Linda's Tomatoes

Linda’s Tomatoes

Working in the greenhouse early this morning. I come in early in the summer because it gets really hot. Even now I my forehead is getting damp and it’s barely seven. I love the quiet work.

I grow hydroponic tomatoes and sell them at a stand in front of my house. There’s a bit of work to it. Each plant grows in a bag of perlite. I start my seeds in late winter in my house in paper pots, then transfer them to the greenhouse, then into bags of perlite once they get big enough. I am responsible for all their food and water with lines going to each bag.

I check my babies every day. There’s always pruning, clipping, sometimes the feeders get clogged or fall out of the bags, all kinds of issues. It’s just me and the plants.

Over the years, I’ve gotten into the habit of talking out loud to them. It started innocently enough, “Well, I guess I missed you yesterday!” or “This is one beautiful tomato you made!” but it escalated. Now I tell them everything! My thoughts and feelings, problems, goals. I work things out that I want to say to other people, out loud, so I will get it right. I can even yell my head off, they don’t mind. They always listen, and they don’t talk back. It’s such an easier relationship than with actual people.

Just now I was chastising myself because I forgot my clippers. I turned to the plant that needed clipping and said, “Well, it’s just a little clip, you don’t mind if I use the scissors, do you?”

And a soft voice seemed to say, “Actually, Linda, scissors are not really good for my stems...”

I may need to start getting out more...