The first of the tomatoes

I was as the Shop-Rite and they were selling fresh Jersey tomatoes for $1.50 a pound. I was tempted then I remembered I had two home-growns on my windowsill. So what the heck, I ate one.

A teeny bit green and tangy but even so, a nice flavor. How many of us have started projects only to have them die (literally) on the vine. Perseverance pays.

After the storm

After the big storm Sunday afternoon I checked the plants. The plants were intact but the wind had dropped the large plant almost to the ground. Hopefully, the tomatoes will still ripen on the vine.

Prudence being the better part of valor, I cut off the two reddish ones that were perilously close to the floor. Now they are sitting on my kitchen window sill. Worse comes to worse, I may have to do a Fanny Flagg.

Approaching the quest

Things are definitely looking good on the tomato front. Happy weekend, all.

Freedom

I had bird netting over the cayenne peppers and they were getting scrunched and the leaves at the top looked wilted. I took a pair of scissors and cut the netting so the plant could come through. It grew two inches in two days. The rainbow effect, while unintentional, is a result of shooting right into the sunlight. This is a learn while we go experience.

Tomatoes are getting bigger but are still green. It's so hot out (it's been in the mid 90's every day it seems this past week) that I have been watering in the evening and morning.

Speaking of hot peppers I bought some Poblano peppers at the supermarket. The kid at the cash register didn't know what they were. I said "Poblanos". He showed me his vegetable and bar code guide. No Poblano peppers. Finally I told a white lie. "Well they're a type of jalapeno." At least that got me out of the store. I don't know if I underpaid or overpaid.

the Dinky

I think it was on public television a few years ago I came across a documentary on the Princeton Dinky. I always promised myself I would ride it. Over the years I always imagined it as a narrow gauge steam train with conductors in colorful costumes and folk singers.. As I passed through Princeton Junction on the train, I was always envious of those lucky souls taking the Dinky.

Even the term "dinky" had a certain allure. One day Albert Einstein told one of his students he was bound on the train to see his sweetheart in New York, calling her "Der Ingwer Niedlich Kirmes Irrlicht" which the student acronymized as "Dinky". The name stuck and since then, the Princeton Shuttle has been known as the Dinky.

Today, being idle and up for adventure, I took the Dinky. It's a cute train, albeit slow and not always synchronized with the main line. If you crane your neck you can see the towpath of the D&R Canal.

While in Princeton I bought a sale book at a bookstore and was asked if I would donate 5 cents to reduce my carbon footprint. I knew I had left Trenton and was now in Princeton.

Back to the tomatoes. They're getting bigger but are still green.

Editor's note: The Albert Einstein story is bunk.

On Trenton

I was just reading about the future of Trenton. Trenton will have smart shops, upscale housing, hip but expensive clubs. It will be like Albany Street in New Brunswick. The funky pizza parlor that every state employee goes to on Warren Street will be replaced with a Pizza Hut. Café Ole will be replaced by Starbucks coffee. The film and jazz festivals will have world renowned hosts and be pricey.
And the grizzled old hipsters will wax nostalgic about how Trenton was so much better before it was discovered. Friendly bars. The weird barber shop. Scruffy film festivals that were not mentioned in the New Yorker. When there were art galleries with paintings for sale under five hundred dollars. All night art festivals that lasted twenty four hours and were free. Just like the people who will tell you how much better Philadelphia or So Ho in New York were in the old days when manufacturers fought with artists over space. Yes, these are the golden days of Trenton.
Speaking of the golden days of Trenton, there is a Wednesday night film festival at Café Ole and jazz on Tuesdays at the steps of the War Memorial during lunch hour.
Back to the tomatoes. The squirrel is climbing the gate I put up to guard the tomato plants and using it as a ladder to sniff around. I moved the gate.

Yes we have some tomatoes

There they are. A bunch of tomatoes. Let's see how the rest of you afficianodo's are doing. I know you're all in Pamplona this week.

Thursday is the first of the Capital City Farmers Markets, State and Broad in beautiful downtown Trenton. 12-2 and there will be a jazz singer, I've been told.

Manasquan Reservoir

Yesterday I took a hike around Manasquan Reservoir with the Sierra Club. The park was full of bicyclists, kids, fishermen, and dogs swimming in the water and annoying the fishermen. The reservoir also is a working reservoir and serves the water needs of Monmouth County.

The tomatoes are fine. Wet but fine.

So how are the plants?

Sometimes I forget. This blog is about my tomatoes. A close investigation will show three tomatoes. Still waiting on the peppers. Happy Fourth of July.