Pinching Suckers

I think that's an attention-getting title. But I make reference to tomato plants and nothing more. So I did what I said I wouldn't and pinched off a good bit of my tomato plants. Upon inspection, I discovered that they were leafing out so large that they were starting to cover each other in spite of being spaced apart at least a foot. Since I have one plant with nice, large, green tomatoes I decided I better start pruning off those useless parts that were just consuming energy and delaying the ripening process. So far, so good. The plants are still alive.

Last year, I pinched my tomatoes so badly that I killed them, so no tomatoes for me. Hence my skepticism regarding pinching back. On reflection, I can't really name what exactly I did wrong, but whatever it was, it killed two plants.

In any case, it seems to have worked for now. Pictures will follow if these tomatoes actually ripen. The fact that any fruits and/or vegetables will actually come from something I've grown is a HUGE shock to me. Regardless of the fact that human beings have been cultivating food for thousands of years, for me it seems to be a laughable process, hence the 'clueless' in this blog title. Growing up in the city is not quite the preparation for the farming life that a person might need.

Zucchini has blossoms, big ol' blossoms; watermelon is getting close to blooming, squash is blooming; and the cucumbers are developing all over the place. I may have so many cucumbers that I'll need to start giving them away.