Tomato Rot Update or, Why I love Oakland Nursery

I was panicked about tomato rot…or what I have been informed is actually called Blossom End Rot. Even scarier, in my humble opinion. How did I deal with this? How did I take control of a terrifying situation? How did I rescue the poor plants from certain doom?

I’m glad you asked.

I ran, post-haste, to Oakland Nursery in Clintonville.

Best. Nursery. Ever.

You can go there and ask questions! And, even better, they answer them! In depth!

I met a lovely man who told me that my tomatoes were suffering because we had so MUCH rain, followed by so LITTLE rain. And, because I water when I get home at night. Apparently, that upsets their delicate sensibilities. And this, friends, is why the bottom of my tomatoes look like someone set it on fire for 10 seconds.

The lovely man also told me that the tomatoes are still good, you just have to cut off the bottom. Good to know.

He then gently led me to where they keep the weapons to fight things like bugs, unbalanced soil nutrients and…sprays specificially made to help with End Blossom Rot! Hooray! The Calvary!

He helpfully informed me that it cannot reverse the effects, but that it will slow it down on tomatoes already suffering and keep it from starting on tomatoes not already suffering (as it happens, I have a good number of both).

Elated, I rushed home and sprayed both tomato plants with the spray and I am anxiously staring at the plants every spare moment willing tomatoes to not rot.

If it works, I am sending Oakland Nursery a card.

Adventures in Gardening: From Blossom Drop to Tomato Rot

After initially feeling like our poor tomato plants were doomed, stricken with blossom drop, I regrouped.  I soil tested. I “deeply watered”. I went and got a plant food that had a good nitrogen content after the soil test revealed our plants soil had no nitrogen to speak of (it’s like the potato chip of nutrients for tomato plants…they just can’t stop eating it!).

And…much to my surprise…the tomato plants recovered! They have grown big and strong and have lots of green tomatoes. It was a veggie miracle and I started to believe that, yes, I could grow food to eat in my own backyard. I started to believe that I wasn’t clueless and a walking gardening disaster. I walked around my garden  proudly, feeling in control. I was a gardening rock star!

And, while this newly discovered confidence and commitment did greatly upset the squirrel gang, who have found themselves unable to successfully pull off their darkness of night attacks on my plants (oh, did I mention the cayenne pepper is working GREAT? Score another gardening victory for the Gardening Rock Star and her husband) it was, sadly, a short-lived confidence.

Which brings me to last night. As I pulled into my parking spot, I surveyed those beautiful plants. I had noticed over the weekend, a few were starting to turn red, and I wanted to see if they were getting closer to picking time. And that’s when I saw it…

One of those beautiful, red tomatoes looked like someone had sliced off the bottom half. How odd, I thought. (I immediately blamed a squirrel. Jerks.) I jumped out of my car and hurried over to the plant to see what was wrong with my beautiful baby…I turned the tomato over and was SHOCKED! to see that the whole tomato was there, but the bottom part was black and gross looking. I picked it and threw it away. I looked at my other beautiful plant and realized ANOTHER tomato looked the same way!

Dear God! What was wrong now?

Some quick research on Burpee.com and Gardening.com revealed that we now have…(gulp)…Tomato Rot.

And, not unlike Blossom Drop, it could be any number of things causing it. Most likely, it is calcium deficient (who knew!). But it could also be too much water or not enough phosphorus or too much nitrogen (Please tell me they are joking on that one – I went from too little nitrogen to too much nitrogen? I have a headache.) or too rainy a beginning of the season followed by too dry currently.

And with that, my rock star status ended.

I am sure the squirrel gang is rejoicing. Maybe having a dance party in my cucumber patch.

What I’m reading right now

Much to the eternal happiness of my husband, I am now able to read ebooks! If he were writing this post, he would say:

“Finally! Look around this house! We are DROWNING in books! I mean, someone, plan a freaking intervention! My wife is a book hoarder! If you can’t find me, look under the pile of books that fell on top of me!”

Okay, that MIGHT be just a BIT of an exaggeration – but for real, guys, he is really happy that I can now indulge my vice without Brandon needing to build me any additional bookshelves.

And since I have discovered ebooks, and still better yet FREE ebooks, I have been kind all over the literary map. I started with Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I’ve never read those! They were so good! So free! I then moved on to a Kurt Vonnegut story, The Trip Up Yonder, and some poetry. And then, I discovered a new (to me, anyway) writer in Mary Kay Andrews. My first experience with her was a wonderful (if somewhat overly dramatic) story called Summer Rental about three best friends who rent a beach house for a month…I wonder why I chose to read that? Anyway, I loved it. Drama and all.

So, I decided to try another of her books and, branch out into borrowing ebooks from my library – which is a very happy thing. I am on page 68 of The Fixer Upper, in which a lobbyist loses her job in a scandal and moves to a small town in Georgia to “flip” her dad’s inheritance house. Should be interesting.

