Adding to My Organic Garden Plan

I have a plan.

I love seed catalogs! Colorful, attractive, lush plants that never look like mine but, being the eternal optimist, I keep trying!  So, just after Christmas, as is my custom, I sat down and placed by tomato seed order during TomatoFest's annual sale.  This week, on New Year's Day, I placed my remaining seed order for herbs and vegetables from Baker Creek.  I'm planning to grow more of fewer varieties this year, so it wasn't a very big order.  Carefully, I drew up an intensive plan for my raised beds.  I was feeling really good about the whole process.

I forgot I had ordered these!

Until.

Until I pulled out my seed binder from last year.  (I organize my seed packets in inexpensive photo albums which have space near the binding for notations.)  My binder was bulging, which meant that many of the packets were still full of seeds.

What's even worse is that I had, from last year, unopened seed packets of herbs I'd ordered for this year!  What a violation of my own frugal principles!  I can make excuses that there were many non-farm interruptions last year but those are mostly excuses rather than reasons.  So, I have a decision to make:  do I expand the garden and plant the seeds, or sell them, or give them away?  Common sense says to make one choice, but I think I'll try to do all three, after a fashion.

1. My big garden plot lay fallow last year even though I have sufficient weed block to cover it.  So, I think I will use the weed block to kill off the existing vegetation, then cultivate there by making double-row beds.  I've always had a soggy spot in the lower part of the garden, so I'm re-orienting the beds/rows to run with the slope instead of against it, although I may put a permaculture-style swale at the higher end of the garden.  Since I have twice as many corn seeds as I expected, I can expand the corn plot!  I also will have room for more squash and beans, which are the bulk of my extra seeds.
2. I had some success selling transplants last year, so I think I will do the same again this year--especially with the "bonus" seeds.  Many folks in the city just need a few plants rather than a full packet and will pay a premium for organic, non-GMO plants, heirloom plants.  I've found that the organic, non-GMO label is not as attractive in the country, but the heirloom varieties (just like Grandma used to grow) have some attraction, especially when potted for the porch.
3. Although the Garden Writers Association has the wonderful Plant a Row for the Hungry program, my much smaller version is to give away plants suitable for small beds or containers.  Many folks have limited space, especially retirees, so one or two tomato plants could add fresh nutrients to their diet.  It's kind of my version of "green tithing."

I ordered the exact same herbs this year!

I feel less wasteful for having articulated my plan for these windfall resources.  Now, I really need to sit down and plan my in-ground garden.  I've always let the grass get ahead of me, so I'll be trying intensive planting practices there, too, after a fashion.  I'm still flummoxed as to what to do with the "middles" between the double-rows to prevent the grass incursion.  Any ideas?

I'm also starting the "nursery" earlier, I hope.  If I'm to transplant in March, I need to start broccoli & cabbage by mid-January, which works well since they germinate in cooler temperatures.

I've always started tomatoes around Valentines Day but have found many farmers like to set plants out on Good Friday, which means I need to start early varieties plants two weeks earlier for that market.  Last year, though, a wet, frigid spring meant many gardeners planted tomatoes twice or three times.  My raised beds certainly were a boon in that situation both in drainage and soil temperature.

Peppers will be the last to start as they germinate better in very warm temperatures, and, at least in my area, do better when transplanted later than tomatoes.

As space permits, I'll be starting herbs throughout the season to maintain a fresh supply of potted herbs.  They sold better in pots than flats, so I'll expand that this year.  I'm also considering "recipe" containers:  a tomato plant with basil in the same pot sold as a "bruschetta" pot.  Any ideas other other "recipes"?

I have another reality to face:  it's awfully nice to plan my garden, but, when it's 100 degrees with 90% humidity, it's brutal to work it.  I just won't weed when it's that hot, which is when the garden goes wild.  So, preventative gardening is going to be necessary.  Again, any suggestions?

I still have much to plan, but I feel the greenhouse calling me.  Soon, I'll spend a cold evening recreating that little oasis of growth that is my first glimmer of spring.

Stay warm, and think of your garden!

