If you can grow tomatoes in Texas you can grow anything. Even if the plants survive Summer’s 105* F heat they will still not produce tomatoes on those leggy vines until November. One day in July when I was outside tending to yard work, my neighbor came shrieking out of her yard with a tone higher than her usual typically high octave that native Texan women have. All the fuss was about a tomato presenting itself in her garden, and she was mighty excited about it. She told me that someone told her that someone else told them that throwing used coffee grounds on the base of the plant will do the trick. I had heard about putting coffee grounds on rose bushes and do know the goodness that composting provides, but for fear of attracting snakes or scorpions into my yard -which I’ve never seen but apparently they exist here- I have not kept a compost at all in this garden. I don’t mind the critters, love them in fact, but even the fire ants are not enough to convert me to wear shoes and socks in the summer and I’m not fond of the idea of Snake Surprise. Anyway, coffee grounds have regularly been sprinkled on the tomato patch since July, plus this particular plant was propped up onto a bird bath stand. It’s November on the verge of frosty nights and the fruits are looking quite healthy. Next year the tomatoes will have the advantage of this years’ supply of the ol’ Texas coffee-ground-trick a lot earlier in the growing season. I can hardly wait for next year’s giant tomatoes to appear in June.
Date: July 23rd, 2008 | Comments : none | Categories: Heart Shapes In Nature series, fruit and veggies.
The best heart-shaped items reveal themselves when I’m not searching for them at all.
Date: July 13th, 2008 | Comments : none | Categories: Garden, Leaves, fruit and veggies.
After two weeks away, one of the first things I did was inspect the garden, most curious about the cucumbers, because it’s the first year they’ve survived this far into the season. There I was at midnight, feeling around in the dark, and found a cucumber that had grown from 1/2 inch long to 8″L X 3″ wide during that short time. I expected to find a virtual Jack And The Bean Stalk situation this morning, but all the other cukes are average-sized. The heart-shaped cookie cutters I placed around some veggies have fallen off, so will have to try again; now able to monitor the progress of growth.
Date: May 26th, 2008 | Comments : none | Categories: Series, fruit and veggies.
Date: May 16th, 2008 | Comments : none | Categories: fruit and veggies.
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"Images and ideas are powerful, and presenting them is what I do best, ultimately as a traditional Artist, but also as one who increasingly appreciates photography as an Art form. I'm most comfortable painting or drawing, but do not limit the means to expression. My camera is a Canon EOS2D."