November #BlogBattle: Cultivate

/ Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

At the beginning of 2022, I had the overwhelming notion of cultivating something. Something I had never had much luck with before.

I chose tomatoes.

I had always wanted to do this, but previous efforts had always failed for one reason or another. This time, I was sure we would grow our own tomatoes.

I researched all the different types of tomatoes, confident I would make the right choice. Several packets of seeds arrived in the post, and I started to gather all the pots and soil I would need.

This was all happening when the year was young and hadn’t yet acquired that air of doom and gloom that would eventually descend and taint everything.

I felt like a proper gardener as I prepared the pots and planted the seeds. Every day I would inspect them, waiting eagerly to see the first pale new shoots appearing. I remember being so happy when the first seedlings broke through the soil.

Just one week later, I went outside to see my charges, to be met with the scene of a disaster. Something had attacked the pots, and the ground was littered with displaced soil and battered seedlings. I tried my best to replant them all, but inside, I was seething. Who or what had done this?

It seemed to take a long time for the seedlings to recover, and I secretly waited for them to curl up their toes and give up the fight. To be honest, that’s what I wanted to do, as my dream had been spoiled.

Slowly, they did recover and grew taller. Soon the pale yellow star-shaped flowers appeared, shortly followed by tiny tomatoes. Whether it was being so cruelly disturbed, the lack of sunshine, or the absence of luck, these tomatoes never grew very big. Disappointingly small, although definitely sweet.

I still wonder what had sabotaged my efforts and whether I will try again next year…

©JayeMarie2022

27 thoughts on “November #BlogBattle: Cultivate”

  1. A heart rendering account of hoping to grow something. I can sympathise. We were growing sunflower shoots in doors as directed, they were doing well. We planted them out at the right time, but they didn’t make it. We couldn’t figure out how, either insects or competing with resources of other nearby plants. Nature’s tough.
    You have optimism though and that’s the most important factor in planting.
    Best wishes for next year.

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  2. Pingback: #BlogBattle Stories: Cultivate | BlogBattle

  3. Definitely relatable! Certainly try again next year, as every year seems to be different when it comes to gardening. It was a challenging season for us this year, with a cold, wet spring and hot, dry summer – our tomatoes started off looking pretty sad. Their tenacity is quite a testament, however, and an excellent metaphor for how we can weather hard times, even if the results aren’t exactly what we hoped for.

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  4. I’m sorry your tomatoes didn’t thrive. I try to grow them every year and every year I fail. Too cold here, but more so, too short a growing season. They seem to need prolonged hot weather. Sigh. If you figure out the trick next year, let me know! Nothing quite like garden tomatoes.

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  5. Good to see you back ladies. My monies on pigeons or similar after fresh shoots. The blighters peck heck out of my new bean shoots. Definitely try again. Solution finding is part of the fun!

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