Homegrown Tomatoes, Simply.

My Top Methods for Growing Tomatoes in the Puget Sound.

Warning: I write from my own personal experience and research only. I have no other qualifications. I have just found that the gardening world can be overwhelming and I've always wanted a "how to" method for my gardening projects - given in laymen terms and specific to my Puget Sound environment.

1. Location, Location, Location!
After a couple years experimenting in our yard, I prefer the container method of growing tomatoes. If spring rains dominate over sunshine, like they did in 2011, then tomatoes can always stay the night inside with you. They like to be warm. Additionally, you can move the container to the sunniest spot in your yard - tomatoes LOVE morning sun. If you opt to plant in a raised bed, remember to stake the vines as they grow.



2. Growing Seedlings Are Not for the Faint of Heart
It's a cute idea - grow tomatoes from seed. But I am not so committed to see this idea through to entirety. I live in a rainy, cloudy environment and there is one, maybe two weekends a year where you can bet on sunshine. To grow successful tomato seedlings here requires either a green house or ample indoor space where you can set up a table with hot lamps pointed at the starts. 
My bashful conclusion...purchase organic tomato starts from a local nursery for a couple bucks in mid-May. 


3. Good Soil
Be willing to pay an extra couple dollars for a potting soil that contains proper organic ingredients such as compost, mulch and good old-fashioned bat guano. I enjoy this brand. I like that it has some natural "fertilizers" in it as well <<beware: I depart and jump on a bit of a soapbox here, and it's fine to disagree!>>  since I get tired of people saying, "Fertilize your tomatoes or you'll be sorry..." I don't enjoy synthetic things, so I naturally don't care to put synthetic fertilizer in my garden. One day I hope to make my own potting soil, but until then I am happy with the ingredients in the brand I recommend. I have found that quality organic soils can't be found at chain stores but are readily available at locally-owned nurseries. Yes, it costs a little more but I offer my adage of "Pay now, or pay later" when it comes to such things. Tomatoes are one of the top ten foods most vulnerable to the effects of pesticides. And because we don't fully know what pesticides are capable of, I certainly would rather pay a little more now to garden organically.

4. Water...daily?
Initially, yes, to establish a good root system. But don't overdo it! Also, speaking of root systems, be sure to plant as much of the big stem as possible in the soil - ideally it will break into dozens of little root systems to make a healthy, vibrant plant.
You can check to see if your plants might need water simply by poking your finger into the soil about two inches - if the soil is dry to the touch, then it is time to water.


5. Size Matters
Because I have opted for a container method, I use plants that yield small tomatoes. My favorites have been Patio or 100's.

6. Enjoy the Process
Until I had my son in 2009, I was so concerned about doing everything right. Raising him has challenged me to live in the moment and focus on enjoying the activity rather than the "correct" process. The most important element of gardening at our house are the people involved. My toddler follows me all over the yard and mimics me in the garden. He snatches my garden tools and squeals as he rakes them over bushes, he grabs fistfuls of dirt and tosses it on attractive weeds - quite pleased with himself that he has "planted" something, and he snatches my seed markers from our veggie rows in our garden bed (this can be slightly inconvenient so I have creatively found three different methods for marking my seeds...if he removes one marker I always have at least two other ways of identifying my seeds). My favorite thing he does in our garden is to shove his whole face in to a flower and take a deep sniff. 

I am thrilled for the day when he can better understand the whole planting process and share in my exuberance of seedlings sprouting up from the dirt.

Hope to post photos later of a successful harvest!

Deservedness

I judge. I do. But I also repent. I have to.

My 19 month old son and I went to a park the other day and though it was drizzly and there was no time to schedule a play-date with other friends, we were stir-crazy so off we went. There was one other family there that morning - both parents with two children about age 3 and 6 and a set of newborn twins. Mom was pushing the twins around in a stroller while dad aimlessly followed his older two around the play equipment.

I scrutinized their interactions.

Dad lit up a cigarette. In between drags, he'd half-heartedley push his daughter on the swing. His eldest son jumped from log to log exclaiming, "Dad! Look!" but dad's eyes drifting to his watch was the only reply. Mom sighed loudly as one of her babies wailed. "I knew we'd regret this," I heard her say.

