Growing up in California, I learned at a young age that a tomato picked off the vine in your garden is a heavenly thing. Especially when the grocery store tomatoes are beautiful outside, yet oh so lacking inside.
My neighbor told me about the Master Gardener’s sale a few weeks ago and the yummy tomato plants she got last year. So, I went and got three varieties. I have been caring for them well, in anticipation of planting them after June 1st, as was advised to me. (part of me still hesitates to believe that tomatoes can be grown in Washington… but it’s worth a shot!!)
To my surprise, last night when I checked on my young plants… there were aphids… CRAP! My neighbor told me to spray soap on them, a friend said to get some ladybugs and let them have a feast. Short of putting in an order with God, I wasn’t sure where to get lady bugs, even though that was my favorite suggestion!!
So, off I went this morning, after my walk in the last bit of Seattle sunshine, to figure out how to kindly and safely encourage my aphids to leave my tomato plants alone. My first mistake was going to the closest place, since gas is almost $4 a gallon, I thought I’d swallow my pride… and go to the huge warehouse… bad idea!!! I walked around that humongous place looking for someone to help me with an organic way to shew my new friends away… There were no carts anywhere, the cheap black containers that I wanted… were not for sale, only the fancy $29 ones could be purchased, how kind of them… and do you think in a place that probably employs a large quantity of people… that someone in the nursery area might possibly know something about plants????? It was my experience this morning, after way too long in the store, that NO… no one even seemed to know what an aphid was, much less how to kindly shew them away. After asking what seemed like 5 million people, and getting blank stares, I finally, politely, told them I was going to go to a real nursery.
Tomorrow, I am going to this real nursery, where every time I walk in… they greet me and ask what I need… and more importantly… They know the answer!!!! The extra gas needed to get there will be well worth it!! Lowe’s needs to stick to whatever else they do well… I’m sure there’s something…
Grrrr….
aeschill 2:01 pm on May 22, 2008 Permalink |
YUM! I love fresh maters from the garden. Can you send me one???
I recently had frustrating experience at Lowe’s. I asked someone in the “nursery” area if they had any twine or string to tie back my roses. She told me to maybe check in the hardware dept and she seemed rather annoyed I was asking her a question. Last time I checked she had a Lowe’s vest on and was watering the flowers in the garden dept. Anyhoo I finally asked someone in the shovel area and he pointed me back out to the garden area near the water feature display. In the end I got my string and all was well but this was not the only time I have gone to Lowe’s and been frustrated by an employees’ lack of knowledge.
Cyndee 10:13 pm on May 22, 2008 Permalink |
Hey you! If I send you a tomater, it might squish en route… not so yummy!! I don’t know what it is with Lowes.. it is true for me almost every time I go in there that I have to search for someone to help me. I have usually gone in for wood… something you’d think would be a priority there… oh well… Oh for the olden days where customer service existed, and your neighborhood store clerk knew your name! I was born in the wrong time…
So, what are you growing in your garden?? Miss you!
aeschill 4:25 am on May 23, 2008 Permalink |
Actually almost half of our backyard was a garden. When we looked at the house in Nov. there were some squash still out there growing. Currently there is nothing growing, food wise. I would like to section of a small portion next year to grow a few things. Is it too late to start some container tomato plants?
Miss you too.
Cyndee 9:53 am on May 23, 2008 Permalink |
Up here, the tomatoes are all ready to plant right after June 1st… So, maybe it’s good to plant some there too??? They need full sun, and plant them from 6-12 inches deep… They will root anywhere along their stem and the deep planting will help them have sufficient water. If you plant them in containers, make sure you get soil that is specific for container potting… it will have the right nutrients and won’t compact in the pot. They also need to be watered everyday!!… What else?? Oh, they will need some kind of fertilizer around August if you plant them in the beginning of June. You can ask at a real nursery what they suggest for a good, organic fertilizer!!! Yummy, I can taste those maters already!! You’ll probably get better ones than me… Georgia has more sun than Seattle!!
Have fun planting!!!!
Robert-[GrandBob] 9:30 pm on July 25, 2008 Permalink |
Yes. I spent a year there one day. All I wanted was small 2″ (or so) pots. I looked all over in the gardening section. There were fertilizers, potting soil, everything imagineable for the garden. The only help I found was a young man putting stock up on a high shelf. He said this wasn’t his area but he made a guess as to where I would find them.
They wern’t there either. Finally, I casually mentioned my problem to a customer in Hardware. “Oh, he says, “I think I seen some over by the magazines and books. Where the seeds are.” Sure enough. It gets better.
I tried to get on their website 2 nights ago and when I got there, they wouldn’t let me shop at all until I registered and logged in. This is Service? When I did, the registration program threw-up and I never did get In. When I tried again, the site was closed for the night?????Hello!! Why bother with a web-site. It seems the Bigger they are – the worse they get! Except for “True Value”. Great Website. Also Better Homes and Gardens. Home Depot treats me well too – and don’t Demand registration just to look at their products.