Phoenix Family Photographer | Haircuts and tomatoes

We planted tomato plants (one for each of the girls) this morning.  Kate and Elise got to spend the afternoon with their Auntie and cousins and I snuck out for a long overdue haircut.  All in all not a bad day.

BTW, If anyone has a suggestion on how to keep the tomato plants alive despite my black thumb and the AZ summer sun please share!

We (and by "we" I mean all of us while the kids are awake and paying attention) have been dairy free for almost two months now.  Elise's skin looks clear and we're still waiting on the results of her food and environmental allergy tests.  In typic mother hen fashion, Kate is always on the lookout for potential sources of dairy that might accidentally sneak into her sister's diet.  The other day I was in the playroom and overheard the following take place in their pretty pink play kitchen.

Elise: I want to make some.

Kate: Oh no sweetie, I'm frying and that's too dangerous for little girls like you.  Besides, I'm making something with dairy and you can't have dairy. You're dairy free.

Elise: No I'm not!  I have yogurt in my tummy right now!

I didn't have the heart to tell her it was soy yogurt. 

My daily grateful:

• 5 minutes of peace and quiet, with no where to go and nothing to be done "right now mommy!"
• feeling Bee kick when Kate kissed my belly
• sunglasses

Comments

[Michele]

I got this email from a photographer friend of mine. She lives in Gilbert and gardens inspite of our less than ideal summer conditions. I thought her email was very helpful and had to share it.
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Unfortunately, tomatoes typically won't set fruit once the temps are in the high-90's and higher and it's really hard to keep them alive through the summer if they're outside. I'm a fairly experienced gardener and I'm about to rip mine out and start seeds indoors for late-summer/fall tomatoes. I don't know WHY stores sells them here this time of year...they should have been planted in late-Feb. but do they tell you that? No, they don't. ;)

I would probably keep them inside for the summer (in a very sunny spot) because in pots, the roots just tend to boil because the pot heats up quickly. They need lots of sun though. They also like to grow their roots down to 10 feet so they are more difficult in pots, unless they specifically are a container variety and then they're better than if they weren't. ;)

When you plant them it's recommended to bury all but the top few inches of the plant because they form roots all along the stem and that makes them stronger. If you were to replant them that way now and keep them alive through summer by keeping them indoors in tons of sun (at least until we're past the 110+ temps that are coming), they would likely be big and ready to fruit tons come late-August. Of course I know you can't be lugging tomatoes in pots all over your yard and into your house!!

But lots of water, letting them dry out well between and then really soaking. And lots of organic fertilizer. :) I kept a bunch alive on my patio through mid-July last year but they stopped giving me fruit in early June. This year I put my plants in by the end of February and we've had lots of fruit but they stopped setting several weeks ago.

Good luck! BTW, Pumpkins (plant in Jukly), melons, cukes, peppers and squash (zuch and yellow) do REALLY well in our summer heat.