Nancy

Organic Garden Planning: Tomato Reviews

The end of last season was especially hectic (when you're a church musician, things really crank up around All Saints Day!), so I'm just now getting around to my annual variety reviews.  I tried an excessive number of varieties last year with mixed results.  I grew a number of varieties, but also sold the plants at a farmer's market.

Two of the three varieties will repeat this year!

A note about farmer's markets:  location matters!  Whereas my city customers were very interested in purchasing organic, non-gmo garden plants, the customers in a small-town in an agricultural area walked right past my organic plants to purchase packs of Early Girls, and Better Boys.  Rather than be offended, I got to know the nurseryman who was quite generous with his knowledge and very friendly.  The hard lesson was:  organic, non-gmo is not a premium product at all markets.  Still, I made wonderful contacts and was able to educate a lot of folks about the value of some of the "old" varieties.

After a year of research, I'm concentrating my efforts on fewer varieties which sold well at the market.  Here are the seedmen's descriptions, followed by my findings with the varieties I'm repeating in '15 marked with an asterisk (*):

Table

I like a mild, sweet tomato with a smoky flavor, and look forward to the first tomato sandwich of the summer.  For variety, though, I grew a number of other varieties last year.

Bradley:  "a wilt-resistant pink-red developed at the University of Arkansas"  

• okay producer, flavor unremarkable.

*Ozark Pink:  "a tall, flavorful pink suited for humid, disease-prone areas"  

• survived the great tomato hornworm invasion, produced throughout the season; good flavor

*Arkansas Traveler:  "balanced flavor is the hallmark of this rose-pink suited to heat, humidity, and drought"  

Suckers helped in recovery from hornworm damage!

• also survived the hornworm onslaught, produced late into the season, good flavor
• plants sell well because of the Arkansas name connection

Blue Beauty Tomato:  "modest beefsteak whose good flavor and interesting coloration blessed with resistance to sunburn and crack"

•  pretty but tiny with unremarkable flavor
• plants sold to experienced growers and gardeners looking for a novelty

*Cherokee Purple:  "prolific rose to purple beefsteak, legendary for its complex flavor"

• survived the hornworm invasion, good producer, excellent flavor
• plants sold out at market; name recognition helps

*Black Trifele:  "the shape and size of a Bartlett pear with a beautiful purplish-brick color"

• flavor-wise, probably my favorite because of its mild and smoky flavor; much smaller than a pear for me, with a few cracks.  Not a prolific producer, but worth the trouble.
• plants sold well at market, expecially because of "smoky" flavor

*Black Krim:  "3-4" slightly flattened dark-red (mahogany-colored) slightly maroon, beefsteak tomatoes with deep green shoulders"

• Name recognition makes this a good market-seller for plants
• Good flavor

Canning/Paste

While taste is important, essential criteria are a high meat/juice ratio, low seed count, and productivity.  I think for 2015, I'll put up salsa and spaghetti sauce for maximum convenience.

Costoluto Genovese:  an Italian red, almost ruffled, described as a pungent sauce tomato;

• excellent producer, but unremarkable flavor, would grow as a specialty tomato:  its ruffled slices look very pretty on sandwiches presented open-faced.
• Plants were not a great market seller without a picture

Debarao:  an early red paste variety, small but crack-free:  

• unremarkable flavor
• Plants were not a good market seller

*Early Annie:  short plant with few seeds, fruit matures all at once:  

• good flavor, actually produced all season for me.
• Plants sold well at market because, I suspect, people may have confused them with the "Early Girl" varieties

Tennessee Sweet:  suitable for slicing or canning, a large red sweet:  

• good flavor, but not a great producer.
• Plants were a decent market seller because of the Tennessee name connection

Big Italian Plum:  a large red thick paste plum:  

• did not produce well for me for the second year
• Plants did not sell well at market

*San Marzano Gigante:  the legendary flavor and twice the size!:  

• good flavor, and excellent producer:  prolific nearly until frost
• Plants sold well at market; many recognized the name
• I'm actually planting San Marzano Redorta this year, but looking forward to a good harvest

Currant

The flavor of these single-bite beauties just explodes on the palate!  They are more bushes than vines and enjoy cages.  Be sure to space them so that you can pick from all angles.  I  gave a farmer friend several of these plants back in the spring.  Later in the summer, he told me that his father--a farmer, too--picked the bush clean every time he came over!  Great for beginners! 

