Topsy Turvy update

While I was watering the tomato plant today I was astounded by the amount of growth that I noticed.  The longest extended branch on the plant has grown almost 8 inches in three days.  There are numerous new leaves, flowers and branches coming off the bottom of the plant.  The weather has been hot, humid and sunny with afternoon thunderstorms.  Day 38 is on the top and Day 41 on the bottom.  The tomato was planted on April 24th so we should have some tomatoes ready between July 10th and July 31 with any luck. So far this planter has been phenomenal but we will see what happens went the tomatoes start to hang. 

Storms and the aftermath

We had some nasty storms yesterday.  Monsoon like rain (3.2 inches reported by a local spotter) and great big hail stones.  The plants around the house took a beating, but it appears as most came out just a little beat up, not destroyed.

 I found something interesting as I was surveying the rain and hail from under the protection of the deck; water was flying out of the rain barrel where the hose from the downspout inserts.  This should not be happening as the water should have enough back pressure from sitting down inside the rain barrel to stop the flow and send it back down the downspout.  So today I made a trip to the hardware store and returned with some adapters and a longer piece of hose.  I just finished assembling the pieces and tested the finished product with the garden hose.  I think we're back in business.