This is my third year gardening, and my initial amusement that the tomatoes are knaves and the pumpkins are kings still stands. I’ve also improved tremendously, which I can only attribute to the blessings of my neighbor “Demeter.” In fact, my pumpkins were so tremendous last year that they were the terror of the neighborhood, and when I offered some seedlings to Demeter, she declined because they do so much better with me than with her.
My tomatoes have also been a runaway success this year. I gave up on the cages, because there’s really no point for plants that are all of about 2 feet. But some of the tomatoes I planted this year really like me, and had started sprawling all over the garden. Demeter offered me some “sticks” to stake the tomatoes. I can take a hint: if Demeter tells me my tomatoes need to be staked, I should stake those tomatoes.
It turned out the stakes she was offering were geniunely sticks and other tall thick objects to which tomatoes could be tied, but they work every bit as well (maybe even better) than commercial stakes.
I felt like a horrible dominatrix tying up on the tomatoes. I tried very very hard not to hurt them, but I’m sure a section or two was broken in the process. Surprisingly, the tomatoes look happy, and the plants they were sprawling over (like a sad little jalapeno pepper plant) have a chance to see the sun again.
On the other hand, a pumpkin plant has already started sprawling and taking over my deck, in a way the tomatoes wouldn’t even think of doing…