KY says

        March 25, 2017 at 11:15 pm

        Growing up, my family would place those cheap round tin cooking pans to keep away deer from our garden. I don’t know why but it worked. Deer were heavily populated where I grew up.

        Reply
    • JoJoFLL says

      March 26, 2017 at 11:15 am

      How do you plant San Marzanos? I thought the big deal about them was the Med climate and growing in volcanic ash?

      Reply
  7. Judith Vance says

    March 25, 2017 at 8:59 pm

    We don’t even have pansies at the garden center yet. Will do lots of herbs in the porch pots as have gotten into french farmhouse cookery. Grew and canned so many tomatoes last summer that I don’t need any more this summer. If I had more sun, I would try sweet corn. Tamara, did you pick up any radish seed?

    Reply
    • tamaratattles says

      March 25, 2017 at 9:57 pm

      No but Whole Foods has had sliced watermelon radish on the salad bar lately so I tried it, Didn’t taste like much. I like a spicy radish.

      Reply
  8. rebecca says

    March 25, 2017 at 9:23 pm

    Hooray for the first gardening post of the season!

    I’ll confess that I only grow the “cheat plant” here. I’ve tried to grow heirlooms but they just don’t work in Houston’s humidity and turn into a fungus-riddled mess. So I’ve got my little “Celebrity” planted and am hoping for the best. I also hope to do a better job of keeping the birds away from my tomatoes this year.

    I also planted two fig trees in pots last year and am excited to see what they do. Fortunately figs do grow well in Houston and I’m looking forward to them. Hopefully they’ll eventually produce enough figs that I can make fig jam.

    I have my other herbs as well: rosemary, oregano, thyme, dill, and catnip. I don’t yet have the basil in, but will do so soon.

    Everything is so green and beautiful here that I want to spend all day outside. That will soon change when we are beset by the summer heat.

    Reply
    • Margarett says

      March 25, 2017 at 10:56 pm

      Yes indeed, Miss Rebecca. We surely pay for our mild (usually) winters all summer! I’m in Houston, too…well the outskirts would be more accurate.

      I hadn’t heard that about figs. Last year a pomegranate came up voluntarily. It grew fine and produced small fruit. The fruit never got full size nor did it ripen, but it was too cute!

      Reply
  9. waterbrat94108 says

    March 25, 2017 at 9:38 pm

    Planted some mustard greens, chard and cilantro. Asparagus is coming up and my herbs look like they made the winter. Waiting on getting more from the Chattahoochee nature center.

    Reply
    • tamaratattles says

      March 25, 2017 at 10:04 pm

      Wow I just pulled up the nature center web site. I didn’t know they had plant sales. Are they pricey?

      Reply
      • waterbrat94108 says

        March 26, 2017 at 9:07 am

        No they are great. Herbs and lettuce are $1 for a small pot. They also have native plants that are hard to find.

        Reply
      • waterbrat94108 says

        March 30, 2017 at 6:00 pm

        Just stopped by to pick some up great selection of tomatoes and only $1. Nice selection of herbs. You should try to get over there tomorrow

        Reply
        • tamaratattles says

          March 30, 2017 at 6:55 pm

          I thought this was a weekend thing. Do they have lots? Was it croweded?

          Reply
  10. P.J. says

    March 25, 2017 at 10:03 pm

    My rhubarb was poking out of the ground a month ago and then it snowed. Again. I have a grow op in what used to be my son’s room. Can’t wait until they legalize marijuana here.

    I’ve started all my herbs, some annuals and some perennials indoors. Soon I’ll start more veggies inside, but my seedling tomatoes and peppers are already up.

    Oh, and I bought a grapefruit, tangerine and Meyer lemon trees to grow in containers. A 5 in 1 apple tree is on my wish list for this year.

    The fish in my pond look like they spent the winter screwing. We started with 9 and now have too many to count. Can I drop birth control pills in the water?

    Can’t wait to get back in the dirt.

    Reply
  11. tamaratattles says

    March 25, 2017 at 10:12 pm

    I just noticed that the first day of planting for 2016 is one of the suggested links below. I started three days eariler than last year! Still two weeks before Easter, so I may have to cover stuff if we get a freeze. I was just thinking today that this is when everyone would buy their cute Easter dresses for church. Then every year it was be REALLY cold on Easter and we would all shiver showing off our pretty dresses.

