Tuesday, February 22, 2005

My Poppie and Mommie -- Entry # Fifty Three.

Pictured above are two people that have made a great impact on my life, as we children called them ( Mommie and Poppie ) Most children would say that their parents were the best in the world, and I think that is alright to say, because that is the way I feel. They were a great help to us seven children as we were growing up, they taught us by example. It sure would be nice to have a little talk with them this morning, Poppie was born on August 24, 1889 and died on November 22, 1980.. Mommie was born on June 29, 1896 and died on March 29 1974. There are three of us children left and we miss having them to talk to.

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We are having nice sunny weather here in the Tennessee Valley. Temperature at the moment is 40 degrees. Very pleasent day More tomato growing tips later.

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Dad's Tomato Garden Journal

Or you can send your comment to me by E-Mail at mailto:white6416r@aol.com I will be glad to hear from you.

DAD

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Friday, February 18, 2005

ENTRY # FIFTY TWO.

Good Morning,
In my e-mail this morning I received some real good advice about producing tomatoes. So I want to send it on to you. It is from Rick, and I hope that he will continue to help us in doing a good job at what we love to do. Here is his letter in full. Thanks Rick .

"Sorry to butt in here, you obviously know a lot about tomatos and your links will probably tell your people more than I can impart, but let me give it a shot.All plants require substantial amounts of three essential elements. They are Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash, represented by three consecutive numbers on the commercial fertilizer you buy, in the order given. Green Leafy vegetables require large amounts of Nitrogen. Your Manure is providing plenty of Nitrogen. Flowering and Fruit plants require large amounts of Phosphorus, and Root plants require large amounts of Potash. Your Miracle Grow is providing that, but make sure you are buying the one high in the middle number, as that is the one for Phosphorus, which your tomatos need the most.In other words, buy 15, 30, 15 Miracle Grow, or a similar combination.As for rotating crops, the only issue is one that is also important with your roses, which you also love to grow I am gathering. This has to do with disease, and especially in the case of tomatos, blight. It resides in the soil,if you do not properly clean-up each year and dispose of the old vines in a remote mulch or burn. Once you get blight, you are more susceptible to it in subsequent years. The same is true for Black Spot in Roses."

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

ENTRY #FIFTY-ONE

Good Morning Everyone,
Here is a picture of a sign posted in a park near
Kingsport, TN, where my son and daughter-in-law
live. My grandson and family also live there.
This park is well-known in that area. It is called
Bays Mountain Park. The words on the sign below
are so true. I hope the words are clear enough that
you can read them.
SORRY - PICTURE OF SIGN WAS DELETED

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

ENTRY # FIFTY

Hello to you wherever you are,

It's a rainy day in the Tennessee Valley, not very cold, the tempeature is 49, its supposed to go to 60 today.

Here is a little story that my son , Jim sent me, I like it and just wanted to share it.

Business and Fishing,

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf . He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospects of catching a fish.

About that time a business man came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.

"You aren't going to catch many fish that way," said the business man to the fisherman, " you should be working rather than lying on the beach!"

The fisherman looked up at the business man, smiled and replied, " And what will my reward be?"

" Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!" was the business man's answer.

"And then what will my reward be?" ask the fisherman still smiling.

The business man replied, " you will make money and you'll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!" " And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.

The business man was begining to get a little irritated with the fisherman's questions. " You can buy a bigger boat and hire some people to work for you!" he said

"And then what will my reward be?" repeated the fisherman.

The business man was getting angry. " Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let your employees catch fish for you!"

Once again the fisherman said " And then what will my reward be?"

The business man was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, " Don't you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!"

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, " And what do you think I'm doing right now?"

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This is all I have for today. hope to talk to you soon. Don't forget to smile.
BYE BYE Dad.

Thursday, February 03, 2005

ENTRY # FORTY NINE.

Good Morning to you,

Since it is going to be a few day's before I have any tomato news ready, I am going to show you a poem that I like very much. My daughter Mary writes poetry and I ask her for permission to use it, and she said O.K.

But if you have any tomato questions please send them on to me, I answer all mail that I receive.
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Snowflakes and Dear Ones

Gentle snowflakes fall upon me,
Melting fast upon my face,
There’s no way that I can keep them,
If in my heart they have no place.
Very fragile, very special,
Are these snowflakes from the sky
They remind me of my dear ones,
As they gracefully flutter by.
Scarcely do I see their beauty,
Barely do their rare imprints
Fix themselves upon my fingers,
Till I’m wondering where they went.
In this world so temporary,
Filled with ephemeral things,
Surely everything is fleeting,
Flying 'way on speeding wings.
Like the snowflakes that are melting,
When they touch my skin so warm,
Yes, myself, my friends, my family,
We’re on that solemn journey home.
Snowflakes can’t be kept in bottles,
You can’t grasp them as they fly,
You just have to dearly love them,
As they slowly flutter by.
We cannot keep what can’t be held,
And just as snowflakes disappear,
Often on life’s lonely landscape
We’re deprived of what is dear.
Yet no one really leaves us,
Though we’re far, so far apart,
As long as we believe in snowflakes,
And keep them always in our hearts.
By Mary L. White
This poem brings tears to my eyes.....Dad. Bye Bye
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Here is a link that will take you to Dad's Tomato Garden Journal, meet me over there for a cup of good coffee.


Above Poem is Copyrighted All rights reserved

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

ENTRY # FORTY EIGHT.

Good Morning,

Questions about tomato growing have begun to arrive, and it makes me smile. In this journal I am going to post the questions and the answers, maybe it will be of help to someone. Feel free to write me if you have any questions, or want to correct me on any wrong information I may have given. I need your help. I have produced tomatoes for many years, but feel that I still don't know very much about it. But we will find the answers some where,I am sure.
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Question # One. Crop Rotation.
This question is from Arizona.

"Just a fast question. I read sometime back, and can not find the information.What is it that Tomato plants deplete from the soil if planted in the same location year after year ? Our soil here is very alkaline. I have changed it to slightly acidic. That was one thing.. Several years in a row , I had great Tomatoes, now I do not. I did read some time back about crop rotation and what Tomatoes deplete from the soil
but it seems that I do not remember that, and can not locate the information. It is almost time for us to plant here in Phoenix, so I must get this corrected or my Tomatoes will fail again for the second year. Thanks for your time. Lori."
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Dad's Answer.
Hello Lori,
Thanks so much for your e-mail and hope that I can help you. Many people seem to be wondering about rotation. I have 50 plants in one garden, just don't have the space , and I am not able to rotate and keep the same number of plants. I have been doing that in this one garden for 10 years, and I do produce some beautiful Tomatoes. I'll send you some pictures later. I do know that rotation is good, but if you can't do it don't give up. What I do is when I put my plants in th ground I use either chicken or cow manure around and under the plant, and then watch them grow. Using a little Miracle-Grow helps too.


The links below will take you to a lot more information. More than I will ever know.
Write me any time


http://www.farm-garden.com/primers/17/

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/tomato.html