Everyone should spend some time reading…it helps us write our own stories, whether on paper or in life. So what are you reading right now?

Perfect Holiday

My, how the summer is flying. And, for once, I feel like I have slowed down a bit and tried to enjoy it! Hooray for me! Here in Columbus, Ohio, we have an event that happens every Friday before the 4th. It’s called Red, White and Boom! If the title isn’t direct enough to clue you in, this is a very large fireworks display. You’re welcome.

But this is not your ordinary fire works display. This fireworks display is HUGE and DOWNTOWN and SET TO MUSIC! And…it attracts HUNDREDS of people – beginning the night before. No lie. Friday in downtown Columbus has no meters available to park at, no lots available for under $20 dollars (hope you weren’t trying to go to a short meeting) and lots of blocked of streets with blankets already marking someone’s spot. This, my friends, is an all day event complete with street vendors, entertainment and a parade. Really, what is a celebration without a parade?

Needless to say, I have avoided it ever since I worked for a certain elected official who may have had a fantastic party that I may have been required to work at…after I participated in the aforementioned parade and was not given a ride back to the party, unlike a certain elected official. (Sigh, roll eyes)

BUT! Everything changed this year! This year, my family and I had a fabulous opportunity to attend a party at COSI! Where they currently have an exhibit about DINOSAURS! There was FOOD! and DINOSAURS! and DRINKS! and my FAMILY! and truly amazing and fantastic and super seats for the FIREWORKS! I wish I could take pictures of fireworks to show you. But, I don’t. So deal. You will just have to take my word for it.

It was a lot of fun…especially since no one made me work or even watch the parade.

Adventures in Gardening: Have I ever mentioned our large gang of squirrels?

I love living in Clintonville. I do. The farmers market, the eclectic neighbors, the good beer choices (that one was for Brandon, I don’t actually drink beer…I go for vodka)…Clintonville is a magical place.

But, like lots of urban landscapes, we have a lot of rather brazen squirrels. And when I say lots…I mean bazillions. And when I say rather brazen, I mean they are fearless eating machines.

And the tree in the vacant house next door? It’s the headquarters for the squirrels…the bazillions of fearless squirrels intent on starting a new world order.

Seriously. Be afraid. Very afraid.

So last year, as they were systematically targeting, attacking and taking out our vegetables and flowers, we tried something new out of desperation. We crumbled up tobacco and sprinkled it around the plants. It seemed to work. Suddenly we had the option to harvest a vegetable before the squirrels ate it. Or, in the case of my beloved eggplant, picked it, took a bit, spit it out and (I assume) made a yuck face, and moved on – only to repeat the next night.

Sidenote: for gosh sakes! If you don’t like something after you have tried it…DON’T TRY IT AGAIN!!!!

Anyway, back on subject.

So this year, when I planted the pea plants in the late winter, we started sprinkling tobacco, assuming we would get a similar result.

Silly us…

A few days later, I pull into the driveway and there is a squirrel digging in the garden. I stop the car and watch, amazed. A few seconds go by, and the squirrel, sensing my stunned presence, ever so slowly turns around to face me with…A CHUNK OF TOBACCO HANGING OUT OF HIS MOUTH!

That’s right, friends. The squirrel was chewing. Not only did the tobacco fail to save our plants, but we have started a health epidemic among the local squirrel community.

Wait…maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.

So for several months, I have fought a losing battle against them. Out of the 9 pea plants we planted, we got 10  pods. Total. The cucumbers I just planted a few weeks ago that finally sprouted? We just lost once the other day – gone, without a trace of a root left. Flowers? Don’t even get me started…

We’re losing our minds, in addition to our plants. The squirrels are SO brazen they run around on our porch while I am sitting there!

We had to fight back. We had to be strong and retake the neighborhood from these vandals, these hoodlums!

So we did the unthinkable.

I know what you are thinking and no, we didn’t get a gun to shoot them (although the thought did cross our minds). Brandon talked to a friend. An anonymous friend. This friend brought a bag to work the next day and gave it to Brandon with simple instructions – sprinkle the contents on the plants and get it wet.

So we did. I’m not ashamed.

Brandon sprinkled the contents and I watered when I got home.

All I can say is this: after Brandon sprinkled the contents of the bag on the plants, he accidentally touched his face before washing his hands. His account goes like this…”It BURNED! My SKIN!”

Take that squirrels.

Adventures in Gardening or What the heck is Blossom Drop?

I have to say, I am quite pleased with myself on this year’s garden. The flowers are flourishing, the herbs are aromatic, the peppers are spicy (despite some initial doubts), the chives are going crazy!

The bonus? We have to gorgeous tomato plants – a Big Boy and a Cherokee Purple – that have grown big and strong and have beautiful yellow blooms.