    Reply
  12. Katherine 2.0 says

    March 25, 2017 at 10:18 pm

    It’s your last season there, enjoy it. Thanks for the motivation!

    Reply
  13. Margarett says

    March 25, 2017 at 10:39 pm

    I try to wait until after Easter to plant. This year will be a bit different because we may be moving. So, I’ll get a tomato plant that will enjoy living in a container.

    I love cilantro, too. I’ve not had any luck growing it. I hope you post details about the care and feeding!

    Since reading this post I feel it is really truly Spring! Thanks so much. You have no idea how much I need Spring this year.

    Reply
  14. IJC says

    March 25, 2017 at 11:48 pm

    Where is Lisamia? I’m in need of a petomato! Who am I kidding, I would probably kill that, too. Lol! #Blackthumb

    Reply
    • tamaratattles says

      March 26, 2017 at 12:07 am

      I miss Lisamia, but I don’t want her to come in her making y’all think you can just have a Petmato. That thing probably has taken on a life of it’s own and has her captured in it’s tendrils!

      Reply
  15. pokerplayer says

    March 26, 2017 at 9:24 am

    LOVE this blog…Oh how I wish I could plant !!!

    Reply
    • P.J. says

      March 26, 2017 at 10:15 am

      Just curious. What’s stopping you?

      Reply
      • pokerplayer says

        March 26, 2017 at 7:27 pm

        These days I live in an apartment in the middle of a big city so there’s no soil…I want so badly to move back to a country setting…working on it.

        Reply
  16. Kristie says

    March 26, 2017 at 10:24 am

    I use some of those grow boxes for my veggies. It’s the kind where the water is stored in the bottom part of the box and is wicked up to the soil. Tomatoes do very well for me in them and butternut squash also was abundant. Cukes and bell peppers also produced well for me. But I do have to wait until the end of May start of June before they can be placed permanently outside. Until then I drag them in and out of the garage. I’m in Maine. so we still need to get the snow melted, with future snow to come.

    I think I’ll add a potato plant and maybe an onion.

    Good luck with everyone’s growing.

    Reply
    • tamaratattles says

      March 26, 2017 at 1:26 pm

      Speaking of boxes, my sister bought some rather expensive boxes that came with the seeds already planted or something. I forget how it works but I think they came in the mail. Anyway, she loved them and said they produced a lot. I’ll have to ask her what kind of boxes they were. She has a big back yard and plants lots of tomatoes and peppers and such, but the boxes were for one of her many decks outside her kitchen.

      Reply
  17. JoJoFLL says

    March 26, 2017 at 11:24 am

    The ONLY thing I’ve been able to grow here in South Florida are orchids.

    Go figure. The hardy plants I’m killing and the delicate ones live.

    I’ve got one of those purple and green leafed plant things at my front door that I’m destroying and last season I killed a jalapeno plant along with dill, mint, and thyme. My basil did take off and spread.

    Reply
  18. Cindylouwho says

    March 26, 2017 at 2:14 pm

    I killed a boxwood…….smdh ??

    Reply
  19. tamaratattles says

    March 28, 2017 at 3:44 pm

    Apparently, I am making my fungus problems worse by watering in the afternoons. DO I REALLY HAVE TO GET UP EARLY? ARGH.

    http://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/planting-and-maintenance/the-proper-way-to-water-your-garden

    Reply
    • T D says

      March 28, 2017 at 4:35 pm

      Ask a farmer or a cock they are both.up before sunrise

      Reply
      • tamaratattles says

        March 28, 2017 at 4:55 pm

        I’ve never been a fan of morning wood.

        Reply
        • T D says

          March 28, 2017 at 5:06 pm

          Hardwood burns hotter and longer. If memory serves. I miss the deed.

          Reply
  20. kendrawm says

    March 28, 2017 at 4:21 pm

    I’m so excited, end of last fall our neighbors took down this massive tree, we now have 80% more sunlight in our yard. I feel like my backyard garden possibilities are now endless. Well except for the 7 year old and I have to plant in containers. But still I feel like I can do so much more with sun now coming into the yard. Oh and living in New England, I never plant before Memorial day.

    Reply

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