« Not ready | Main | Just a little knitting »
July 15, 2010
Hubris
Where living things are concerned, one must take great care not to proclaim success too loudly. I bought three heavy duty cages to support the overflowing jungle fury of the Black Cherry tomato. What a joke. I ended up slashing the poor thing and in the process, horror of all horrors, cutting off branches laden with fruit and flowers. All the tomatoes benefitted from a trim but the Black Cherry's branches are like lianas with flowers and fruit emerging at the very TIP. Necessitating the construction of a massive 12 foot structure to support its incredible productivity. When you first plant this itty bitty plant in its 12" x 12" x 6" soil home, constructing such a structure feels like hubris of the worst kind. And yet the branches grow incredibly thick and do not like to bend. They want to grow up and out. And it's not just leafy growth. Given the right upward support, this plant can produce amazing amounts of fruit. However, when the weight of the vine forces, or I force, a bend the curve shows cracks. It still fruits but it wants to tumble downward.
Again prune or not prune. As I was cutting masses and masses of non producing branches (no sign of flowers or fruit) I wondered, how is the plant to photosynthesize? The persistence of suckers also seems to provide a really solid interlocking support structure. I need to read 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden by Carolyn J. Male for guidance. I'm not sure if the Black Cherry is an heirloom but I remember her descriptions of heirloom specific growth patterns, and prunning in general, to be very detailed.
I did find a new varmint. I know I should be horrified but it is quite beautiful. I'm not sure if this is the mouth or the business end. Its eye spots run the length of it so it's hard to know where it begins or ends. Didn't do much damage that I can tell. So soft to the touch. I dumped it with all the prunnings in the compost bin. I didn't have the heart to dissect it.
First tomatoes of the season came from Tiny Tim although the Black Cherry is very, very close.
Huddled alongside were nasturium blossoms. They're supposed to be tasty in salads but I haven't tried them yet.
hubris