Migratory Tomatoes

I've got news for Monty Python: coconuts may not migrate, but tomatoes certainly do. Three Big Beef tomatoes were the first tomato plants to hazard migration from the starter tray to four inch pots. They did this yesterday and I was at first a bit worried that all had gone awry. The roots were not nearly so developed as I would have imagined given the substantial size of the plants. I think the soil I am using in the tray is retaining too much water and thus inhibiting root development. At any rate, my fears were unfounded. As you can see, the Big Beefs are thriving in their new pots.


Oddly enough, the Big Beefs were the last tomatoes to go into the soil--I sowed the seed several days after the other varieties--but they have matured far more rapidly than any of the other four cultivars. Just compare them with this shot of the Porter I have growing in the tray.


In other news, it snowed here a while back. My garden was covered in a blanket of snow, which was followed by a week of freezing weather. The few things in the ground already seem to have fared well. I know that spinach and English peas are cold season crops, but I expected at least some degree of damage. There is no damage though; they seem to be thriving. Here are a couple of pics I snapped from the back porch. (Tramping around in the snow in the wee hours of the morning falls in the category of things I do only when unavoidable. Also in this category: running long distances, eating tofu, and watching talking heads spout nonsense on cable news networks.)



As you can see, I had intended to spend the morning in question working in the garden. The carrots were already late going in, but they would wind up waiting another week before being sown. Working in cold, wet soil holds no appeal for me whatsoever. Call me a lazy gardener, but the carrots can wait a week for a sunny day (which they did).