Tomato Optimism

[mikestuff49]

I love this time of year. If you can factor Covid out of the equation, this is the time of year I plant my little tomato plants. This follows months of researching new varieties online looking for just those words of hope like "high production" and "the most disease resistant". I pore over the varieties like I as picking out a new car and comparing reviews and features.

Last year I watched a hail storm wipe out my little plants and high winds and hail are forecast for tonight. I have a plan though and have gathered up a variety of buckets and large planters to put over my little plants to protect them just in case.

Soon, it will be a battle of heat, insects and a horde of diseases attacking our crop.

But for now, I can look out at my plants with optimism (they really look healthy) and I look forward to the future. I think we all tend to be an optimistic lot and it's a privilege to share this space with you.

[karstopography]

I’m with you, lots of optimism! Hail just a few miles away right now, watching the storm intently on the radar. May slide just by us. Optimism!

[bower]

I am just potting up my little tomato plants, and indeed full of optimism
Optimism seems to be a gardener's or farmer's basic condition.... if you didn't have optimism, you wouldn't plant a thing.
I have even read that the soil microbes make you happy, and that's not even to mention nitrous oxide being released by others. It fills me with joy to think that soil microbes co-evolved with us to keep gardeners and farmers optimistic enough to just do it!!

[Labradors]

I too am filled with optimism as I plant more and more greens (inside and in cold frames) to hopefully eat SOON. Early compact tomatoes are already in their big containers, and they look as if they are jockeying for position in front of the living room window to catch the afternoon/evening sun. It makes me so happy to see them all, even if it does make the room look as if hillbillies live here Meanwhile, the regular veggie garden tomatoes/peppers/eggplants are growing under grow lights in the basement. I can't wait for some warmer weather so that everything can grow outside, and hopefully provide some wonderful tomatoes this summer .

[Growing Coastal]

And touching the earth with bare skin grounds our body's electrical system.
Today, I too was noting the optimism required to plant seeds meant for warm temps when it is cold, blowing and raining outside. I keep checking the calendar as I approach sowing soya bean seeds for the 1st time to reassure myself that it is the right time and see that it is even the right moon phase!

[MissS]

I love this thread! Optimism these days is hard to find. I am optimistic too. I have my tomato babies sprouting with new life. A little late, but I was just recently told that I have a Community Garden plot that has come my way. I am hoping that with this garden I can get some tomatoes without the deer devouring every one of them. I have 30 varieties plus 300 plants for donation to those that need them. I am going to see my plot this week.

[mikestuff49]

We dodged a bullet and didn't get any hail. Karstopography, hope you fared as well. We have a string of 70 and 80 degree days, so I have my fingers crossed.

[karstopography]

No hail here, did get a big burst of wind and 1.6” of rain. The rain was nice, I was holding off watering the garden, but I inadvertently knocked off 3 young Carmello tomatoes straightening up a tomato stake. If it was my mortgage lifter or Pineapple I’d probably be a little more upset with myself.

[clara]

I've only planted my hanging baskets so far - late frost can still happen till mid May. But I love having a look at my babies - and imagining what they will be in a few weeks/months. I'm sooo much hoping for our daily big bowl of tomato salad! Last year, due to our heat, we only had a few, sigh...

[GoDawgs]

It's always a feeling of joy when the plants finally find their feet in soil! Joy with fingers crossed, hope tinged with unease when storms come calling. My plants went into their bucket homes two days ago with rain forecast for today. Now it's not just rain but storms forecasted with a lot of wind tonight.
I am optimistic... this too shall pass!

[pondgardener]

The weather has been so warm here in Southern Colorado that I have planted over 30 tomatoes in various spots in the garden over the last few days.That is about 3 weeks earlier than usual. Next two days are going to be over 90. Now if I can avoid the late frosts that can occur in mid-May, there should be some early tomatoes.

[EdieJ]

My ML and Ponderosa Pink (or is it Pink Ponderosa?) plants in tubs are looking anywhere from OK to pretty darn good. They were started very early in hopes that I can get a bunch of tomatoes for seed before the heat and bugs get too bad. I do have 3 ML's under insect barrier cloth. An experiment. I used some over my basils last year and they flourished beyond my expectations. I have a handful of other little plants growing that I will try to get set out next week. Some are slicers and some are cherries. They will be far away from the ML's - clear on the other end of the house. I talk to them every day! Yep, gardeners have to be some of the most optimistic people on the planet.

[Shule]

EdieJ's reply reminds me of how I have a nice row of tomato volunteers in seven spots where I had a row of eight transplanted tomatoes last year. It's very tempting to just let them all grow (and if I hadn't started any tomatoes this year, to transplant, I would). I want to see if my neighbor is interested in them, as they should give my neighbor plenty of early fruit, and all season.

It's also encouraging to see that my Galapagos Island tomato is probably reseeding now! It hadn't done that before, to my knowledge (which is a little odd for a hardy, prolific cherry). But, last year, I overseeded it in a really tough seed-starting mix where only only one plant sprouted before the transplant. So, maybe that one was genetically different than previous years and able to sprout in more contexts. Or, maybe it was the acclimatization that happened through growing it over the space a few years. Or both.