Spa Day For Box Car Willie

My husband came out of the shower in a hurry to get to work. I turned to him and profusely apologized for the amount of dirt Box Car Willie left behind in the tub. 

If you know me you are probably just as confused as my husband. 

"WHO?"

That big tomato plant on the porch. His name is Box Car Willie. 

You see I wanted some tomato plants for my container garden and I got them. The plants were extras a local greenhouse was giving away. Willie is a bit more tame than his counter parts who traveled here with him. Those other guys, well lets say the difference is like going to the county fair and Burning Man. Willie who is the county fair in the scenario is great but understated, he has been struggling a little to stay hydrated. Those other tomato plants, they are a crazy bunch growing out of their containers with wild abandon. I can't tell where one begins and the other ends. No sense trying to tame the chaos now. Like Burning Man the best thing to do with those tomato plants is just to let the wild craziness happen and try to enjoy the ride.

 Today Willie traveled up to the house for some TLC. Willie was not alone, he shares his pot with 2 tiny zucchini seedlings also in need of a little pampering. We got to the house, I set the pot in the tub, filled the tub with about 2 inches of water and let the crew soak. I watered the top of the soil a bit also. I wish I had taken a before picture. Willie was on his last leg. Droopy, dry sad Willie looked like he was not long for the world. 

 Several hours in the tub and you should see Willie now! 

 Almost the picture of health again. Willie and the zuke twins will spend a couple days on my porch getting some extra TLC before heading back out with the rest of the plants. I will have to take a picture during the day tomorrow. 

 For now I will leave you with pictures of other happenings in our kitchen. We are picking some baby cucumbers, beets, and little bell peppers from our garden. I have been going to the farmers market and my kind sister in law sends me love from her garden as well. I am trying to do some fermentation to get some enzymes and probiotics in my diet. Time to start preparing my body for the group B Strep test and birth. Did I mention I hit the third trimester this week? 

Kraut is nearly ready for the fridge in the large jar. The purple and white cabbage mix becomes a perfect pink color. The small jar are beets I shredded for fermentation tonight. 

Salad with goodies from our garden

My 12 year old son was proud to help me pick these items. The carrots were culls we pulled to make room for other carrots they were too close too. I decided to use them in salad so they were not wasted. 

Beets, carrots and a couple turnips. This made a very full quart jar when it was cooked. Everything is pink.