Baby Tomato

I found our very first tomato growing in the garden. It is a tiny, green cherry tomato; slightly larger than a pea. Thank goodness it survived my prior culling of tomato flowers. I had read somewhere that pinching out flowers on young tomato plants would aid their growth, and I did just that, not knowing that my plants were already mature and ready for fruiting! So after a severe bout of guilt, I left all the poor tomato plants to their own devices, vowing never to pinch off another flower again!

GREEN BABY CHERRY

Anyhow, luckily this little green tomato found its own way despite my meddling. It hangs on one of the lower branches of a large cherry tomato plant. I discovered it when I was staking a wayward tomato branch. (Cheers, applause) That describes the noises going off inside my head as I made the discovery. Very happy right now just thinking about the lil' tomato growing bigger and bigger.

Yesterday, I also planted some ginger and galangal in polystyrene containers. I'm not sure whether this latest experiment will work, as I acquired the ginger and galangal pieces from a local market. The lady who sold me the ginger said it came from "down south", adding helpfully that it "won't grow here". However the man with the galangal said he grew his locally. From researching the internet, I found that the main thing is to keep the pieces moist and humid, once planted. This is the preferred clime for these members of the Zingiberaceae family. Ginger and galangal crops take about 100 days to reach harvest potential, so once again, I will be playing the waiting game!

GINGER & GALANGAL PIECES