Waiting for Tomato "Babies"

[kilroyscarnival]

Not sure there's anything quite like waiting for the first seedlings to push up through the growing medium. I saw my first thin pale "baby" pushing up in the seed starting tray this morning. Planted delicately and shallowly Sunday. This is one of Bunny Hop Seeds' "Whippersnapper" variety, a basket determinate. It seems decidedly early, though I admit last night I had already convinced myself I'd done something horribly wrong already and nothing was going to come up (perhaps a symptom of a few weeks' trial and defeat with some six-year-old seeds I'd held onto way too long).

I've got the new Sunblaster T5 lamp beaming down on the little guy and his still-soil-sleeping kinder-kindred. I've forgotten this rush of excitement as it's been a while since I grew anything besides catnip and mixed greens from seed, and those are just kind of a broadcast planting. This little tomato is a genuine baby, and I'm going to read him his family story as written by Ellie on the site:

"'Whippersnapper' produces beautiful tumbling trusses of large cherry tomatoes that seem to ripen in a rainbow from light pearly pink to nearly red. It is quite prolific, and needs a strong support to the hanging basket. The taste is sweet and the skin is not thick, which may allow for some cracking, but makes for a more pleasant eating experience." (I love her prose.)

Somehow in this wash of maternal feeling for the little buddy, it has not yet connected that I'm merely growing him to pick and eat his fruit... maybe a story for another bedtime, Junior.

*footnote: I did plant rather shallowly, with the intention of very delicately adding sifted medium around it as it comes up, to avoid legginess. I'd better get siftin' too.

-- Ann