The Tomato Tale - Chapter Two

LBRs will recall we began The Tomato Tale on April 27th.  DF & LBR Maggie is once again taking on the trials and tribulations of growing tomatoes at 7000 feet in Flagstaff.  So far, so good.  Her Tomato Babies are now almost adolescents and have been put out into the Real World a couple of weeks earlier than Maggie originally planned.

When Maggie first began sending along notes about this year's Tomato Saga, she described their status and progress from the viewpoint of the gardened/grower.  Somewhere along the way, the tomatoes developed their own voice and they now speak directly to us in The First Person.  We actually prefer Talking Tomatoes.  If you've never had them, trust us, their are quite yummy!  We can hardly wait to heard the Summertime Tomato Baritones and Sopranos.  They make the best slicing tomatoes.

We intended to post The Tomato Tale on a more frequent interval.  Our travel schedule prevented such a timely chronicle of The Tomato Tale.  Consequently, this blog post is quite long so we can ketchup on The Tomato Tale. Hopefully, from this point forward, we can be a little more timely with The Tomato Tale.

Here is a photo of the Tomatoes as new born seedling babies:

Here's an article about the unique variety of tomatoes Maggie is growing this year.  You can click on the JPG for a larger, more readable version.

Maggie has spared no expense in tending tomatoes.  She dutifully kept them under grow lights and also moved them out into the mid-day warmth.

The Tomatoes finally made it outside on May 11th.

Here's what the Maters had to say on the first day their began speaking for themselves:  "Our owner let us know yesterday that we have the "green light" to move outdoors tomorrow!!  We heard she consulted with the master gardener and told him about the time frame dilemma and his reply says we can go!  We won't have to endure 10 full days of being moved in and out, in and out.  Instead, we will sit outside today and watch while our containers are prepared and move in tomorrow.  We have requested deluxe containers with wall-o-waters.  We are up for the challenge."

Here's what they had to say the following day: "Our new homes!  We may not have been hardened off in the manner the textbooks say, but we are strong plants from sturdy stock and were ready to move outside.  The weather is perfect."


Tucked inside their walls of water they are no longer readily visible for their eager viewing public.  Our next chapter of The Tomato Tale will be posted when they poke their heads out of the safety of their protective insulation.  THANKS, MAGGIE--You are doing a great job.  Please keep your news of Mater Matters coming!