Broad Ripple Yellow Currant:  big bush, sweet, prolific:  

• always a good choice, unusual color

*Hawaiian Currant:  tiny, sweet, tasty:  

• smaller than you think, but tasty!
• Good market seller

White Currant:  heavy clusters, very sweet: 

•  did not plant

Red Currant:  smoky, sweet, tiny, prolific:  

• great taste, great snacking tomato

*Gold Rush Currant:  "large, indeterminate, regular-leaf tomato plants with wispy foliage that yield excellent, heavy sets of 1/4-inch tomatoes borne in trusses of 10-12"

Goal for 2015:  Even more tomatoes!

• Heavy producer, great flavor
• Good market seller

New for '15

Even though I'm cutting back on varieties, I am making room for a few new ones:

Arkansas Marvel:  "4-inch, 1 lb., meaty, yellow-orange beefsteak tomatoes with red marbling with a gush of wonderful sweet, well-balanced tomato flavors that hold a distinct hint of mild, peach flavors"

Homestead 24:  " smooth, red, round 8 oz. fruits with exceptionally good taste"

As my gardening skills improve, I have to become even more diligent about watching the "bottom line" and increasing margins.  After all, I hope not only to feed my family, but to make the farm self-supporting.  That will require planning; it's not too early to start!

What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

The Summer Schedule is Heating Up!

Early Annie is living up to her name!

Summer's to-do list is neverending but yesterday I crossed off a big item:  bushhogging the future pasture.  The wet spring (more winter than spring!) has made the weeds/grass/whatever more lush than usual at this time of year, but, I suspect, the weekly rains will end soon and July and August will be wickedly hot and dry.

This will be a windbreak, in a few years!

The wet spring has also been good for the trees I put out.  I planted a v-shaped windbreak northwest of the house and, so far, all of the trees are leafing out.  I've lost several in other parts of the yard, but all but one of those were tragic lawnmower accidents.

Nootka Rose garlic

Inchelium Red garlic

I finally pulled up the garlic last week and was surprised at how much the bulbs had grown since I checked them about 6 weeks ago.  I planted Nootka Rose and Inchelium Red (both softnecks) way back in October in a 12-inch deep raised bed, mulching them over the frigid winter with cedar shavings since I had no straw.  The spring warm-up made them nice and green again until they started showing the tell-tale browning in mid-June.  I'm curing them in the garage and will let you know how that goes.  I've not tasted them yet, but, as far as bulb size goes, I like the Inchelium Red better.  Garlic is easy to grow, but you have to commit a bed for most of the year since it's, basically, a 9-month crop.  I've put peppers in that bed, which will be done with the frost, just about time to put in the garlic.  If you want to grow garlic, order it NOW for a fall ship date for a better selection.

Tomatoes, blueberries, and blackberries are almost ready; summer is here!

What about you?  What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Spring Chores Fill Warm Late-Winter Days

One of my favorite
places to be!

It's been a really busy week here on the farm!  After, seemingly an eternity of frigidity, Tuesday was a lovely warm spring day.  As a bonus, it has not rained in a week or so leaving it dry enough for one of my favorite activities:  bushhogging!  Our fallow fields are covered in sedgegrass, which needs to be cut at least twice a year, giving me a great excuse reason to get on the tractor.  I had not counted on the reproductive cycle of sedgegrass, though, and kicked up a cloud of seed floaters.  Before I quit for the day, the tractor was wheezing as much as I was!

I had to stop at least 10 times
to clean the radiator screen!

Wednesday, on the other hand, was cold with a biting north wind.  Great for blowing the sedgegrass seeds, but really, really bad for fertilizing the blueberries (Espoma's organic Holly-Tone 4-3-4), blackberries (organic Garden-Tone 3-4-4 after pruning!), and fruit trees (Garden-Tone)  I could only bear it for a few hours of bushhogging and yardwork before seeking warmth in the house.

