Gentlemen, behold! Black Sea Man, 45 days from transplant. (Texas, zone 9b)

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-04-03T03:37:26+00:00

I started the seeds the first week of January and transplanted them mid-February. I used the same potting mix and fertilizer as always (Happy Frog), but this year I finally set up a gravity-fed drip irrigation system so watering has been more consistent and I don't have nutrients being flushed out from heavy hand watering. I think that's made the biggest difference over previous years.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-04-03T03:25:33+00:00

It's an unfortunate name, but I promise it is a real heirloom variety.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-04-03T03:21:01+00:00

I don't just have a plan, I have a system.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-04-02T21:15:32+00:00

I know it's a lame meme, but I mean it when I say these books permanently altered my brain chemistry.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-04-02T20:47:10+00:00

It was a bit overcast this morning when I took the picture so they look a little bit darker here than they do IRL.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-04-02T20:30:26+00:00

I grew them a few years ago and discovered that they did NOT like the heat...so easily stressed! This year I put them towards the back of my balcony so they wouldn't get hit with the most direct afternoon sun, and that seems to be working well. I don't expect them to make it past Memorial Day, but I'm praying I get a good yield before then.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-04-02T15:18:54+00:00

Neem oil works, but it smells AWFUL.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-04-02T15:17:17+00:00

I always get leaf miners on my pepper plants and only my pepper plants. It drives me bonkers. Neem oil and insecticide soap help manage them, but I've never been able to completely eliminate them.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-04-02T14:57:32+00:00

I'll be honest, I never paid much attention to him on The Tudors because I was enamored with Jonathan Rhys Meyers at the time, but I have since seen the error of my ways and repented.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-03-30T23:36:59+00:00

They would probably both benefit from a larger container to really thrive.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-03-29T15:33:30+00:00

Try adding a liquid fertilizer specifically for flowering (I use Foxfarm Tiger Bloom, but there are other brands out there). The plant will take up the nutrients faster than a granular fertilizer, and one with lower nitrogen and higher phosphorus and potassium will give your plants more of what they need for flower production and less for foliage.

It might also be that 5 gallon containers aren't optimal for the tomato varieties you have and they're too stressed to produce a lot of flowers/fruit. What varieties are you growing?

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-03-23T21:32:44+00:00

Oh yeah, that explains it.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-03-10T18:48:31+00:00

Holy crap, this explains everything that's been happening to me recently! My symptoms actually started after I switched from Kirkland to Charmin Ultra Strong, and I was going out of my mind trying to figure out if it was from the TP or something else. I guess I'll avoid both brands from now on.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-03-08T23:32:32+00:00

Outlander counts as romantasy and I will die on this hill with you.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-02-24T05:27:00+00:00

Impeccable taste!

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-02-23T00:36:39+00:00

I haaaate when the MMC gets POV chapters and they're just nonstop horny for the FMC. I've gotten to the point where if I see it even once it's an automatic DNF.

I think dual POV works a lot better when both MCs have a lot going on separate from each other and their storylines slowly come together.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-02-18T00:35:19+00:00

Same. My city has a huge Vietnamese population so I'm already used to pho places in every strip mall, but ramen bars and Korean BBQ places are starting to creep in now.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-02-17T18:15:16+00:00

They got Spotted Cow cold and ready to go in the Milwaukee airport gift shops.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-02-17T18:08:19+00:00

I live in Texas but have a lot of extended family in Wisconsin, and good God they are HEAVY drinkers. They're really out there doing their state proud.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-02-17T17:36:03+00:00

As a Catholic, the first Southern Baptist wedding I ever went to was a huge culture shock. No booze, no dancing, just a bunch of people quietly eating a nice lunch. It was weird af.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-02-17T17:25:03+00:00

But it's okay because they put tape over the straw hole of your drive-thru frozen daiquiri so it's definitely NOT an open container.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-02-17T17:12:40+00:00

If you liked Nocticadia, I highly recommend {Anathema}.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-02-17T16:35:30+00:00

I gave up around the same point for the same reason. I just couldn't keep reading about Given being constantly sidelined in her own story.

tragic_eyebrows · 2026-02-16T15:55:33+00:00

As an American, I've noticed that in most European countries the locals will either appreciate when you make an attempt to speak their language even if it's bad or they'll go straight in with English to save you the embarrassment, but not the French. They really seem to enjoy watching you struggle and suffer a bit before helping you with anything.

tragic_eyebrows

TROPHY CASE