Silly I know but proud

Your Big lots has plants? Mine doens't. It has lots of gardening stuff but no real plants. I may try the hose thing...I have lots of old hose I wore back long ago when people dressed up for work. i haven't worn hose other than a few rare times in years. A trash can hu? interesting. you are very creative! I have the camera today so I will post some pics today or tomorrow. You are going to use earth boxes next year? I'd love to, but my DH said they are too expensive. maybe if we good a good crop of maters and carrots, he'll change his toon. Michelle

My DH said the same but then I pointed out to him that between now and next year when I'd want them he has to by gifts for my:

Birthday
Anniversary
Christmas

So this would make it easy on him he'd know what I wanted and since it would be something that we could enjoy the end results of it wouldn't be a waste of money. *G* I figure by next year this time I'll have me at least 7 or so between the DH and the rest of my family.

I took a few pictures this morning but so hard to tell the growth of the plant from the angle I took it so I'm going to take a few more. *LOL* I don't think I have as many pictures of the DH as I do of these tomato plants.

It seems my potato leafed plants aren't growing as "lush" as my regular leafed plants but they have little green buds on them so I guess they are growing at the pace that they want.

This is one of my uglies...still don't think the color is as good as it could be but Carolyn has warned me not to go off on a feeding frenzy and over do it.

this is a group picture..after all of this watch me get like 10 tomatoes the entire season!

Very nice Saint! Gorgeous plants. Your back area is pretty. Well I just took some pictures and will upload them later..gotta run to Sam's and get some grub for my DH.

That is a great idea about asking for EBs for bdays and whatnot! I believe I will too. ;) Michelle

Just came back in and noticed newatplants posting. I don't know if I can control myself after viewing her photos. After all "A tomata in panty hose has always been my weakness !" LOL
P.S. I really live in Tampa....

Oh my goodness Tplant...I just laughed and laughed at your posting. My DH's best friend calls his wife his "tomata". LOL! I posted some pics of my little garden on another thread, but here is one of the photos...not near as lovely and nice as y'alls...but oh well. I still need to stake them and do their panty hose thing...hehe. I have a total of 11 maters...all Delicious grown from seed that I bought for 10cents at Big Lots. I love Big Lots but my DH calls it the Big Lots of crapola. I have a smaller area near the maters that I've planted radish seed and danvers half long carrot seed. Michelle

Here are some tomato pics

More Pics

Mas

Mucho Mas

Sorry about the above pictures of Niagara Falls

More

More Again

Mas again

Mucho more

A picture of the Cypress Tomato Monster

ROFL...ohh he looks like a terribly ferocious tomato monster!

Those maters look great..your several weeks ahead of me..I think that comes from knowing what the heck your doing. *G* I'll swap ya a mater for that monster...I have a puppy that would think that was some great fun.

Foolcontrol, very nice maters! and I very much enjoyed the Niagra Falls photos as well. So that mater monster is way too cute for words. My DH and I found out that we cannot have children (unless God wants to do a miracle) so we are going to adopt from China. We are very excited. But if this mater monster gets too much for ya...we'll take good care of him! LOL! ;) Thanks for sharing your pictures. Oh and I saw you had green bell peppers. Did you grow them from seed or what? Do you know is it hard to grow red bell peppers? They are my fave but they cost $1.89 per red pepper here. Michelle

Ohh noo I get him first Newie...DH and I can't have kids either so we've talked about getting a child from Chile. But ooohh I feel to old to do it.

I noticed his maters look close to the house so that means on our mater raid (if ours don't work out) we have to be wery wery quwite...

Saint, I'm sorry to hear that. It is very disappointing but the Lord always has a better plan than the one I have and He is always merciful and I know He will give us the desires of our hearts. In this case, it just may be some adorable little girl from China! We thought about Chile, Guatamala, and Russia. Mine and DH's heart goes out to the Chinese abandoned little girls. Sometimes I feel to old too..but I cannot imagine DH and I without a child. I'm 41 and he is 34 (yes, I robbed the cradle!)

Yes, since Foolcontrol lives between you and I...if our maters don't do well, we can meet there in the middle ofthe night and wear black and take all Fool's maters. hehe.

lol..yep we can. Here I'm 38 and DH is 35 (or 34 I swear I can't remember) and since he's Chilean it would easier for us to adopt from Chile. But until we make up our minds I'm one of those terrible people who cuddle, coo and play with the kids in malls, grocery stores etc. I know the mothers would like to smack me cause they tell the kids not to do it but....

Not me! I love it when my kids meet people like you... they love it too, and they always remember someone who's been kind to them.

LOL well then your the one in a million. I really do try not to get my feelings hurt when Mother's get angry with me because its best for the kids but I do so love being the one who spoils them then gives em back. *LOL* The DH knows how I am so if we are in Wal-Mart or a store with those .25 vending machines with toys and I see a child begging for a quarter I start digging, he most of the time already has one out and ready to hand me.

We live on a block with little to no kids (we back up to the golf course in the retirement section) so I know the neighbors think I'm nuts but on Halloween I go bonkers with the decorations, since this was our first year the ladies all felt it my duty to warn me that WE did not get trick or treaters. *G* Well 120 bucks worth of candy later I beg to differ. It's all in the advertising! :P~

Yep...I feel like parents are very afraid of their kids being taken (which I can completely understand) so I'm careful about the cooing and whatnot to strangers kids. I was in Big Lots the other day and a man was with his baby and I tell ya...this was the cutest baby I've ever seen in my life. So I was talking and smiling with him and the father looked stunned and alarmed. I was afraid he would call the police or something so I just said...cute kid...and walked away.