Poor germination in onions
from 3-year-old seed

Today was a bit warmer so I finished fertilizing the shade trees and shrubs (Garden-Tone), and enjoyed time in the sun while stabilizing a wobbly mailbox.  (Tractors and power tools:  what's not to love about the farm!)  The greenhouse trays were dry so my seven new rose bushes will just have to wait on the porch another day or two!

First to sprout and growing quickly!

The greenhouse is in full swing, although the peppers and a number of the tomatoes are being a little stubborn about germinating despite the warmth, light, and high humidity the greenhouse affords them.  Early Annie and Debarao, as well as San Marzano, varieties are in the "lead" of the race to readiness to plant with Cherokee Purple and Arkansas Traveler close behind.

The chores aren't done, though.  The roses need to be fed (Rose-Tone 4-3-2).  Broccoli should be ready to plant in the raised beds on Saturday, and cabbage early next week. Should I put carrots in between the broccoli and cabbage? Wow!  I think I'd better get that livestock panel to make a "greenhouse" for one of the raised beds.

Hardy currant varieties can be
a little fussy about germination.

 It's been a great week, and I've enjoyed the spring startup chores.  I can't wait to see what this year's yields are.  I hope you are enjoying occasional breaks in the winter weather!

What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Plant Local: 15 Tomato Varieties for a Southern Landrace Garden

Beautiful, but lonely

The nights are long here on the farm, but, fortunately, I have a stack of seed catalogs to entertain me.  This year I'm trying to zero in on varieties that can stand the heat, humidity, and, surprisingly, drought of this area.  So, I'm looking for heirloom varieties that were found or developed around the 35th parallel, and east of 97W.

With those open-pollinated varieties, I'm hoping to develop landrace adaptivars, specifically suited to my microclimate, by saving seeds of the varieties that thrive.  As I understand it, one key to developing landrace adaptivars is to, instead of isolating a pure strain, encourage genetic diversity by continually introducing new varieties into the landrace alongside the saved seed.  The resulting varieties should produce more reliably under marginal conditions--which certainly describes my area.  For more information about landrace adaptivars, visit Joseph Lofthouse's page.

I've identified three tomato categories:  table, canning/paste, and currant.  While the first two categories are self-explanatory, the currant category may be unfamiliar.  Currants are a different species of tiny (1/2" and smaller) tomatoes which absolutely thrive on my farm.  During the 80-degree-plus nights, when other varieties fail to set fruit, they continue to produce prolifically.  They are delightfully flavorful, and worth the garden space.

So, here's the beginning of my landrace plan for this year, so far.

Table

Taste is the overriding criterion here, leaning toward the "smoky" flavored varieties.  There are some blue/purple varieties, too, so it will be interesting to see what we get.

Bradley:  a wilt-resistant pink-red developed at the University of Arkansas

Ozark Pink:  a tall, flavorful pink suited for humid, disease-prone areas

Richardson:  a huge (1-3 pound) dark pink Tennessee beefsteak with a well-balanced flavor

Arkansas Traveler:  balanced flavor is the hallmark of this rose-pink suited to heat, humidity, and drought

Blue Beauty Tomato:  modest beefsteak whose good flavor and interesting coloration blessed with resistance to sunburn and crack

Cherokee Purple:  prolific rose to purple beefsteak, legendary for its complex flavor

Canning/Paste

While taste is important, essential criteria are a high meat/juice ratio, low seed count, and productivity.

Costoluto Genovese:  an Italian red, almost ruffled, described as a pungent sauce tomato

Debarao:  an early red paste variety, small but crack-free

Early Annie:  short plant with few seeds, fruit matures all at once

Tennessee Sweet:  suitable for slicing or canning, a large red sweet

Big Italian Plum:  a large red thick paste plum

San Marzano Gigante:  the legendary flavor and twice the size!

Currant

The flavor of these single-bite beauties just explodes on the palate!  I wonder if I could dry them . . .

