BLOSSOMS!!! Aaaaaah! I'm going to have tomatoes!

So, that's the big news. I am about to be the proud mom of some actual tomatoes (if everything goes well, that is.)

Qik Update 2

Hey y'all, just thought I'd end today's prolific posting with a second video update on my tomato. Here is: tomato!

rear view, post haircut. look how far out the tomato branches go at the bottom!

Does anyone see anything interesting in this picture? Stay tuned for news on what it might be...

topsy turvy after its haircut. the tomato is going crazy!

My tomato just keeps getting bigger and bigger!

so sad!

This is my grandma's tomato... not doing so hot. On Wednesday the 14th, I went up to visit and insisted on taking it out of the bag and replanting it in a pot. Its roots hadn't grown at all, and actually started to split at the base of the stem when I was trying to clean them off a bit. I got the little Jolly Elf into a smallish pot, watered it, and stuck it in the sun. Lo and behold, I talked to my grandma yesterday and it has NEW GROWTH! Hooray! Pictures will be posted when I go up there next.

the rear of the topsy turvy before its haircut

So the Topsy Turvy is apparently an ideal place to grow herbs as well as tomatoes, because my herbs got out of control. As you can see, my parsleys are pretty much covering the whole bag, and the mint is trying to wrap itself around the post. Also, I haven't posted progress of the tomato in a while - it's gotten quite big now.

Bad, bad news

So it's almost official; my tomato is winning and my grandma's is pretty much dead. We took it out of her fancy upside-down hanger yesterday when I went to visit, and the roots never grew! The stem was splitting right where the roots start. I have not given up hope and transplanted it to a small plastic pot in the sun where I am hoping it may recover enough to be replanted. I just really wanted to win this thing fair and square, not because of a potentially faulty product!

I also got her a normal topsy turvy since I've had such good luck with mine. I'm on the lookout for another pair of determinate, organic heirloom tomatoes to plant in our new topsy turvys. Apparently I'm obsessed with tomatoes... I came home from Whidbey with another one, so now I've got 4 - 2 in pots and 2 upside down. I need some gardening gloves and vegetable scissors so I'm off to Fred Meyer. Pictures of the progress will be up soon!

Qik tomato video update

Hey everybody, I decided that instead of posting more pictures, I'd post a link to the video I made weeks ago of my tomato. Here is the Great Tomato-Off of 2010 Day 2.

awwwww.

This was just too cute.

look at this giant plant. LOOK AT IT!

I kind of wish I had cropped and enlarged this. but i'm really lazy.

I got super close to this rad owl.

There was also an owl.

There was this owl!

other, not so tiny tomatoes.

carrots!

Ha ha. Tiny tomato. Ooooobviously not mine.

look at these cool raised beds!

eating. nom nom.

Kale. I like leafy greens and I like this.

I really just want to eat this broccoli right now.

Cauliflower looks pretty prehistoric.

Nana's Garden

So my grandma has this amazing green thumb. She has recently been constrained to using some (don't get me wrong, they're great) raised beds and a bunch of pots on and/or near her deck. Here are some pictures I took up there this father's day.

Rules and Judging

Well... there aren't many actual rules. There's mostly just particulars. Here they are:

• Tomatoes will be grown in a hanging bag (mine is the Topsy Turvy tomato and herb garden, hers is the fancier Revolution Planter)
  
• Tomatoes will be grown using only organic fertilizers and potting soil
• No cheating (I'm not sure what constitutes cheating, but there was great emphasis on that)

Winning tomatoes will be judged on several attributes:

• Overall tomato yield at end of season
• Tastiness of tomatoes
• Size of tomatoes
• Health and size of plant
• Probably some other stuff

So, as you can see, this isn't the most official of competitions, but there are some guidelines and goals. More to come on actual tomato progress later.

welcome to my awesome blog.

Welcome to the home of the great tomato-off! I've started this blog to keep track of my adventures raising a little Jolly Elf heirloom grape tomato. My grandma and I are having a competition to see who can grow the best tomatoes, rules for judging to be posted later. This blog is mostly for family and friends to stay posted on how badly I'm laying the smack down on my grandma, but if you've stumbled across it, feel free to follow my progress. Thanks for reading!