I have never really been good at keeping plants alive, but in the last year, I said I'd give it another go. I bought a rose-bush, a honeysuckle and some tomato seedlings. They all seem to be thriving, but the plant that has really given me a lot of pleasure is my largest tomato vine.
It was only a small plant, yay-high when I bought it for a couple of Euro. I transplanted it into a long window box and positioned it in the sun-trap which is my tiny walled yard. The first problem was slugs. These little creatures like to nibble on delicate leaves, so after a suggestion from a friend, I cut the bottoms off Guinness cans and filled them with a bit of beer. Then I left the cans, half buried, next to the tomato seedlings. The slugs liked the beer (can you blame them?) and drowned in it, the poor cratúrs. I won't lie to you, I felt a bit bad seeing those little wiggly things in the black beer. In any case, after a few repetitions of that exercise, the slug population dwindled and the plants grew protected under some transparent plastic bags. It reached out its vine branches and found support against bits and pieces of outcrop in the wall.
This year in Ireland, we've had some lovely sunny stretches, so the tomato plants grew and grew. I was delighted to see little flowers arrive on the plants and then fruit! It was exciting to see how the plants sent runners out from one branch to another for stability. It got me thinking how we humans can also do that and give strength to ourselves by doing supportive things for ourselves. We can self-support by letting one aspect of our nature or personality support another part of ourself that needs a hand up. And we can reach out to others too.
Today I picked my first ruby-red tomato from the vine and I can't describe the immense pleasure it gave me. The vine is now chest high and seems to have at least 15 tomatoes in gestation.
I feel so proud of that plant!
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