The Completion of Fort Tomato

So last few weeks have been really busy, with training and fundraising, and then riding in the H&S Ride for Heart, in the midst of all that I have been trying to get my damn tomato's in the ground before I kill them from neglect. Thus was begun the planter to end all planters, the planter so immense (relative to my back yard) that planter doesn't encompass its true nature. This box of mythic dirt capacity is properly known as F O R T T O M A T O!

Erin and I have been in that garden all day Saturday, and all day Sunday (the weekend of the ride) when I wasn't riding, (40+k on Saturday, and 50k on Sunday.) Two full days of busting sod, and leveling the earth, combined with lumber hauling and cutting amounted to the meager completion shown here:



For the rest of the week, working until the hush of night, and the politeness of hammer would allow layer upon layer was added until completion of the structure on Thursday. Each night as dusk settled in the brood would arise from the tall grasses, the humming wings, the stinging proboscis*, and the itching welts. All the furies of the mosquito plague.



Next began the trial of a billion grains of earth also known as dirt lugging... Over 2000L of soil was poured down the gullet of Fort Tomato, and still it cried out for more. Four additional dirt runs beyond the initial dirt delivery were executed to fill the gaping maw, again night began to settle, but with the noise of hammering gone, planting began. Erin, who had not been idle, far from it, had finished planing the rest of the garden by now, and turned her hand to fortress. With each plant came two mosquito bites. When it was done, it was GLORIOUS!



Thus ends this tale, but not the legend of the fort. Journey back this way come high Summer and we will speak of, the harvest.

*may not be technically accurate for Mosquitos