Hello! My name is Wesley, and as of the writing of this post I am a second-year Pre-Med Biochemistry major and a student researcher under the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) at UT Austin. One of my roles in my research lab is managing the very website you are reading this post in! Today, I am going to be discussing my seven-week old cherry tomato plant, but before I start I would like to give some background…
My interest in gardening started only a few months ago when I was inspired by Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid to keep my own little bonsai tree. Though my first plant did not survive the first couple of weeks under my care (I’ll write about this in a future post), I did not let this discourage me and found some more plants to grow! Although my major demands lots of my time (and my soul), I am currently taking care of a happy little Ming Fern, some flourishing Chia plants and Mint, and my precious cherry tomato plant.
I first thought of the grand idea to plant tomatoes while I was eating in the J2 dining hall. As I was enjoying my immensely delectable salad, I suddenly realized that I could try planting one of the little cherry tomatoes that were in there. So, I kept a tomato, brought it back to my dorm, scooped out the seeds and planted them inside an extra pot and soil I had laying around. After about three days, tomato sprouts appeared! I was elated, but I soon recognized a particularly glaring problem: there were too many plants in one pot. My solution was to give away all but one of the sprouts to friends. Now, my singular tomato sprout – which I affectionately named “Ravioli” – lives on my windowsill growing stronger and bigger every day. I am very proud of how well it has been growing in my dorm. Every time I get back after a long day of college, the sight of my tomato plant automatically brightens my day.
So far, this journey with my wonderful little tomato plant has rewarded me with much happiness and contributed to a more appreciative perspective regarding our green friends. My ultimate goal is to one day transform the tomato plant into a bonsai, but for now my aim is to keep it alive and prepare it for the impending winter weather…
Thanks for reading! In the next post, I will write about my Ming Fern, so keep an eye out for that!
