Arrivederci, Roma

You start with healthy plants. You prepare the ground, or in this case pot, properly. You water and fertilize regularly. And, still, it happens. Crop failure.

I started the season with expectation (not hope) of salsa – certainly enough to eat fresh and maybe, if I was lucky, enough for a half dozen jars to can. But, it is not going to happen. The potted tomatoes are doing okay, but not great--not like the incredible bounty I had last year. I’m getting some cherries (yum) almost every day now, but I can see the end of that bounty is near, too. There are a few Early Girls ripening, too, destined for sandwiches and salads.

The Romas did okay at first, too. Then, the vandals rolled the pot down the hill and I think the plant suffered some shock. I tucked the plant back in and moved it to a sunny location close to the house where I could keep an eye on it better. That’s when the squirrels decided to wreak their havoc. They started stealing the Romas. They left both the Early Girls and the cherries alone and either took the entire Roma, or chomped it and left it in the pot.

There were three left last week – enough for the smallest batch of salsa ever. They ripened this week, and every one of them had blossom end rot. All that's left is an empty vine.

Arrivederci, Roma. Good bye, good bye to salsa.