Signs that your Tomato obession is out of control

[natural]

I thought it would be a great idea to remove a few trees that I wasn't fond of (planted by the previous owner. I partially justified this effort because it would eliminate an area of shade in order to allow for growing even more tomatoes.

Well, the tree service decided to drop a limb on my electrical line which connects to the exterior of my house. Results are displayed below.

Yep, the force of the tree pulled the support boards right out of the house. Nice. The neutral line was detached so I had to ask the power company to cut power until the repairs were somewhat completed. That took an entire day.

My wife asked me to remind her again why we were doing this? Ummmmm.

[Cole_Robbie]

d'oh! I hope the tree service is paying for the repairs?

[peebee]

I lucked out when a strong storm recently took out a large native tree in my back yard. Hubby was disappointed as we were all fond of this tree, but inwardly I was doing a happy dance cuz now I can plant 2 more tomatoes in the area that is not shaded anymore. Whooo-Hoooo!
But having your roof damaged like that hurts. Hope they will cover the repair, as they should.

[Sun City Linda]

Originally Posted by peebee

I lucked out when a strong storm recently took out a large native tree in my back yard. Hubby was disappointed as we were all fond of this tree, but inwardly I was doing a happy dance cuz now I can plant 2 more tomatoes in the area that is not shaded anymore. Whooo-Hoooo!

[Labradors2]

For once I was pleased that Dutch Elm disease took out two big Elm trees that were growing close to my veggie garden. Not only did they shade it at mid-day, but the roots were sneaking up into the garden and stealing nutrients and water. Now the garden gets full sun all day!

Hopefully, the tree service will have insurance to cover the damage that they did to your house.

Linda

[natural]

oh yes. The tree service has insurance and is taking care of everything.
The interesting part was that the tree cutter dropped the limb on the line intentionally. He said that he thought that the wire was secured to the house more than it was. I politely asked him how many limbs have fallen on his head.

The power company said we were lucky that we didn't lose any electronics. It could have been much worse.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by natural

oh yes. The tree service has insurance and is taking care of everything.
The interesting part was that the tree cutter dropped the limb on the line intentionally. He said that he thought that the wire was secured to the house more than it was. I politely asked him how many limbs have fallen on his head.

Where's the like button! That cracked me up.

[Stainless]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

For once I was pleased that Dutch Elm disease took out two big Elm trees that were growing close to my veggie garden. Not only did they shade it at mid-day, but the roots were sneaking up into the garden and stealing nutrients and water. Now the garden gets full sun all day!

I had the same issue last Summer. My Elm tree was about half dead from the disease so we removed it. Now my entire back yard has sunlight. I had grass late summer over my entire backyard where I usually had bald spots. Looks so much better. Now I have a lot more room to grow!

[Labradors2]

Funny, but sad too .

Hopefully, he won't do THAT again!

Linda

[sdambr]

That's really terrible what happened. Glad they had insurance. More importantly, how many more plants fit now?

[natural]

Originally Posted by sdambr

That's really terrible what happened. Glad they had insurance. More importantly, how many more plants fit now?

LOL! I think I can squeeze another 40 or so plants in the new sun-filled area. The other benefit is that it opened up the area that serves as my temporary greenhouse for plant starts in the spring. That is the real key.

The downside (and it is a big one) besides the expense is that we lost the afternoon shading for the corner of the house where my home office is located. It is really going to be cooking in my office this summer.

One of the trees was a willow oak that the original owners had planted less than 15 feet from one side of our house. It was over 60 feet tall and the branches had reached the side of our house. The roots were invading the septic lines and the tank. Been there, done that before. REALLY going to miss the shade!

[sdambr]

Originally Posted by natural

The downside (and it is a big one) besides the expense is that we lost the afternoon shading for the corner of the house where my home office is located. It is really going to be cooking in my office this summer.

One of the trees was a willow oak that the original owners had planted less than 15 feet from one side of our house. It was over 60 feet tall and the branches had reached the side of our house. The roots were invading the septic lines and the tank. Been there, done that before. REALLY going to miss the shade!

Yup, that's the price. With forty more plants you'll be outside much more and a large rim hat will give you plenty of shade. Just bring a tomato sandwich when you're going to your office to remind you why the sacrifice.

[Labradors2]

40 more plants is nothing to sneeze at! Cool!

I don't know if you could do this, but we installed a retractable awning over our deck which is WONDERFUL and makes it pleasant to sit outside in the heat of summer. It also keeps our sunroom nice and cool. Another benefit is that I can drag my container tomatoes under the awning when it rains so that the poor babies won't get their leaves wet!

Linda

Originally Posted by natural

LOL! I think I can squeeze another 40 or so plants in the new sun-filled area. The other benefit is that it opened up the area that serves as my temporary greenhouse for plant starts in the spring. That is the real key.

The downside (and it is a big one) besides the expense is that we lost the afternoon shading for the corner of the house where my home office is located. It is really going to be cooking in my office this summer.

One of the trees was a willow oak that the original owners had planted less than 15 feet from one side of our house. It was over 60 feet tall and the branches had reached the side of our house. The roots were invading the septic lines and the tank. Been there, done that before. REALLY going to miss the shade!

[natural]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

40 more plants is nothing to sneeze at! Cool!

I don't know if you could do this, but we installed a retractable awning over our deck which is WONDERFUL and makes it pleasant to sit outside in the heat of summer. It also keeps our sunroom nice and cool. Another benefit is that I can drag my container tomatoes under the awning when it rains so that the poor babies won't get their leaves wet!

Linda

That is a good idea. I'll check into that.


FathersDaughter, I haven't decided which varieties to add to my grow list.

I have convinced a friend of mine (a farmer) to grow around 300 plants. I plan to give him the plants and my return will be a few tomatoes off of each plant for seed saving. This will allow me to refresh my seed stock for 100 to 150 varieties. I still have to finalize my multiple grow lists.

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by sdambr

That's really terrible what happened. Glad they had insurance. More importantly, how many more plants fit now?

okay, I really did laugh when reading this reply.

Sorry about your house Natural. A couple winters ago, ice on the lines caused problems like that for us. Just not as bad as your picture shows.