If I want a tobacco ration, food, and a place to sleep I have to get the planting season in gear today. The tomato plants are in and caged. The bell peppers and eggplant are planted. If I can get the zucchini and cucumbers in before dark the plantation mistress has promised to go easy on my beatings for a while.

It's not easy clearing the frontier.

Tomatoes & bell peppers.

From little leafy things do big eggplants grow.


More farming tomorrow I think. I hope we get some sun.

Looking good QP. About the only thing that grew well last year was the lone eggplant I put in the ground just because I felt like something different. The cherry tomatoes died early and the regular tomatoes and peppers were a big disappointment. I think it was to wet early on in the season last year. Plus I think a few plants I bought had some kind of blight.

I decided to try to grow everything from seed this year. We'll see.....

My peppers were stunted (OK but small) from all the rain last year and my eggplant got overrun by the zucchini. The cukes were good and so were the tomatoes.

This year I have the zucchini isolated so it can go nuts and not overwhelm any of it's neighbors.

A tip from Farmer Fernando Frunkflopper - tomatoes thrive in dry heat. Do not overwater.

Something's been nibbling on my eggplant leaves. A few nights outside with a flashlight and shotgun should alleviate the problem.

We got some marigolds in near the veggies. There is something about marigolds that bugs do not like and keeps them away from the cash crops.

It's not easy being a farmer. I need to get on a program where the government sends me thousands not to grow bananas or palm trees. That thing pays off almost as much as the New York Van Scam.