Wednesday, April 17, 2013

gophers kidnapped julia child

ugh
double ugh
triple ugh
a couple of weeks ago, we planted 61 gorgeous tomato plants...all in a row, perfectly spaced, bordered by marigolds. it took hours.


2 days later we noticed that rabbits had nibbled on the leaves of a few, and 2 plants had disappeared completely

i drove to town, picked up supplies and fashioned a secondary fence to protect the plants

6 more plants disappeared....and fresh gopher mounds appeared in their place
we planted gopher bombs, traps and ran water in the tunnels...and went to bed
the next day, all looked good

3 days later...
julia child was gone
a special tomato that i can only imagine would have been colorful and plump
a real vivor
 we will never know
a gopher kidnapped julia child and michael pollan and 40 other tomato plants

this is what the tomato patch looked like when it was all said and done
decimated

no ransom notes, just holes, mounds of dirt & tipped name plates--where julia, michael, cherokee and others once stood

rather than feed another generation of gophers, we pulled the plants, and are starting again.  we transferred the plants to larger pots as a transitional step.  it was slightly heartbreaking, as they were  rooting really well, and had begun to sprout roots from the deeply planted stalks.  i gave them a good feeding and mixed up a delicious soil (1 part dirt: 1 part organic potting soil: 1 part compost) and crossed my fingers

today
the plants we saved are doing very well...and should produce a nice healthy crop of tomatoes

soon
we will plant again. in gopher safe-raised beds


(this post is from my other blog which catalogs our journey on our new ranch--www.keepingupwiththeclampetts.blogspot.com)

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