James, A Garden, & More James!

Soooo . . . technically this could be three posts (and seeing as how I will be in DC for the next four days, I really should make them all separate) eh, hem (Gini), but I have combined them for your reading pleasure. And for those of you who only tune in for the updates on James, I have selfishly sandwiched some extra stuff in the middle, just to force you to look at it. HA.


NEWSFLASH--Yes, folks, that is a HOT DOG on James' plate. For real! Let's all be very, very quiet, so as not to disturb or frighten the child from actually putting a piece of MEAT (although I am sure that is questionable) in his mouth.


He's looking, looking, will he do it??!!!


HE DID!!!!! Yay James!!! This kid might start eating regular food!

OK. The next bit is about my gardening project. For the last four years I have planted perennials out on the patio, with varying success as far as bloom profusion (I know, I sound very garden-y, don't I???) This year, I decided to venture into planting something that I could actually do something with, like PUT IN MY MOUTH.

I attended a tomato gardening worksop on Saturday and listened to the "Tomato Lady" as she is known here in the valley, tell us all the secrets to growing tomatoes that actually will produce fruit. Now, it was an hour talk, and I have four pages of notes, but basically, she said we CAN do it. Even in the desert. So, I did what she said, I planted the type of tomato that she suggested (four Hawaiian Tropics, to be exact), and I also used the correct soil, the correct fertilizer, the correct watering method, and a special trick called "reflective mulch" which is why my four patio tomato plants look like fifth grade science projects.


Here is one of my Hawaiian Tropics tomato plants, (I like that their name sounds like suntan lotion. Hopefully I will get a good tan laying on my chaise lounge and watching them grow.)

I know, I could be in for a devastating and fruitless summer, but I drank the Tomato Lady punch, I bought the story hook, line and sinker, and I am hoping beyond hope that this will work. I will keep you posted.

Just for fun, (and because the Tomato Lady said I could), I also am trying my hand at strawberries,


Bush beans,


Red peppers, pickling cucumbers, cilantro, basil, sweet basil and Italian parsley (most of which I will be transplanting to their own pots in a few weeks).


OK, and for those of you that just scrolled down to see what else there is to see about James, here you go, another pic of me chasing him around the kitchen and him shrieking like a school girl,


And a wicked cute, total accident of a shot of just his back and a foot escaping around the side of the island.


He just CRACKS ME UP!

* A special thank you to Chris for setting up all my gardening experiment drippers.
** Another special thank you to Gini for watching James while I am away (boo hoo).