Farming, Saturday, July 9, 1994
Joyce Bupp •g^Ut
-And other
hazards
All codks know that old cliche
that a watched pot never boils.
And this gardener has long been
convinced that a watched tomato
never ripens.
There’s no produce we person
ally wait for from the garden with
more impatience than that first
fresh, sweet, red-ripe, home
grown tomato. In an effort to has
ten the home-grown tomato har
vest, I’ve tried just about every
thing to jump-start Mother
Nature’s own ripening schedule.
But to little avail.
I’ve started tomatoes in the
greenhouse in January and found
they ripen with fruit no faster than
the April-started seedlings. I’ve
covered them with frost-protec
tion blankets. I’ve built plastic bag
tents around young tomato plants.
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with containers of water tucked
inside the "tents” to ward off chil
ly nights and encourage fruit set
I’ve even tried a supposedly cold
set, Arctic-type, early-ripening
variety, only to have the old stand
ard Early Girl plants beat ’em to
the red-ripe finish line.
This year’s effort was deter
mined as ever, though years of
losing the “ripe by first-week of
July” race has left me wiser, if no
less impatient for that first pick
ing. The Early Girl plants looked
super by early May and the row of
black plastic went down in good
time to warm the soil, despite the
late, wet, cold spring.
Then, in a weird turn of first
time-this-ever-happened events,
the field sprayer passing the gar
den enroute to the sweet com next
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door accidentally discharged a
slight misting of com herbicide
over a small comer of the garden.
It was the little section of
garden where my half-dozen
prized well-started, vigorous
Early Girl plants snuggled down
ip their cozy hurry-up-the-ripen
ing, plastic tents.
Luckily, just about every toma
to seed I’d planted in the green
house starting flats had germinat
ed. Within a few hours of the mis
hap, the earlier question of where
this tomato seedling overrun was
going to go was no longer an is
sue. Remaining Early Girl seed
lings, considerably smaller than
their larger siblings because they
had germinated later, found home
s in some spare space in the far,
opposite comer of the garden.
Then it turned chilly. And, then
it turned dry and desert-hot And
in between, I nearly cooked the to
mato replants by trying to hasten
them along under a frost-protec
tion cover - which I forgot to re
move until late afternoon one
busy, sun-splashed day. With
heartfelt apologies, I rushed in the
garden bearing buckets of water to
try coaxing the wilting tomato
plants out of heat stroke.
Despite all my “help,” the to
mato plants have grown into thick
bushes of stems and leaves, cover
ed with fat, green tomatoes. Take
note: green. None has yet shown
the slightest inclination toward
ripening to that beautiful red, juicy
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readiness. Once again. I’m an
also-ran in the competitive, early-
July, ripe-tomato race.
Sometimes, I guess we just try
too hard to rush certain things that
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HONESDALE (Wayne Co.)
If you want your family to eat
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The lessons offer information
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The Eating Right is Basic pro
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Week-Long Trip
(Continued from Pago B 3)
right. A quick glance at the shore
showed we were making progress,
but the canoes ahead seemed
smaller.
When we finally arrived on the
other side of the lake, two canoes
were ahead of us. We waited for
the fourth, slightly out of breath,
but with a feeling like we’d just
passed a major test of our skill and
endurance.
Looking Back
During this trip, I had been too
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can’t be rushed.
And if Mother Nature is trying
to teach me patience, she’s surely
convinced by now that I’m an aw
fully slow learner about the fruit
lessness of hurrying-up tomatoes.
fitness. Children learn through
4-H clubs or groups led by volun
teers. For more information on nu
trition materials available for
youth, contact Evie Vital!, youth
nutrition agent.
EFNGP is administered by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
state cooperative extension, and
county extension offices. Instead
of free food or food stamps, the
program offers information that
develops your knowledge and
skills in planning a healthful diet
on a limited budget
If you or your child would like
to be a part of EFNEP, contact
Evie or Esther at the Wayne Coun
ty Extension office, (717)
253-5970 x 239 or stop by the of
fice located in the basement of the
original courthouse, Honesdale.
busy looking and learning to spe
cifically track our progress. After
ward, in reviewing our route on
the map, we had dipped our pad
dles in at least 27 lakes. But the
actual distance was only 35 miles.
The leisure to watch the chang
ing scenery as we paddled or rest
ed in a campsite gave me a new
appreciation for the work God car
ries on each day. I came back as
sured that God has a long-term
perspective on us. And I’m glad to
be part of the creation.
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