Now that cold weather is behind us, it’s time to plant tomatoes in south Louisiana.  After years of digging up my backyard garden by hand (or by my husband’s hand, in truth), I bought a tiller:  a four-stroke Honda FG110 mini tiller.  Why, oh, why didn’t I get one years ago?  It turned hours of backbreaking labor into 15 minutes’ worth of gas-powered fun.  With less physical energy expended in bed preparation (tilling in homemade compost, purchased humus, or cow manure at the beginning of each planting season), I had LOTS of energy left for planting…..and I ended up with beaucoup tomato plants:

• 4 Better Boy
• 2 Big Boy
• 4 Celebrity (the most reliable cultivar for LA gardeners, year after year)
• 4 Creoles (supposedly well-adapted to our climate, but I’ve never had really good luck with the variety)
• 1 German Queen
• 1 Grape
• 2 Lemon Boy
• 2 Roma
• 4 Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes

This year’s peppers will include jalapeno, green bell, cayenne, and a local hybrid (from Norco, LA), purchased at the farmer’s market.  Add in some direct-seeded zucchini and cucumbers, and with any luck, I’ll be harvesting fresh produce before the weather turns hot.  Provided that we don’t have freakish spring weather….