Regret what? I wondered. The choice to let your kids play outside? Or even having so many kids in the first place?

As the morning went on and I'd been showing my babe how all the play equipment works, the older two kids started following me around. They started asking us silly questions and soon we were all laughing. The dad came over and barked at his kids to leave me alone. "They don't bother me," I replied, but he grabbed them by the arms and pulled them away. A feeling of superiority came over me. Surely, if I am ever so fortunate to be gifted with four children, I wouldn't be as exasperated as those parents. I mean, didn't they notice their kid's delight after just a few moments with an attentive stranger? As I watched them drag their kids to the car, I whispered, "They don't deserve all those kids."

Then, revelation.

Any superiority escaped me as I turned all scrutiny toward myself and my envy. I didn't realize how ashamed I was of my own struggles with being able to conceive, and how that had somehow translated into an issue of deservedness. My envy, a byproduct of my shame, had brought me to judge a set of parents who were likely just overwhelmed in that moment and coping in the best way they knew how. As my grace increased for them, I realized the grace also being extended to me by God, Who I believe loves me.

My heart can be ugly. And I'm glad I don't get what that ugliness deserves. Funny how I thought that my desire to have more children without the intervention of a reproductive endocrinologist, and my supposed greater capacity for patience, makes me more deserving to be a parent.

Truth is....their children are a gift. My son is a gift. All children yet to be born - despite the circumstances or choices of their parents - are gifts. No one deserves to have a child. So thanks to God for gifting us. Fertile or infertile, accidental pregnancies or doctor intervention required, it is God who lends us our children.

And through having a child, He allows me to decide daily - will I react or will I teach? Will I demand certain behaviors of my child or will I live in a way that's exemplary of an integral life? Will I manipulate him with guilt and shame or will I lead him with the big picture in mind? Will I shield him from consequences or will I go before him and reveal that their is joy despite difficulty and that hope comes after despair?

I will approach the hope for future children with gratitude, not deservedness.

Ok, I Write Online Now.

I have been hastened to blog due to myriad thoughts that flood my brain as I consider the implications of one posting their personal details, photographs, intricate thoughts and world views on the web. The cowardice of the Internet has certainly brought regret to a number of well-meaning individuals desiring a public platform for a soapbox or two. This all has kept me somewhat elusive when it comes to social networking and the like.(However, you can now follow me on Twitter).

So how did I, a semi-web conspiracy theorist, become a blogger? Quite simple really. I know momma blogs are a dime-a-dozen out there, but I do know that there is no woman out there who has been momma to my son. No one sees him and learns through him like I do - just as the momma blogs I love are intrinsic to their own babies and perspectives. So yes, the day my son was born is the same day a new potential momma blogger was born. His sweet entrance into the world has given me insight that I desperately want to articulate before my mind permanently defaults to: "Where are the color crayons?"

"Did I pack enough snacks?" and "I wonder if there are any good clearance sale online for organic baby clothing?"

I do love to write. If I had vocal or musical capabilities, I would strum a guitar endlessly hoping to achieve music that would communicate how I see things. But the art in me is limited, and the closest I get is a semi-skilled ability to put a few words and phrases together in an effort to identify meaning. And I'm grateful for the concept of a web-log which allows me to "publish" the art in me in such a fanciful way.

I have to admit...I have been composing blog posts in my head for well over a year now. There is just something in me that wants to proclaim in writing that my son has discovered the toilet on his own and actually used it for the first time the other day. Then I laugh wondering what friends without children will think about how I'm captivated with the fact that the potty world goes hand-in-hand with the parenting world. I suppose it began when I was pregnant and sneezed in the grocery store at about 35 weeks along. Surely I didn't want anyone in the market to notice the seeping liquid on my skirt, but something in me wanted to type out the story for the world to see. I suppose that was a sign that I should just start my blog and be done with it.

My blog will likely surround my goal for the last year or so  - to be present; to live in each minute. How I will appreciate these moments recorded in writing...especially when I find myself wasting time wishing for a different house and regretting decisions from my youth. So here goes...

Hello blogger-sphere. Is that the correct word? I'm still (and always) learning.