You Grow Girl™

We had our first tomatoes 'sunrise III' over the weekend. The first wasn't fully ripe but I picked it because the heavy rains had split the fruit open. It was mealy inside which worried me because I don't like mealy tomatoes. There was still one left that was on the cusp of being ripe. I wanted to wait a bit longer to be sure that it was indeed ripe before removing it from the plant and eating it. I've never grown the Sunrise III before and don't know exactly what colour it is when ripe.

On Saturday night, a friend suggested I'd been beat out in the race for the first ripe tomatoes to which I exclaimed "No, look we have a ripe one here!" But when I approached the plant to show the proof I couldn't find the other reddish coloured tomato. It turns out Davin had gone onto the deck earlier, saw the reddish tomato and ate it! I was pretty pissed. I don't care about the scores of tomatoes that are to come in the future, but the first ripe fruit is cherished. I go out there every single day to water the plants and check to see what they're doing. Waiting for that first tomato to turn red is a slow, painful process whose reward is the satisfaction of eating something tasty that I grew myself. Davin literally plucked that reward from right under my nose! And on the weekend preceeding my birthday no less! The good news is that it was firm and tasty and not at all mealy like the tomato that had split so sunrise III turns out to be a good tomato. Today I noticed several more fruit that are nearly ripe. Everyone has been informed that they are not to touch them until I get a chance to try the first one.

On Sunday I went over to the local hardware store to pick up nine more bamboo poles. The tomatillos are growing taller than last years' (by a lot) and I needed to restake them with taller poles. While at the store Davin noticed an indoor/outdoor coiled waterhose that attaches to a regular faucet. This little device basically solves my no-hose watering dillema! It is just long enough to reach from our bathroom faucet, to the planters furthest on the deck. The redneck herb pool can't be reached as easily but the spray is powerful enough to get parts of it wet. I can also use it for hosing down indoor plants, although I'd still have to bring them over to the sink as the hose can't reach that far. The pressure isn't great, and it does take a lot longer to water the plants than if I was using a regular hose. But all-in-all it is better than hauling can after can of sloshing water outside everyday. So far it seems to be worth the $35 bucks I paid for it.