THE TOMATO SAGA: HOW ARE MY TOMATOES doing? says Dale to Della.

It is not how are you doing Della, but THIS YEAR HOW ARE MY TOMATOES DOING? Well actually, the TOMATO SAGA has gone on for a few years. Yes, we have tried before to grow but the plants start but NO RED TOMATOES CAME. Year after year always planted a few but they never got to be fruitful. Was it our soil in the garden?.. or the amount of sun we got?. Each year the trees around the garden got bigger , we got less sun and the TOMATO PROBLEM got bigger too. One way or another we have been TOMATOLESS. Is our PERSONAL WORTH connected to this TOMATO DILEMMA?

This year, a PANDEMIC, more time to contemplate life, go on inner journeys, be close to Nature. Yes, we thought, we will get some TOMATOES and plant then on our Deck .. it has a Southern exposure and lots of the RAYS.

Well, other people had the same idea, lets get some seeds and if we can’t have our friend around at least we can have some PLANTS like TOMATOES .. Plants are a living thing. RIGHT! So it took a bit of searching and some places were out like the toilet paper was but we did find some PLANTS FINALLY. They were tiny but HOPE was abound in us. We planted in some special soil and even bought some special organic feed.. OUR TOMATOES were going to be NATURAL.. none of these chemical fertilizers stuff for us. Well, they REALLY were Dale’s tomatoes partially because I don’t usually eat tomatoes.

Well Dale decided the best thing was to talk to the BABIES.. he would come home from walking our little dog Rosy and ask, Have you talked to the TOMATOES TODAY? He would wander out on deck and I would hear so cooing like the birds will do. He would remember to tell them HE LOVED THEM. He felt this might make them grow. It slowly seemed to work. THEY STARTED TO BELIEVE HIM

Well we started to early really, in May it was below zero many times and TOMATOES DO NOT LIKE THIS. So there we were hauling them in our house overnight. They were on our dining room table but seemed happy that WE LOVED THEM. It was fine but one night I discovered that the ants came in with them. Oh my gosh, I scrambled to make sure the tiny ants did not live in our house forever. The cover we had on some was put on the couch and now when I sat down ANTS EVERYWHERE. They went outside after that ORDEAL at night and fortunately it also got warmer as they did not come in again.

Well , this year the TOMATO BABIES needed extra care in June as it rained a lot. And we know that TOMATOES DO NOT LIKE THE RAIN. There leaves turn black and thats the end. Well June it mostly rained.. each day it rained. We are in the Temperature Rain forest but it was RIDICULOUS. Each time it rained we carefully put a cover on the PRECIOUS TOMATOES.

July was pretty easy going.. I just had to take jugs of water out to water them. This may sound simple but since a year and a half ago I broke my hip I prayed very hard as I carried the water as WATER IS HEAVY. Dale watered them too so it was good with the JOINT CUSTODY AND ALL.

August, well August was slightly CHALLENGING as Dale was working in Vancouver most days as a Care Giver. Who was left to take care of the BABIES HERE? Well , I did do it somehow- how was it being a SINGLE PARENT and all? NO ONE ASKED. The favourite question asked by Dale on the phone was “HOW ARE THE MY TOMATOES DOING? ARE YOU TALKING TO THEM?

Well, the day had come yesterday, we had three BRIGHT RED TOMATOES ready to eat. We planned the ceremony carefully, the kind of bread to buy, our friend Wallace suggested Sourdough, the butter, and of course mayonnaise. Dale had been away two weeks and the look on his face when he saw YES THEY WERE INDEED RED AND BIG was worth it all. And then the look on this FACE when he bite into the TOMATO SANDWICH.. yes he is a TOMATO LOVER and HE SAID IT WAS ECSTATIC and they were from OUR OWN little garden. We were PROUD TOMATO PARENTS last night. And YUMMY was the word of the night. I even TASTED some and totally agreed. LOOKING FORWARD TO A FEW TOMATO DREAMS. Was it worth it for the 6 tomatoes – and few cherry tomatoes. Consider $150 for the plants, soil, extra supplements and time .. well BABIES do take time and money. BUT YES BUT OF COURSE, IN THE END WE KNOW IT IS ALL IS WORTH IT.