Except…

When those brilliantly yellow blooms are done, they have a pesky habit of turning a dry and dispiriting shade of…brown. Oh, and then they fall off. Why must we always be plagued with dramatic tomato plants!?

After consulting with several of my home gardening experts, it was determined that our poor tomato plant had a bad case of…Blossom Drop.

Uh…that sounds personal…

Turns out it is quite common, or so I have been assured. However, the causes are also quite common. A bit more digging (thanks Google!) and the list of possible causes include:

Too much acid…too little acid

Too little Nitrogen…or too much Nitrogen

Too little water…or too little water

Too much cold…or too much warmth

Pests (the kind I have been assured I could not see from just looking at the plant)

And last, but certainly not least, it may have had an unsustainable number of blossoms to being with and was merely self-correcting (how clever little tomato plant!)

With a list like that, the odds of this plants survival went down severely.

So, I avoided it. For a week, when I pulled into the driveway and saw more blossoms withering and dying, I averted my eyes. Oh, I went and bought a soil test, but it sat, unused, on the counter for a week. In my defense, those directions were awfully complicated…something about collecting the soil sample and mixing it with water and shaking…what do they expect? A degree in rocket science? And so, blossoms dropped unnoticed.

Scary as it was, I gathered my courage together yesterday and did the soil tests. First, I tested the Ph level. It was perfect! Right in the middle of the range that tomatoes like. Happy tomatoes!

Next, the nitrogen level…and as it turns out the nitrogen in the soil was “depleted”. Poor tomato’s! They have no nitrogen to eat!

And so, with the problem theoretically solved, I marched myself off to the nursery to get some nitrogen rich food for the tomato’s. The nursery, my happy place.

Stay tuned and hopefully soon I will have pictures of big, plump, delicious, home-grown tomatoes!

SPRING!!!

Need I say more?

Seriously, is it just me or has winter been super tough this year? Snow, ice, freezing cold…I’m looking forward to some more consistently warm days to let my hands warm up!

Yesterday was one of those days. It was in the mid-50’s which was not warm enough, but put on long sleeves and go run and play outside anyway! And I did. I went to Oakland Nursery in Clintonville for the very first time (PS I’m in love) and got some compost for my garden and a new wind chime!

I came home, got out my gardening tools and spent some time digging in my little strip of garden, pulling out the mysterious root system that took over down there (honestly, I cannot for the life of me figure out what is growing down there, there are no plants!) and mixing in the compost.

Now I’m just waiting for the soil temperatures to rise a bit and I’m planting my spring peas! Which is where the consistently warmer days come in…come on sun! Warm up my soil!

A word about our new wind chime…it’s fabulous! Bamboo makes the best hollow noise when the wind moves the chimes into each other. I had the door open for a bit yesterday after my gardening foray and it was so relaxing to sit and listen to them.

And so, with only the minor exception of waking up yesterday with pink- eye (how embarrassing, I made it ALMOST 32 years without ever getting this), SPRING! is off to a fantastic start.

I love it!

Where was I? Part I

I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile. Of course, I always imagine doing it during warmer months than we are having now! I will have you know I ventured out in 30 degree weather for this photo…but it’s okay. I do it all for you, imaginary reader, and it is, of course, totally worth it.

So what, exactly, made me venture out in the cold, cold weather? I have been kicking around the idea of doing a city scavenger hunt for awhile now. I want to go out, explore my city…camera in hand, of course…and then see if any of my Columbus-area imaginary readers can figure out where I have been. A kind of twisted Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (has anyone found her yet?).

I can’t promise I will do this on any sort of regular basis, but I want to try since it get’s me out doing something fun and taking more pictures and, hopefully, encourages you to take a look at this city we live in. (Or I live in in case I have imaginary readers from somewhere far away…and if I do and you live somewhere tropical, can I please come visit?)

So, here is my picture for Part I of my little scavenger hunt…(rubs hands together evilly…or just because I am cold…):

A matter of perspective

For 2010 I made an attempt at doing a Happiness Project and it occurred to me that I never really wrapped it up and wrote about how it worked or didn’t work and if I even believe in the Happiness Project (spoiler alert: I do. I didn’t want to delay that information just in case for some insane reason Gretchen Rubin came across this blog entry. I wouldn’t want her to think I was about to hurt her feelings. That would make me, in turn, very sad.)

So today I want to talk about my experience last year. In part, because I know you, the imaginary reader I write to, must have been very let down that I never did this and in part because some days I need to remind myself of a couple of things, lest I get morose and depressing and no one wants to be around me anymore and they vote me onto an island all by myself, except this island wouldn’t be warm (because I would probably enjoy that and it would be like getting sent to your room for punishment when your room has a comfy bed for napping and a TV for watching or video games or whatever). This island would be COLD and it would blizzard all day every day. Yikes.

But I’m drifting from my point.