Broad Ripple Yellow Currant:  big bush, sweet, prolific

Hawaiian Currant:  tiny, sweet, tasty

White Currant:  heavy clusters, very sweet

Red Currant:  smoky, sweet, tiny, prolific

The development of landrace varieties fits in quite nicely with my interest in permaculture, which also promotes diversity.  It's going to be interesting to see how the two intersect this season.

What about you?  What are your plans for your Savory garden?

Nancy

Lessons from My Organic Garden 2013 Edition

Muscadines

Well, I'm not putting a current picture of the garden in this post because, well, the crop I grew best this summer was grass.  Yup.  Grass.  All in the garden.  I was ill for about 2 weeks early in the summer and it just took over.  Yes, I've tried some to keep ahead of it, but it's stronger than I am.  In the next week or two, I'll be fishing the soaker hoses out of the grass and tilling it all under.  All is not failure, however, although the vegetables just could not compete with the grass for nourishment.  So, lessons learned from this year, so far:

Cucumber!

Weeding

• I hate weeding.  I don't weed.  I don't care how cool it is; I do not weed.  This is a major problem for an organic gardener.
• If I will not weed, I must either mulch or plant in rows.
• No-till isn't working for me; the aforementioned grass takes over the mulch crop.
• Intercropping is not working either.  The grass takes over before the "inter" crop establishes itself.

Sprouting bulblet of a "walking" onion.

Gardening method

• "Strip" gardening (tilled strips 3' x 25') has too much opportunity for grass incursion.  It's just not working.
• Raised beds have worked well for the ginger and turmeric.  Consider planting more, but do make them 3' wide rather than 4'.
• "Market garden" crops should be grown either in rows, cultivated with a tiller, or under plastic mulch/gardener's cloth covering soaker hoses.

Ginger and turmeric

Crop Selection

• Even heat-tolerant varieties of broccoli and cabbage can't tolerate the unrelenting direct sun of my garden.  Plant them earlier or later.
• San Marzano, Rutgers, and Oxheart tomatoes have done well.  Plant them again.  Currant tomatoes should be planted in single rows with harvest space all around.
• Although White Wonder, Sumter, and Edmonson cucumber varieties have produced well, I need to find a smaller variety for pickling.
• Go with the same pepper selection next year, but be sure to mulch with plastic as well as feed more heavily:  jalapeno, Tennessee cheese, serrano, King Arthur, among others.
• Annual "garden" crops are too labor-intensive; increase blackberries and find additional perennial crops.

A luscious fig!

The Future

• Blackberries!  They like my dirt and their cultivation schedule works with mine.
• Turmeric?  What's above ground looks good, but we'll see how the rest turns out.  It is planted in a raised bed with . . .
• Ginger?  It's really scruffy looking, but new leaves mean new "fingers" on the hand-shaped ginger root.
• Figs:  The fig trees are producing more this year, and enjoying the heat.
• Catawissa/Egyptian/Walking Onions:  They grow well in a pot, and every part of the plant is edible.  The bulb is like a small shallot and tastes like a spicy scallion.
• Other specialty crops:  Do you have any suggestions for specialty crops?

So, I'm shutting the garden down early this year.  I've already started the container garden on the porch and am considering a low tunnel outside.  There is so much to learn, but . . .

The greatest lesson about gardening is that there is always next year.

A Thank You!

I'd like to share a little "next year" with you.  I'll send 10 "walking onion" bulblets to five of you who take the time to offer suggestions for next year's specialty crops in the next two weeks.

What about you?  What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Sneaky Zucchini in my Organic Garden!

White Wonder Cucumber

My garden has surprised me several times this year:  cucumbers are popping up all over, tomatoes are finally swelling on the vines, and, ta-da!, zucchini were hiding at the bottom of several plants!

I happily sent them home with my daughter, for whom I planted them.  All of the squash and zucchini are loaded with blooms, so she (and I, and my neighbors, and my co-workers) should be well-supplied.

Edmonson or Sumter Cucumber

With the development of the tomatoes, the tomato hornworms have also arrived, so a primary task each garden day is patrolling for and eradicating the pests.  My cousin collects hers and uses them as chicken treats, but I've just dispatched mine to their eternal reward.  The San Marzanos have been the surprise of the season, with the Rutgers following close behind.  I was a bit worried about my tomatoes being so late until I spoke to a few local market growers whose crops are also late.  I feel some better now.

