Hats Off to the Mater Master!

... on a job well done, and a prize well won! Me thinks I hear the sounds of a thousand worms cheering in unison. Quite the team effort - and yes, you get to keep the title for at least another year.

I just need to run out and pick something up for ya ...

MM

Batten Down The Hatches!

My mater plants are now over six feet tall and loaded up with lots of maters!

Good thing our new tent arrived. I'm using some of the stakes to help tie things down for the tropical storm winds that are supposed to start up this evening ...

The bad news: Yesterday I found two tomatoes that appear to have the same issue Dad's "Rocky" had. I performed an autopsy on them to see what might be the cause, but so far your guess is as good as mine ...

The good news: So far none of the other maters appear to have it, including my TWO big boys shown below. I managed to measure out 9" on a piece of twine, and wrap it around to check, and both are qualifiers for size. Unfortunately I'm a bit short handed on photography help here, so you'll have to take my word for it until I can have a neighbor take the picture while I measure them. Nate isn't tall enough, and he's still working on his photography skills. No doubt he's a charmer, but I'd be lucky if he got a framed shot of my butt :)

MM

Stakin' Tomatoes

Hard to believe, but the tallest of the plants is as tall as I am - boy these things sure have taken off. Yesterday was a little gusty and one of them decided to flop over - thankfully there was hardly any damage, but it was their way of telling me they'd like to get some extra support. So this morning Nater Gater and I took a trip to Lowes and picked up a 1" by 6" by 8' board and I ripped it into 1 inch by 8 foot stakes. I got out my rubber mallet and stepladder and pounded them into the ground next to my four beauties. I then stringed them up with some nylon twine.

Nate was a big help with the twine, helping me run it through our rigging.

I can't wait until stakin' tomatoes can be steak and tomatoes! Yum, yum!

MM

Gettin' Pretty Big!

I thought I'd show you all how big the plants have gotten - as you can see they're starting to make gains on the swing set in the background ...

Here's a closeup of the first maters. Of course there are lots and lots of buds over the other three plants ...

MM

Nater and the Maters

Yes, we're all looking strong and healthy down this way - we even feel good enough to put a kid in front of the maters to give you a sense of size ...

He looks pretty cocky doesn't he?

Here's a good shot at some blossoms. I haven't counted the total, but all four plants have a few clusters each:

MM

I Give You ... the Tomato-Counting Count!

ONE TOMATO ... AH, AH, AHHH!

TWO TOMATO ... AH AH AHH!



Still All Green

As you can see, the Mater Matic grads are green and thriving, but so far no buds ...

Not much to say, other than to tip my hat to my competitors - we may be falling behind, but we're taking notes and we may still have a surprise or two left for you all!

MM