There’s a girl in my German class who is always bringing in veggies for snack. Normally this isn’t noticeable, but her veggies look good. REALLY good. Big fat cherry tomatoes and massive chunks of cucumber. Most of my classmates have noticed, and she usually shares the wealth with those of us who forget our snacks. Five hours without food is a long time.
So we’ve gotten into the habit of talking about veggies and gardening during break. Yesterday during class she announced that someone on Craigslist was giving away tomato plants for free. It’s Craigslist, so I didn’t think she was serious about getting some. I jokingly asked her if I could have one.
So today I walked into class to discover two tomato plants balanced on her desk. She brings them over to me. They’re growing in Solo cups, and one of them has a bent-up stem from travel. By the end of German, I’m firmly attached to these plants. I’ve made a makeshift stake for the bent one out of a green colored pencil, a Disney pen, and electrical tape. (I knew carrying a roll of that around would be handy someday.) I was so proud of my craftiness.
I had also named both plants. I’m strange like that, I tend to name inanimate objects. The tomato plants are now named Katniss and Peeta. I couldn’t resist the Hunger Games reference! Besides, it was quite fitting. The one in the blue cup is tall and already has little tomatoes on it, but the stem is broken (reminded me of Peeta’s leg in the first games.) The one in the red cup is short and has a fatter stem. It’s still beginning to flower. It seemed to scream “stubborn”. So it became Katniss.
Okay, yes, I’m weird.
Either way, I love these plants. I went to the store and bought them big pots to replace the solo cups. I also bought tomato fertilizer, and real stakes. Both plants have been transplanted safely. I tied the broken part of the one plant (Saying “the broken part of Peeta’s stem” just sounded a bit…wrong…) very carefully. They’re both on the balcony right now.
I’m very excited to see if this works. I read that coffee grounds and eggshells are really good fertilizers, and that’s lucky, because there are ALWAYS egg shells and coffee grounds in this apartment! I’m a bit worried right now, the leaves on the Peeta plant are all wilted. I guess that’s from the broken stem. It didn’t break all the way through, so I hope it survives. It doesn’t look too good right now…
Zoey Delmaire Writes 
Haha, another person to get excited about gardening with!
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Good, so, when do I give up on Peeta-plant? I’m worried, ’cause the top is all icky wilted, but below the break there is one sprig of leaves that look nice. Do I keep waiting?
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I would dead-head it. Cut off the part that looks bad, but make sure you do it right at the intersection of good leaves; if you cut it partway down the stem where there’s nothing, the plant wastes energy sending water and nutrients up to…nothing. I did it to my roses and they’re looking a LOT better now.
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But that’s like…most of the plant. The break is near the bottom. 😦 Do I keep it or just buy a new one?
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Probably buy a new one, but because I’m me, I say keep trying…because I get attached and don’t want to give up. I’d get some Miracle Grow plant food (the liquid is nice) if you can and just give it a little of that, and keep it well watered but not drowned. I don’t know if that will help at this point, but you can try it.
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