No matter how blustery, how deep the snow, or how cold it was, my mother always planted tomato seeds on St. Patrick’s Day. “It’s a day to celebrate green,” she said.
Now, many years later, I continue to plant tomato seeds, not always on St. Patrick’s Day, but close to it. This year was no exception. Now a few weeks later, my little tomato plants are green and growing—even though the temperature seems to avoid climbing above 40 degrees and piles of the recent snow remain.
Three families eat fresh vegetables from our Roshara garden, and tomatoes are everyone’s favorite. My wife’s specialty is tomato soup—she makes many jars of it, which we enjoy all winter. She also makes “just the best” tomato juice. My daughter, Sue, and daughter-in-law, Natasha, make salsa. And everyone enjoys the taste of fresh tomatoes, just picked from the garden.
Always a sucker for pretty tomato pictures in the seed catalogs, I always try one or more new varieties. This year I am trying Atlas Hybrid, Bloody Butcher, and Steakhouse. Of course, I also grow several “never fail” varieties, Wisconsin 55, Early Girl and Burpee’s Big Boy.
A little Norwegian Nissen stands guard over my still tiny tomato plants. It’s hard to believe that these little plants will stand four feet and taller by mid-July. That is if winter decides to hand it up one of these days.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When you are doing nothing, how do you know when you are finished?
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: My writing class at The Clearing in Door County is scheduled: Friday, July 27, 9-4. Call 920-854-4088 to register.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Friday, April 13, 7:00 p.m. Fine Arts Center, Adams-Friendship High School. One-Room Country Schools.
Sunday, April 15, 6:30 p.m. Lebanon Historical Society, Fire House Community Room. One-Room Country Schools.
Wednesday, April 25, 6:00 p.m. Book Launch at Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. New book: Once a Professor
Wednesday, May 2, 10:00 a.m. Book Launch at Oakwood West, Madison. New book: Once a Professor.
Tuesday, May 15, 11:30 a.m. Black Hawk Country Club, SAIL Group. Once a Professor
Saturday, May 19, 10:00-2:00 Dregne’s Westby, Book signing.
Thursday, May 31, 7:00 Middleton Public Library. Book Launch for Cold As Thunder (New novel)
Purchase Jerry’s singed DVDs and signed books from the Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
Phone: 920-622-3835
DVDs: His newest Public TV show, One-Room Country School is now available. It’s based on his book, One-Room Country Schools (also available).
Also available, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)
Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)
The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows,) Never Curse the Rain, based on his book with the same title, and the newest one, One-Room School
The library has several of Jerry’s signed books for sale including Jerry’s newest nonfiction books, Every Farm Tells a Story, Living a County Year (reprints), One-Room Country Schools, Never Curse the Rain and Old Farm Country Cookbook, and his latest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. Also Wisconsin Agriculture: A History, Roshara Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guidebook for those who want to write their own stories.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
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