'maters!

I have good news and bad. I'll start with the good (perpetual optimist). We are harvesting tomatoes! They are plump and red and delicious! I like to eat them like my dad- sliced with salt and pepper- so good! The kids are enjoying the harvesting. Buddy likes to put them in the scoop of his front end loader and wheel them around the yard. I'm thinking he must be a double agent though. I have found him on 3 occassions now with bright green tomatoes in the scoop. I try to explain that he is working against us, but he pretends not to understand. The other side must be paying him in applesauce and cookies because he's pretty determined to get all the greens off the bush.

Now for the bad news. I had to pull up our peppers, beans, and squash. They were totally eaten by a small beetle like insect. I thought I had them under control, but they proved me wrong in one night. A sad day, but we are looking ahead. In about 3 weeks I plan to start fall transplants. Hopefully we can have some fall tomatoes as well.
While growing up my dad always had tomatoes growing in our suburban yard. He would always plant these crazy varieties that I would never try. It wasn't until my mid-twenties that I began liking tomatoes- and I forced myself into it! I am grateful that we had fresh veggies growing up. Working alongside my dad in the garden taught me so much. So here's a tomato growing tip from dad:



When you have a new branch trying to come out of the middle of 2 developed branches (my dad calls these 'suckers'), snap it off. That way the energy goes to developing tomatoes, not more branches.