Potatoes and Tomatoes

When I was a little girl on the farm, I helped my dad plant potatoes every year in our vegetable garden. That was always a fun time for my dad and me. Our dog usually sat on my dad’s feet while we were working, but he wasn’t around in this picture. Daddy would dig the hole and I’d drop in the little potato pieces that would make new ones. I don’t know why this was so special, but it was. We grew many other vegetables, but I remember the potatoes and my dad.

Now I am growing tomatoes in my house by my window in the computer room. I’ve mentioned this before in my blog and how excited I was that they were actually growing. Well, they are now over five feet tall with many yellow blooms! They grew taller than the metal cones I put around them, so I added bamboo stakes with the twister tape between the stakes for the plants to rest on. They are now taller than the bamboo stakes, so I don’t know what I’ll do. They are supposed to grow 15 feet tall – I may have to cut a hole in my ceiling! My upstairs neighbors wouldn’t approve, but that’s the least of my worries. I have spray that I use to set the blooms so they will keep on growing. It’s sort of like something my dad used to use – something he called “stop drop.” He sprayed it on his fruit trees to make sure the blossoms set. But mine is not as toxic as what he used as I don’t have to be completely covered like a Hazmat person the way he was. I am also performing artificial insemination with the blossoms all the time. I don’t know if it’s necessary, but you can never be too sure. Each time I say “Was it good for you?” Of course I don’t get an answer – I just still say it.

I’m having a lot of fun with the tomatoes, and when I sit here at my computer they’re within a couple feet of me. I feel like I’m in a jungle. I love it! The only thing that would make it better would be if my dad could be here and enjoy it with me. I think he’d get a big kick out of it and I would love it. I miss him.