The status of the garden, with King

[ksmith]

Things proceed on the tomato front. A few of the plants are 5-6" tall, and I planted them in the patio garden.


Some tomato plants:


Some more tomato plants:


The patio garden. You can see the tomato plants hanging out the bottom of the planter. They will grow upside-down, which will prevent the sorts of diseases and injuries that result from contact with the ground:


The oregano plant, which has exploded:



King livened up the evening by eating something--by all indications, a major wad of tissue--then walking around the rooms making gulping motions like he was having trouble swallowing. Ran outside as soon as I opened the door and started chomping grass, I assumed to make himself throw up. Phoned the emergency vet office--the woman who answered the phone wouldn't tell me how to make a dog throw up, but advised me to bring him in for a shot. I considered this, but King didn't seem too distressed, so I imposed upon Mickey's vet instead. She confirmed my thought that a piece of tissue had likely gotten caught in his throat, and to just let him eat and drink water to force it down. This worked. All seems well, though I was concerned that the big idiot would hork grass all over the floor.

I was disappointed to learn from Mickey's vet that she has left the local practice. She had a long commute, and there were other reasons, apparently. I thanked her for the way she looked after Mickey, and told her that I would let her know how things worked out.

I am very disappointed. I like the other vets in the practice, but she was very compassionate and helpful during a very rough time.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

The tomatoes look great! Can you take them in when the frost comes? I don't know if they'll produce unless you get a really late frost this year. I'll be curious to find out how you like upside down tomatoes. I've never tried that.

I hope all is well with King.

Adrianne

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

These tomatoes were supposed to be 75-day, and they sprouted about a month ago. I'm hoping for tomatoes in August. I don't recall any September frosts, but we will probably have one this year because Kris planted her tomatoes late.

The planter weighs a ton--there's water in the base to stabilize it--and even if I could move it, I would have no place inside to put it.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I'm in Zone 5:

Average dates the last frost - 30 March to 30 April
Average dates the first frost - 30 September to 30 October

It occurs to me that it would be fairly simple to wrap the planter with an electric blanket in case of threat of frost. I wouldn't need to keep it too warm.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, that's good then! You get lots more frost free days than we do. I can almost count on a killing frost mid September. But then it gets warm here afterward, so if I cover the tomatoes, I can get another month of them.

Adrianne

[trillium-flower.livejournal.com]

Hydrogen peroxide (3%) is what my vet gives for inducing vomiting. 1 teaspoon per 10lbs, but underestimate at first because it can have a quick reaction and is very very foamy. (I learned this when my australian shepard became obsessed with eating slugs one spring. Slugs... not good for dogs. Slug bait also not good for dogs. Conundrum. It was a long spring.)

Also hay or straw makes for good insulation to keep things from frosting.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Mickey's vet mentioned peroxide as well.

As luck would have it, I have an entire bale of bedding straw in my garage. I used to use it to fill King's house when he was an outside dog. Now I could probably wrap the patio garden with a sheet of plastic and fill the compartment with straw.

I *will* have tomatoes in October!

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

Or fried green tomatoes...if a frost catches you early (bring just the tomatoes themselves in.)

We found that packing hay/straw up around the plants helped in the kind of light frosts we got in San Antonio--the tips of the plants might turn brown, but down below the ground heat kept the lower plants and the fruits safe.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

That's the thing with this planter--I doubt it will hold the heat like ground would.

The electric blanket might still be the way to go.

Tomatoes

[(Anonymous)]

You can bring the green tomatoes inside when the weather gets cold and many of them will slowly ripen. My mom had the last of her tomatoes in November last year.

Cynthia

Re: Tomatoes

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

That's good to know--thanks!

Do they taste as good?