On 07/22/2013 11:39 PM, Billy wrote:
> Cut back on the water to the tomatoes, and they will taste even better.

Hi Billy,

Lets see:
Diabetics: food is involved, so check.
Food: tomateos and zukes are food, so check again
Alt: I am a bit (only a bit!) weird, so three checks.
Therefore, I pass the on topic test.

You are not the first one to tell me this about the water.
Thank you.

I am even worse at gardening than I am at cooking. I
have had yield problems for the past three years
and the ones I did get, tasted mushy.

I finally figured out who to talk to. It is the
farmers at the CSA farm. Duh! Not nursery operators.

What they told me is this. My pot needs to have drainage.
It does. Tomatoes are an Amazon vine. The get their butts
DRENCHED every day like clock work. Something like 12 inches
worth. The trick is that the roots can't stay wet all
day (drainage). Next, liberally fertilize with organic
compost and amendment (fish head fertilizer). It must
be organic, as organic fertilizers can not burn your
plants if you overdue it. (What? Me overdue it? NEVER!)

Too little water and my flowers turn brown and fall off.
No fruit. I made this mistake in a grand fashion. We
have adiabatic drying winds (means the wind sucks all
the water out of everything) here in the high desert,
so watering takes on a whole different dimension.

Last year, when I finally got it right, I had a huge
crop, but it froze two weeks later. S---!

This year, I am using their plants and following their
recommendations to the "T". I already have a huge crop
of green ones. Looks like I and going to have about
15 ripe ones by Sunday (the day I usually pick).
One of the plants has yet to produce any fruit. It
got drenched in fish head fertilizer yesterday, as
per recommendation.

So far, so good. The six I picked last week made
my wife and my eyes roll in out heads. She said
they actually tasted better than the CSA farm.
Now that is a FIRST!

I have a HUGE club sized Zuke incubating. Plan
on cooking it Sunday. Should fill my entire saute
pan.

I wonder how much longer these dumb-dumb plants are
going to buy my cock-'n-bull story about taking
their offspring for a drive in the country and
figure out what I am REALLY doing with them.

I am babbling.

-T

WHAT? Plants don't talk. Oh please! :-)