Sowing Seeds

When RantWoman wants to feel megalomaniacal, the weather often offers spectacular opportunity. Recently during a spate of absolutely gorgeous sunshine, RantWoman was seduced into GARDENING, only to have the weather revert back to grey and sodden, that is typical for Seattle. A true megalomaniac would be certain that the change in weather is due to RantWoman's recent spell of planting things!


RantWoman two nights ago had as much of a seed-sowing orgy as it is even plausible to imagine considering that RantWoman's gardening domain consists of pots on a balcony she shares with neighbors who are suspected basil-nappers.

The story is last year RantWoman was seduced into buying two silly herb seed kits. RantWoman originally thought that perhaps RantMom might be interested in helping the World's Most Irrepressible Nephew nurture plants from one of the kits, but that did not happen. RantWoman sowed the seed kit seeds in the little peat disks in the tiny plastic pots provided. RantWoman watered and put the minigreenhouses out on her balcony. The seeds sprouted. RantWoman planted them in bigger pots, chives in one, basil in another and RantWoman does not remember the rest of the configuration.

What RantWoman remembers is coming home one day and finding her basil plants had been kidnapped, stolen, vanished into thin air, or more likely vanished into her Chinese neighbors' apartment. The Chinese neighbors fill the halls with lovely garlicky brews on a regular basis. The Chinese neighbors are otherwise unobjectionable and RantWoman would happily have just let them snip leaves anytime they want, which oddly makes the suspected basil-napping that much more vexing.

This year RantWoman has other ideas. When she was at the nearby hardware getting seduced by seeds, she chose the keep it simple option: one packet of basil seeds and one of cherry tomato plants. There will be plants enough for the basil-napping neighbors AND for RantWoman. There WILL also be tomatoes!

RantWoman lives on the 6th floor. She has one experience with a lone tomato plant that did really well about foliage and produced ONE tomato all last year. There is NOTHING that will get that high to pollinate. RantWoman was seduced by the cherry tomato plant because even if she has to pollinate every single bloom herself (This should be GOOD. Watch!) RantWoman WILL have tomatoes. Tune in next week....