A bountiful harvest  

You still may be able to grow tomatoes. The smog may not be good for the plant, but the plant will help reduce smog. A plant in a container would still produce some good fruits. Good luck with finding affordable tomatoes this season!!

Is that so, I'll plant tomatoes then! Actually, I am more into bonsai plants.

I love bonsai plants! The whole caring for them intimidates me. I have troubles watering my houseplants! LOL!

A few years ago my hubby and I went to a Japanese garden in Montreal, Canada. They had a "museum" of ancient bonsais, some over 100 years old! That was amazing to me!!! They were still the size of a breadbox, and in their original tray that they were planted in.

I've seen some very old bonsai plants that were sold for less than half a million dollars!

What to do about that little chipmunk? He causes a lot of trouble, doesn't he? Have you tried growing cherry or grape tomatoes? They are quite a bit smaller than the large beef steak fruit, but you still get quite a harvest from them.

Yes, I tried cherry tomatoes and didn't do well with them either. I don't know if the chipmunk was eating them then. I only noticed him on the vine this year, so he may have been the culprit all along.

I hope he gets a tummy ache from all those green tomatoes. Of course, he's probably storing them for the winter and they will be ripe by then.

Maybe you just need to catch him, and put HIM in the pot! With all the seeds in his tummy, he should be starting to sprout anyday now. LOL!

Chipmunk Chowder. Hmmmmm. I think I'll pass.

You know, tomatoes aren't my favorite either, but my hubby loves homemade salsa, and the tomato sauce I made last summer made our chili taste even better! I guess that's why I planted an over abundance this summer.

As far as ease of growing, it depends on your soil, patience, and it does take some skill. Start with a little plant in a big container, and you can have a great feast!

Those yellow tomatoes really surprised me! I didn't think they would be so good, but they are as sweet as apples!

I'm not real sure on tomatoes. I purchased my seeds from the burpee catalog. (The yellow ones are called "OLD MOMMA" and I can't remember what the plum ones are.)
I remember watching an episode of Martha Stewart where she discussed this. Let me see if I remember the steps. I know that you wait until the tomato is very ripe, but not rotten. There is a jelly substance around each seed that will have broken down by this time. That prevents the seeds from sprouting. You will need to wash the seeds off very carefully to make sure all that jelly stuff is washed off. Then lay them out to dry--single layers on paper towels. When they are dried off, you can put them in an airtight container and store for next season.
Here's a site that has a bit more information than I do. It looks to be more complete as well.
http://faq.gardenweb.com/...