I made a tomato!

I have a long and illustrious history of murdering houseplants. I imagine it was some sort of curse or hex that I hadn't been able to shake until recently. Yes, indeed, I have successfully kept numerous plants alive for almost 2 months. My tiny windowsill farm has actually been thriving. Meet the players...

The Farm
My completely made up and unsubstantiated philosophy about raising flora is that they should be treated like pets. So I give them names, talk to them, and take them outside sometimes. In order of their arrival...
Lando Calrissian
-Lando is a sweet basil that I just couldn't resist buying at the little nursery on California that I walk by all the time. It's not that I don't like plants, I like them very much. I just couldn't seem to keep them alive for any reason. I figured I could go ahead and drop the $2.50 on Lando and, if it looked like he was going downhill, I could just eat him. Seems harsh, but that's natural selection for ya. Shockingly, Lando didn't die immediately, and I've been enjoying fresh basil on everything for 2 months. My deal with myself was that if I could keep one plant alive for 2 weeks, I could get some more. So I did...
Iphigenia
-Iphigenia is a small rosemary plant. She still looks reasonably healthy, but I took a few big sprigs off to make rosemary foccacia and she hasn't grown them back at all. Whatever, atleast she's not dead.
Orestes
-Yes, there is a theme here for you astute, well read folks. I had major concerns when I acquired Iphigenia and Orestes that the plants would still kick it pretty quickly. So as not to get my hopes up, I named these two after the doomed children of Agamemnon, for I feared they would lead tragic lives. [If you're unfamiliar with the reference, go look it up. And pay more attention in school.] Anyhoo, Orestes is a small tomato plant. I don't know the exact variety, but it's short and squat and produces 3-4 ounce fruit. When I picked him up, he already had a few tiny green tomatoes growing. Now there are at least a dozen fruits, 3 of which have already turned orangey and one that is nearly ripe! I expect it will be ready to harvest in a few days, and I've named it Baby Jesus because this is a goddamn miracle.
Hydra
- True to it's name, Hydra is a sprawling, many-headed chive plant. Seems to be doing quite well and, frankly, chopped chives are tasty on nearly everything. Not holding up as well is...
Medusa
- Medusa looked like a very hardy and somewhat overgrown oregano. Terrific addition to the farm, I thought. Eh, not so much. Medusa lasted about a week. The first truly hot day we got, over 90, Medusa just dried up where she sat. Or turned to stone, hahahahahaha! Okay, that wasn't even funny and I was a bit hurt by Medusa's untimely demise.
Jengo Fett
- To ease my heartbreak from Medusa's passing, I went and got another plant. Lando was looking a bit sparse because of all the trimmings I was taking off, so I figured I would bolster my basil supply by getting another plant. I'm crazy, and Lando and Jengo are both basils, so I concluded they are brothers and named them accordingly. Lando and Jengo, sounds cute right? Maybe that's what I'll name my kids.


I'm thinking about getting a whole slew of tomato plants, considering my success with Orestes. I love tomatoes, I eat several a day. If I had another 15 tomato plants, I may even be able to maintain my own supply of that delicious fruit. I'll just have to keep their names straight.


E I E I O,
Farmer Jillian