"The tomatoes are coming! The tomatoes are coming!"

How surprised I was, after weeks of anticipation and literally "green with envy"...my tomatoes have begun to ripen.

At Scotts, each employee is put on a team and given a raised bed garden to plant anything you want - there is everything from commonplace tomatoes and cucumbers to corn and pumpkins to mums. The idea is to grow fresh produce to donate to the local food bank. Too often food banks are overloaded with dusty cans of kidney beans, damaged boxes of mac and cheese, and weird sort-of-foods like olives and banana peppers. Most people don't realize that food banks will also take FRESH produce. So instead of the usually "canned food drive"...ick...Scotts has committed to donate most of the Associate Garden harvest to the local Marysville food bank. We are allowed to keep 25% for ourselves (I've been eating a cucumber a day...).

I have officially taken over the "Gardens Intern" plot - as the other interns were included on their brand teams plots. Several pictures are posted in the slideshow gallery. It began with two strawberry plants, four tomato plants, and four cucumber plants - I had no idea what I was doing. Planted way to many in a small space - so several attempts at upward-growth fixtures (cages, ladders, etc.) later - I have quite the bumper crop. Not to mention a raised bed filled with Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix - probably $100 worth of soil in this bed alone. I also adopted four zucchini plants and two grape tomato plants that some rogue gardener planted in the plot next to mine. Over 40 cucumbers, three zucchini breads, and 12 strawberries later - and note this was the portion NOT donated - I am ready for some tomatoes. I have big plans for salsa (also growing cilantro) and pasta sauce.

As you can see in various photos, there are tons of tomatoes. At last count, there were almost 80 among the four plants! I'm struggling to keep up with stringing these bendy stems to the home-made ladder for support. I learned last weekend that grocery store tomatoes are picked green and ripened in ethylene gas. Ick.

I think I'll leave mine on the vine until ripe, thank you.