In about a week and a half I'm going to have tomatoes coming out of my ears. I'm not sure what I was thinking, planting 4 tomato plants. Whatever. At least I didn't plant 4 zucchini plants. Those things are practically noxious weeds. This year is the first year that I've successfully planted a "garden" and not killed the plants (yet-there's still room for that). Last weekend after I got back from EVO, they were looking all sad, like they hadn't been watered much. I thought I was going to lose them, but as luck would have it my mom said it's ok for tomatoes to dry out a bit every once in a while. They bear more fruit that way. NICE.

Early Girl tomatoes

The smell of the tomato plant just screams summer to me. I love going out there, watering them, fondling their leaves & then smelling my hands once I've come inside. That smell just takes me back to summers as a kid. The smell of fresh tomato & cracked pepper also takes me back. My mother is a crazy green thumb. I grew up with pear, peach, plum, apple and cherry trees, raspberry and blackberry bushes, tomatoes, beans, peas, armenian cucumbers, corn, squash, zucchini, pumpkins and grapes. I never knew how spoiled I was with fresh, delicious fruits and vegetables until I moved off to college to find out that store-bought produce doesn't taste nearly as good as the fresh stuff. Mmm.

Pear tomatoes - the best!

Do you have a garden? What have you grown this year?