I’m taking these two courgette plants home to Mr Fiction Ed to foster. They’re healthy enough; they just need some TLC and sunshine. And bigger pots.
How come? Well, they were Sarah’s, our illustrator’s. She planted seeds back in the spring. These, more of these, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. And they all grew! She must have enviably green fingers. She lives in a top-floor flat. It’s sunny with biggish windowsills, like a greenhouse really, and they all flourished.
So a few weeks ago she issued a plea for help. Could any of us offer her growing green family new homes?
The tomato plants were snapped up by Alex and Wendy, Alan – on behalf of his dad, Lucy, Karlie and Liz. Mr Fiction Ed already had three tomato plants on the go, and to be honest he’s never had much luck with them, so I declined.
Tomatoes growing like Topsy
Alex’s tomatoes
And as you can see from Alex’s pic here, his are going strong. They’ve already grown another few inches since this was taken, he was quick to assure me!
Sarah carried on caring for the remainder and all was going well – though she did say she was spread a bit thin looking after them all! And then she went on holiday for two weeks. During the very hot spell. Leaving her flatmate in charge of them. Oh, we’ve all been there, haven’t we?
Fried green tomatoes?
They’ve definitely suffered a bit. Some are what she describes as “frazzled”. But lots are still doing well enough, still getting bigger and more demanding – so she sent out another plea this week.
And that’s how today I took possession of these two wee beauties. We’re only just starting to crop our own courgettes, so I’m hoping that with more space to grow – and new pots for starters – these ones will catch up. We’ll start them off in the warmth of the potting shed to bring them on a bit, then plant them out.
Alex is going to take one home, too, and then we can have a courgette contest!
Are you like Alex, not always knowing your weeds from your treasures? Click here to read his funny story about gardening
Shirley Blair Fiction Ed Shirley’s been with the “Friend” since 2007 and calls it her dream job because she gets to read fiction all day every day. Hobbies? Well, that would be reading! She also enjoys writing fiction when she has time, long walks, travel, and watching Scandi thrillers on TV.
