Does anything instill energy and excitement on days like this (gray, drizzly, raw) as much as thinking about the gardens to come? I could spend hours scribbling on pads, going through my options (which takes a bit too much time spent in spreadsheets), and narrowing down what will hopefully be appearing in our meals in a few months.

I just finished saving seeds from a tomato. That is a sentence that I've never, ever written in early January! The tomato was the result of a cross made between one of our new dwarf varieties, Bundaberg Rumball, and a large pink heirloom, Dester, early last summer. The cross took, seeds were saved from the small, chocolate colored tomato growing on the dwarf plant, fermented, dried, and planted in early August. The plant grew, flowered, produced a handful of tomatoes. Because of the cold weather (and the occasional relocation of the plants from driveway to garage), any fruit formed on this and nearly 20 other new hybrids were picked when I thought they were sufficiently large to ripen indoors. The pale color and rather firm texture didn't tempt me to take a bite, but just the aroma of fresh tomato was enough to energize me for the rest of the day.

There is something really comforting, looking out back, seeing the soft greens, browns and greys. (no, Bambi is not in that particular picture - they are thick in our neighborhood, though).

In the coming days, I will be continuing to decide what's next, and who gets what, for the Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project. I've got to plan my garden (and will share my plans here, in a future blog). My tomato talks begin soon - in early February, so I've got logistical considerations to nail down and slides to prepare. There's lots more to do, but I will leave that for another time.

Happy New Year to you all! Let's see what 2016 brings!