Then the frost got the peppers and tomatoes, which was followed by 40 days and 40 nights of rain that drowned pretty much everything else. One day the sun came out and we suddenly had knee-high radish tops. The artist formerly known as Frau Lobster and I frantically harvested these radishes which were the size of Jonathan apples.
But they were woody and flavorless, waterlogged and more or less inedible.
Then there was the time I tried to grow a Big Max pumpkin and forgot the sprinklers were running one afternoon and drowned those plants.
I have, though, successfully grown tomatoes, three or four years ago when my Dad had some extra plants he didn't want to put out.
There's so many varieties I want to try, but my means are limited. I'm trying to find someone with a pickup truck who wouldn't mind helping haul some compost to my house this weekend. I got a tip that instead of buying $10 bags of potting soil, I should head to Suburban Lawn & Garden where you can get a cubic yard (a pickup truck bed full) for $40. With the railroad ties I already have around what used to be flower beds in my back yard, and what my dealer will charge me for the plants, I can get this whole thing done for under $100.
My friends at Tomato Town got me into this, and their sampler bag is why so many varieties. Small purple tomatoes, big yellow tomatoes, some are striped, ribbed or shaped like peppers.
And speaking of peppers, as long as I'm at it, I figured I'd put out a few of those as well. I'm drawing the line at onions, garlic and cilantro, these 24 plants will keep me plenty busy. I can buy those other three things in August when it gets to be Salsa Season. See also Chutney Season. See also Pasta Sauce Season. Because they're perishable and you can only eat so many BLTs and tomato salads.
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