To recap: The Happiness Project was invented by Gretchen Rubin. She is awesome and you should check out her website, The Happiness Project – use The Google. The point is to purposefully do something every month to focus on being happy.

Some months it was about the way I approached a certain task. Some months it was about making sure I did something I enjoyed on a regular basis. Some months, frankly, I was so busy I totally abandoned the project. It was an interesting ride and I learned some things I had not really been expecting.

What I learned:

1) It’s okay to forgive myself for the months I forgot. Because the point of the project was to focus on who I am and stressing about THAT defeated the purpose.

2) I actually can build time for myself into my calendar and it can be okay – the sky doesn’t fall down and no one chases me around with a broom yelling “Selfish! Selfish!” (Seriously, that was a dream I had. Very upsetting.) I am trying to remember that, and have been continuing the wonderful tradition of Wednesday Night Dinner with my two best friends (well, one – the other moved away but is always with us in spirit), and by sometimes just not worrying about the things I need to do and doing something I want to do (this gardening class I am in right now is a great example).

Here is where I am still struggling with this idea. I seem to be having trouble letting go of some of the things I feel I have to do to make room for the good stuff. There is a project I work on and I keep saying I need to tell them I can’t do it anymore, but I never quite bring myself to make that call or send that email. New things come up and I still find myself saying “Sure! Why not!” Suggestions are always welcome.

2) The biggest thing I am walking away from this project with is this: Happiness is just a matter of perspective. I could choose to look at things that happen as bad, I could choose to be angry and bitter, I could choose to let everything be a negative. And, boy am I good at that, Imaginary Reader (who I am right this minute picturing rolling your eyes at me. Stop that! It’s rude!).

OR…I could choose to remember the good that surrounds me. I could choose to let go of the things I perceive as hurtful, that I perceive as meant to slight me.

I could CHOOSE to be happy.

I’m not as good at that. But I’m trying, so maybe I can get marks for good intentions and the occasional gentle nudge to remember?

The thing is, I’m not trying to say that people who are negative are bad people and I am most definitely not trying to act all high and mighty with you (so you can seriously stop rolling your eyes now). I am as guilty as anyone about focusing on the things that upset me.

What I am trying to do is be conscious of myself. To recognize when I am going down that path and what it does to me and, more importantly, to the people around me. I am trying to see myself focusing on the negative in life and then to remember this simple thing: my husband, my family, my friends ( at least my real friends, and that is key…knowing who the real friends are…you will recognize them because they are the ones that are still there when you are down) – they love me and they have always been there for me. A pep talk is just around the corner from one (often more) when I need it. If I fall down, I know they will help me get back up.

And, no matter what happens, if I have that I have everything. So why wouldn’t I be happy?

So I guess I am saying that yes, I do believe that you have to choose to be happy. And I recognize that is not an easy thing to do, and I put myself out there as a work in progress. But that’s the point, right?

Life is a story…and you have to choose your own adventure.

(Note the shameless usage of my blog’s name…I’m good.)

Soil…who knew?

It’s a new year and I am anticipating a new garden. I am waiting patiently for it to be warm enough to go dig in the dirt. Sooooo patiently…but it’s still only February. How is that possible?

I decided a few weeks ago that I needed to fill the time between now and May 15 (this is not an arbitrary date, it’s the date in my part of Ohio where it is safe to plant…no more frosts). This decision, coincidentally, coincided with the arrival of the newsletter for Franklin Park Conservatory – a place devoted to gardening and plants – and my realization that they would be offering classes three Saturdays in a row on gardening basics.

So, of course, I signed up!

You may or may not have noticed that I get weirdly geek-ed out about things you can watch on the Discover Channel and things like gardening. It’s subtle, I know, my geek-nees, so you may have missed it. But if you have noticed, then you will not be surprised to discover that I was really excited for the first Saturday (which was today) because they were going to teach us about…wait for it…seriously, this is worth the wait…

SOIL!

Hooray! Someone to finally explain why my plants hate my garden and would rather give up the ghost than produce vegetables for me to munch.

And I was absolutely NOT disappointed. I learned about soil testing, pH levels, what makes soil, composting (cannot wait to start doing this), how to plant certain things together to improve the soil, worms! and so many other things. I feel smarter. Especially about the worms.

The two-hour class flew by. I have to tell you, if you live in Central Ohio and you like gardening, you are missing out if you haven’t taken any of the classes at the Conservatory. It is an amazing place. They recently opened a new community gardening campus (this is where this series of classes take place).

Next week, we learn about the gardening calendar – the instructor will teach us about how to keep our garden going year-round.

I am so happy that I live in a community like this. One that allows me to explore all of my crazy and varied interests…we have the #1 zoo in the country, the # 1 library system in the country, Franklin Park Conservatory, COSI and some great parks besides!

And soon to come…my new and improved garden!