Diary 7/4/11

Happy 4th of July!  My 4th of July tomatoes are not ready today.  They are sized up and I may have to deny them water and kinda force a ripening.  If tomatoes are happy, they will just grow along, staying green, and not thinking about turning red.  If they feel a little stressed, they start wondering if they should make seeds, and thus they ripen.  When you have tomatoes that are big enough, try withholding water to encourage ripening.  You are not going to eat the leaves, after all, so the pretty plant part of the tomato season switches to making fruit. Neighbor get togethers the last two nights.  Last night I took cucumbers and a cream cheese and nasturtium dip. I ground a handful of flowers and then added cream cheese and oregano, garlic salt, and a little hot sauce.  Today I took this fruit salad.  Be safe!