Tomatos

Fresh from the garden, fried, grilled, baked, stewed, chopped, juiced, diced, sliced, stauteed, broiled, any way you like it, tomatoes can do it. Okay, maybe not ice cream or pastries, but close. That's why I wanted some in my garden.

We made an attempt last fall, but the plants eventually went the way of all the earth. I suspect they didn't have enough sun or space for the plant to be really happy, so some soil beastie was able to kill them off. (It might be the same problem taking hold of the bean plants, as it is the same pot.)

Soil, light, and space

This time we started afresh with new organic soil and a solitary cherry tomato. It started growing fairly well and now is about 2 feet high. I chose a cherry since it requires less energy to ripen, given the smaller size. The lighting is still a concern, (sunlight = energy) as the patio only gets about 4 hours of direct light. The recommendation is no less than 6, from what I've read. Space is also a concern, but so far the plant seems okay in its 12 inch diameter pot. We will see.

Pollination

However, tomatoes generally do not self-pollinate, it must be done by hand, or by bees adn other bugs. Since bees don't often find my garden, I had to learn how to pollinate the tomatoes. Unlike most plants, using a brush isn't enough, so various gardeners, sorry I didn't keep my sources, recommend vibrating the flowers with an electric toothbrush for a few seconds. This dislodges the pollen enough to pollinate the flower. Personally, I prefer the old non-electric toothbrush, which is not a judgement on those who have made the switch, I just want to be able to brush my teeth when I travel, or camp, or when the power goes out indefinitely. So, I resorted to the next best thing: my husband's beard trimmer...with his permission, of course. Granted, trimmers are made for cutting, so one must take care to avoid severing flower from plant. I have yet to loose a flower in a beard trimmer accident. These gardeners also say this should be done every day around noon in order to have the best chance of pollination. From what I've seen, it's working, though it may be some little bee that has done the job. Whatever it is, our kitchen is ready and waiting.