Joe's Gift

I was shopping in a little town nearby...happened to go to a greenhouse...duh! There sitting in the greenhouse were veggie plants marked way down...a sale! I thought what better thing to round off my father's day gift to Joe than a couple of these healthy looking plants? So, I bought a Better Boy and a new variety (to me) Better Bush. Here is what I learned after getting home with these beauties.

Real Tomato "Tang" and a Long Season of Harvest. Walloping 4-inch fruits have a lusciously juicy consistency and great garden-fresh flavor!
68 days. If you're looking for an old-fashioned-flavored tomato with the juiciness and distinctive "tang" you remember from vine-fresh tomatoes of the past, Better Bush Improved Hybrid is the best choice. These big, luscious, 4-inch fruits grow very densely on indeterminate 4-foot plants, thanks to shorter internodes. The central stem rarely needs staking (except during those "bumper crop" times!), and this plant begins early in the season and just keeps going! This is a superbly garden-worthy variety with great yields of ultra-satisfying fruits. Resistant to Verticillium Wilt and Fusarium Wilt Race 1.
Plant outdoors when danger of frost is past and night temperatures consistently remain above 55 degrees F. If an unexpected late frost is forecasted, protect young plants with plastic sheeting or other cover. Set plants 2 to 2 1/2 feet apart.

Since we have limited space for tomatoes...this was hopefully a good choice. I figured that we would just set them in the ground near the house. Joe had other plans. He is a meticulous gardener. As I watched him mark off a perfect circle using a piece of rope, remove sod,
dig up the earth, make two deep holes, chop up dirt removed from holes and set aside, mix his magic potion in the watering can, fill the holes, let it percolate down, refill with soil, take off bottom leaves from the tomato, place it in the loose dirt, tamp it down, put a cage around it, water it in....not touching the leaves, and then stand back perspiring from the work and then meticulously cleaning his garden tools...I thought to myself, "Why did you do this? You made all this work for him, calling it a gift." But later in the day, I saw a smile of satisfaction on his face. He used to have a beautiful vegetable garden, and now he says that he knows for the rest of his life, he will have a place to grow his few tomatoes. Now I'm smiling.
Balisha