Category: gardening

Front Yard Tomatoes

Walking around the hood I’m noticing more folks growing tomatoes in their front yards. I’m wondering if it is a fluke? Are they accidental tomato plants grown from a stray tomato seed from a) a discarded sandwich or b) compost- those tomato seeds seem to survive compost?
Regardless I’m happy to see a part of the Shaw lawn going to food production. I haven’t had too many worries about growing things in the front yard. My concerns are:
1. Kids playing on the sidewalk will almost always throw a ball in your yard knocking over and possibly destroying plants.
2. G-dd-mned squirrels eating unripe fruit and leaving them 1/2 eaten on the step, or fence or high spot you can’t reach.
3. Newspaper delivery people aiming for plants.

I have gotten emails with concerns about front yard tomatoes getting stolen and attracting rats. I don’t know about rats, as I haven’t seen any evidence of them and I figure the fruit grows too high for them to reach and I collect all of it so none of it hits the ground. And the only ones who’ve stolen from me are the squirrels.

Kittens on rug

Taken June 13, 2006

After work I put cat food in the white bowl that sits in the cat trap. These are the kittens I need t trap. Good thing is that one ran into the cage when I approached. If I hadn’t made it hard to shut the trap I could have trapped one kitten at a time. And I saw Momma. Momma was definitely “Momma” as I saw her underside.

Harvest time

The above was what I harvested today. I thought it was time to bring in the peas, as it is getting hot. Same goes for the lettuce. I am going to have to plant corn mache for a summer salad. I picked my onions because I have a fish dish I want to cook. While I was out picking peas and salad, I got some string beans, and the three red things are strawberries that made it inside the house. Typically I eat them before coming in. Like the salad the spinach is begining to go bad, so I picked that too and I will steam it or cook it (spinach and peas and beans) and freeze them.
Anyway the above came from the below.

It is amazing that this is the garden post picking. There are still beans growing and producing. The tomatoes are flowering and I have two little baby roma tomatoes. The basil is still deciding what to do and I have to pick more Swiss Chard. I am trying to find the balance of how much I should (and need to) pick and leave something for later. I should have picked more salad.