The Matter of the 'Maters

I received an email yesterday from the "'Mater Man", reporting on the fruitfulness of his heirloom tomatoes. Ranging from poor to excellent, the different heirlooms are faring mixed results in our South Carolina climate. I'm a little alarmed, because I can't comment AT ALL on the fruitfulness of my plants, as they, well, haven't yet produced fruit.

They're looking very healthy, nice and green, and I've got to be happy about THAT. After all, some years the only thing my garden has produced is laughter. (And not from me! Thank you very much.) A few years ago, after he stopped laughing, my friend Todd enlightened me a bit on soil prep. The following year I followed his instructions carefully, and had the Best Garden Ever. (At least by my standards.)

Last year the drought pretty much wiped everything out, so this year I'm encouraged to at least have green in my garden. The tomatoes do have some flower buds, so fruit is sure to follow, right? I really am looking forward to a tomato basil omelette. In fact, some "volunteer" basil plants have sprouted right in the shadows of the tomato plants. How convenient is that?

My garden is not totally without fruit thus far. I do have some peppers growing on my tiny little pepper plants. The little plants are not really sturdy enough to support the peppers at this point. Maybe there was no education about teenage pregnancy in pepper school. I am concerned about them, for sure.

Then there's the matter of the Sweet Orange peppers, that at this point look suspiciously like jalapenos. Maybe some jokester at Lee's Landscaping mixed them up?

The mint patch looks great. Of course, the mint patch ALWAYS looks great. How tough is it to grow mint? (Answer: Not. How tough is it to KILL mint? Answer: Entirely a different story.)

So, perhaps I should try a mint omelette?

Advice welcome. See more posts about Lake Wylie living on Lake Wylie's premier waterfront real estate site, www.TheLakeWylieMan.com.