Time to Tickle the Tomatoes!

We live in what I think is the windiest part of the world. Actually, it probably isn't, but it sure can feel like it sometimes.

In my quest to create a fabulous vegetable garden and also to help me anticipate spring during the Minnesota winter, I like to start most of my plants from seed. Often when the seeds have sprouted I will put them outdoors so they can bask in the sunshine, only to have the wind SHRED them to pieces.

One winter, I was reading about tomatoes. In the article there were instructions on how to toughen up your plants before they went outside. The technique involves brushing your hand across the seedlings a couple times a day. This gets them ready to be out in the wind. Well, I did it and I am a believer in "tickling the tomatoes".

Life can throw us some storms. I like to think that our experiences are like the "tickle" that I mentioned for my tomatoes. If we have experience, we can weather the wind when it decides to blow against us.