Update on "Frankenmato"

He did in fact get eaten...Eric's Chili on Friday night. He was actually very good (I wasn't really sure how he was going to be) I had to give some friends some better scale on how massive it was...the grapefruit didn't really cut it.

So, here's the Monster and the Monster 'Mato.

I think Sam's just as freaked out as we were!

Here are some other good garden photos...I don't have much to report out there other than basic garden maintenance and watering. I jumped into the Lake this past weekend and seriously thinned out the Water Hyacinths. I can totally understand why those things are considered invasive in the southern states. Jeez...they made this crazy net of plants. I have lots of good green materials for the compost bin. I think I will be able to start using the compost from the bin soon...all of that shredded paper from my office, coffee grounds, and grapefruit rinds actually look like dirt now. We've been battling spider mite on the south side of our house. It was bad too...my dahlias, roses, DAYLILIES, and iris got hit. So, I caved in and Eric brought home some mitacide which promptly took care of the problem. I have come to the conclusion that I will have to start adding large amounts of compost and organic material because the sand doesn't hold much at all. I'm really hoping that the rains that we have been getting will be a regular event.

Is that dragonfly not cool! I love his colors!!!

The Attack of the Killer Tomato

A couple of weeks back, I posted a photo of my demure little veggie garden. Well, I have to show you what it produced for us. I just about died when I really got a good idea of what I was harvesting!


HOLY FREAKIN' CRAP!!

I thought it was three tomatoes but no...it was this monstrosity! It's an heirloom tomato variety called Brandywine. It weighed in at 2.5 pounds!!! Here are some visual aids for grasping how huge this thing is...

That's a "normal" tomato and a cherry tomato...

and...

That's not an orange...that's a big grapefruit.

Now I have to figure out what recipe will take 2.5 pounds of tomato that isn't tomato sauce. We had that last night, I'm thinking chili.

Rain Barrels!

Hooray! I got them a couple of weeks ago and have filled one already from a water change from the pond. I have been slowly adding to the other one from the dehumidifier in the basement. I really wish we would get some rain...then I could see how much a good storm would fill the one near the house.

These things are really pretty good size and they hold 60 gallons of water each. Granted I filled the one on the left in 15 minutes when water changing the pond...but that's a lot of water I can use around the yard. I have already but a dent in that barrel from watering things with a watering can. I'll probably top it off this weekend with more pond water. I would like to get two more and hook them together in both locations.

Some cities like North Kingstown and Jamestown are really starting to push rain barrels as water bans become more of a summer tradition. My neighbor saw the barrels and wanted one for himself and his cousin wants one too. I think the more people know about rain barrels, it will definitely help with storm water management and lessen the stress on municipal water supplies. If you want a rain barrel of your own, give Beverly O'Keefe, The RI Water Lady a call at 401-539-0667 or email her at ladyslip@verizon.net