So Saint you married someone younger too? Good for you!!! We are going to an adoption workshop this Saturday with Great Wall China Adoption Agency and we are very excited.

Anyway...back to maters....I've pinched off more leafminer leaves. ugh. and killed a slug. But saw no hornworms. That Critter picture of the hormworm w/the wasp larve gave me nightmares last night. LOL!

I am sorry to hear that you can't have kids. We have really been trying to have another kid. Our last kid died of Trisomy 18 about 6 months into the pregnancy. That was about 4 months ago. My wife and I just found out that she is pregnant again last night (believe it or not). I am 35 and she is 34.

As far as the tomatoes are concerned, I am going to harvest my first tomato either tonight or tomorrow night. Once they have started to turn red, a lot of them are starting to change color.

Oh congrats on being "with child" Now if you want some down time you know you can always send the "monster" to Newie and I. Course you might not want him back after she and I got done but....

I'm sorry for your loss, My Mom lost 5 children either during or after and I really don't know how she took it. Mother's are the strongest people. Being unable to have children is kind of like being on a roller coaster, at times I don't mind and it's fine and at others I cry, scream and ask why. But we all deal with what we have to and while I'm dealing I can always spoil other peoples kids.

Saint

Foolcontrol, I am sorry to you and your wife about losing a baby. I have a friend who has no problem getting pregnant, but she can't seem to keep them. I'd rather be in my position of not being able to get pregnant than getting pregnant and losing the baby like my friend. Very hard on her and her DH.

Congratulations on your new pregnancy! How wonderful. Sewing the best seed of all. ;)

I spoil the heck out of my two adorable nieces however. And Saint and I could do a good spoiling job on your mater monster too!

congrats on harvesting your first mater. I cannot wait until that day! You and Saint are ahead of me in that department. We are a little cooler up here in Austin...my DH was afraid we'd get one of those early spring freezes that happens sometimes. So I didn't plant out until April 23. But I've got blossoms! How long until the fruit begins to grow after you have the flower?

Michelle

Bell peppers have been very easy to grow. All green bell pepper plants have red bell peppers when they are ripe. The green bell peppers sold in the store are just unripened bell peppers. I think the red bell pepper plants turn red faster. I am growing orange, yellow, red and green. There are three bell peppers in the pictures that I posted. One from a yellow bell pepper plant, one from a red bell pepper plant and one from a faster growing green bell pepper plant.

was about a week for me Newie..but it might depend on the type. I dunno...Did I tell you something ate my one lone strawberry last night?!? I catch that bird or squirrel and it's MINE! During the day I have the "killer" doing her job of sitting in the open french door and keeping an eye on things so this must of happened after dark....sneaky lill buggers.

It starts growing almost immediately after flowering. It will take several weeks to get tomotoes after they blossom. I have had actual tomatoes on my plants for more than a month.

Saint,
I bet a racoon or a rat ate your strawberry. A bird would just peck holes in the strawberry. I don't ever recall squirrels bothering strawberries. I know that squirrels do like corn.

Newie,
I bet peppers really grow well in Austin with the dryer climate (less humidity).

rat? Rat? RAT????? OMG!

Thanks Fool. I may try that bell pepper thing. I just love the red ones! Yes, a lot less humid than you folks down nearer to the Gulf. I lived in Houston as a kid and I remember that every day was a bad hair day during the summer!

Oh no Saint...your strawberry was swiped? bummer. My mother lives in an apartment in San Antonio and she grows them on her back porch. She has a major green thumb and says she has lots of strawberries to eat w/her vanilla ice cream. I still buy the strawberries at Sam's. We have possums and rats around here...not too many in our yard since we have no dog, the neighbors cats hang out in our backyard....they are good at keeping the vermin down. But gosh, I wish they'd poop elsewhere.

I'll let y'all know when I get my first mater from the two blossoms I have right now. My marigolds are finally beginning to bloom too. Those I grew from seed and take forever it seems to do their flower thing.

yeah...RATS! they are really gross ...so are the possums. yukkola.

I really don't think we have rats...I mean I would have seen one wouldn't I? And the baby runs all around the yard. YIKES!

What are the other possibilites for what took the strawberry?

Hungry Fairys fool...or ahem..ahh starving trolls...anything but rats.

ok went to the County Extension Ag Agent for Orange today and let me tell you they had TONS of stuff. The girl was super nice and make copies of anything and everything I could ask for. And the best part all of it is pretty much targeted for this area. I can't wait to sit down and read all of it.

Also I bought bird netting...I don't see how it's going to work since the mesh is pretty much large enough to drive an F-150 through the sucker but...maybe the birds just see it and say "Ohhh netting, we can't go there!" But I'm thinkin that's a big NOT. I'll let ya know how is goes. The agent told me she thought the squirrels are what got the strawberry and that they net might help and try putting the plants in the middle of the tomato plants so they wouldn't be able to just nibble through the netting. I've seen one squirrel that looks very shifty eyein me today as I go out to water and chat with the mates so I think he's guilty until proven innocent. The next step is putting bells on the netting.

How strange...I thought the same exact thing about the Bird-X netting I got at Walmart....I thought, hmmm..how does this keep birds from pecking right thru? We have a really cute squirrelola here that poops on my neighbor's mulch around his front yard tree. The squirrelola is very shifty indeed. He has gotten used to me being outside and just hangs out on the fence watching me. I wonder if he is waiting for my maters to eat? do they eat maters? i can kill an ugly worm no prob...no way can I hurt a squirrel.