That’s right!  It’s not even the end of April yet and we’ve had an early birth here at MEG HQ!  The first tomato of the season has sprouted forth and promises to be beautiful and delicious!  I had to post this photo as soon as I discovered the baby because I knew that Shibaguyz would be drooling with envy and I couldn’t resist!

This is my first experience growing the hybrid tomato plant variety called “Patio” but it is definitely a hearty grower.  I am generally not one to grow hybrids but my late start in the season had me grabbing the first seedlings I could find and this one one of the first.  Thankfully I supplemented my three hybrid tomato seedlings with four heirloom tomato plants all of which are thriving already!

Happy Earth Day everyone!  Be happy and be green!

Today was the day. 

I’d rather quickly dropped my early season tomato seedling purchases into larger pots a few weeks ago and hadn’t paid attention to the fact that one of the pots had no drainage.  Yesterday a cursory check revealed the need to plant my beloved Mr. Stripey heirloom tomato plant immediately or risk losing it to rot. 

Plant, we shall!

This is the first tomato plant to be planted in the ground this year so it was a milestone day of sorts.  You can read more about my love for tomatoes and my ongoing tomato-centered chatter in my weekly posts at Tomato Casual where a community of like minded folks await.

In my mailbox today I discovered this beautiful reusable shopping bag that I won from Jason James (sorry dude, I was spacing out that day) and Shala at Double Danger and Maegan from Be Smart, Be Green.  It’s wonderful, it’s durable, it’s spacious and I can’t wait to take it shopping and show it off!  Compared to the puny reusable bags you see in the supermarkets these days that are made from really cheap materials, this one is hands down a far superior bag and it is incredibly cool, to.

In other news, Shannon from Shibaguyz and I have agreed to become the inaugural members of the Floppy Hat Society to show our true love and devotion to the time honored tradition of gardening and bad hat wearing.  It takes a real man to wear a floppy hat, folks; just wait ‘til you see me in mine!  I’m actually a bit worried though because Shannon is making the hats and he has been known to get a little Bedazzler happy from time to time…

My mother used to joke that I must be part rabbit because of my love for salads.  Of course back then a salad consisted of iceberg lettuce, some tomato, perhaps some cucumber and a bit of onion and some dressing.  As the years progressed so too did my taste for the salad to the point that now I am likely to put just about anything that grows into my salad bowl at some point.

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I can’t tell you how much good it did for my heart to learn that First Lady Michelle Obama spearheaded the idea to plant a vegetable garden on the lawn of the White House. 

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Hey everybody, I won something! 

Courtesy of James & Shala over at DoubleDanger.com (an amazingly fun and ultra hip place to be) yours truly has won a reusable eco-bag from Be Smart, Be Green!  I know, right?  I never win anything!  Rest assured I’ll be posting photos when it arrives; I’m just that eco-geeky.

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It is hard to believe it is already April of 2009 and yet that’s exactly what the calendar tells me is the case.  I am indeed in a new home in Atlanta, Georgia and aside from the ungodly pollen count early on this year and temperatures that continued to dip down into the freezing zone as recently as two days ago, I am in love with this city.

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I have successfully completed my relocation from Birmingham to Atlanta just in time for unseasonably cold temperatures for April.  Actually, today’s pollen counts were off the proverbial chart and now tonight and tomorrow night the temps are expected to dip down to the freezing mark or below.  What does it all mean and why should I care?

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