Early mornings have been surprisingly cool.

The Contender beans have produced almost a peck of beans, so I'll be able to freeze a batch soon.  The Calima beans are just now producing so it will be a week or two before the beans are ready.  The Mandy pole beans have been very slow to grow and are barely blooming.  I hope to have some by the end of the month.

My plan to combat grass and weeds with mulch has been derailed by a lack of mulch.  This means the nutgrass has run rampant in the beds, as you can see in the cucumber picture above.  I need a new plan.  I hate pulling grass, but I'll have to do it, or live with the grass until the fall changeover.  Or both.

Peppers, cucumbers, & zucchini!

Update:  I'm living with the grass, kind of.  I pull it sometimes, but, mostly, just rummage around in it, looking for the vegetables.  Next year, I absolutely must put down plastic!

So much to do--I'm off to can (purchased) tomatoes!

What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

June wanes, July waxes in my organic garden

The fence is completely screened by the hibiscus and day lilies.

The heat and humidity have really settled on the farm like a hot, wet blanket which means the day lilies and the hibiscus (and the weeds) are thriving.  A busy week kept me out of the garden last week and this morning brought some surprises.  The pleasant surprises were peppers, tiny tomatoes, and blooms on the squash, cucumbers, and beans.  The unpleasant surprise was the inevitable incursion of nutgrass and purslane.

The turmeric (near) seems to be doing better than the ginger (rear).

The turmeric is adapting well to the heat, but does expect to be watered almost every day.  The early shoots were scalded by the hot sun, but most have rebounded after watering.  Given the long growing season both ginger and turmeric require, I'm already planning a low tunnel to stave off the cold nights which will come in November.

The squash seems to be thriving, despite the grass.

No squash bugs, so far, but I saw the first marmorated stink bug on the driveway this week.  My cousin has suggested daily dousing with a tea made of garlic and geranium oil.  What do you think?

A tiny cabbage!

The Resident Dragon is most excited about the development of the tiny cabbage.  It's been so hot, I fear that the heads will never form, and am already planning to plant more in the fall.

The beginning of a broccoli floret!

My daughter is excited to know that the broccoli is developing.  The broccoli in my father-in-law's garden seems to be bolting (from the heat, I suspect).  I'm hoping to avoid the same fate.

The currant tomatoes are loaded with blooms!

Once again, the currant tomatoes are thriving while the others are lagging behind.  Some are blooming, but there are only two ping-pong-ball-sized tomatoes maturing.  This means it's time to add bone meal to help with fruit set and to ward off blossom-end-rot.

The cucumbers and beans are blooming well.

Three varieties of cucumbers means I will be pickling and sharing this year.  My daughter likes to snack on cucumbers so I'll be sending some home with her.

These heirloom beans thrive in the heat!

We're growing green/filet beans as well as dragon's tongue and kidney beans this year.  I hope to dry the dragon's tongue and kidney beans, but will probably freeze the others.  The little pods are about an inch long!

The blackberry primocanes are growing tall.

The blackberries are finally in full season and that means the RD is still enjoying his "drive-by" snacks as he rides past on the lawn mower.  Oddly enough, the blackberry bramble is the best-mowed area of the yard!  We've harvested enough to freeze about 3 quarts, with more still on the canes.

It's time to tie up and tip the blackberry primocanes
so they will produce lateral canes and more fruit next year.

The primocanes are flourishing and I "tipped" them 4" above the top trellis wire this week and tied the remaining cane to the trellis.  I'm trying to root the cuttings to expand the bramble next year.

It's July, which means it's about time to start seeds for the fall garden.  Do you have any suggestions?  I'd like to try some onions again, but I've just not had much luck with them.  What do you think?

What about you?  What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Organic Gardening: Time to Work!

Beans and cucumbers sprouted after only 5 days!

Things are really getting busy here on the farm.  Nearly everything is transplanted and almost all seeds are in the ground, with the exception of the interplantings.

A routine

I'm still tired, like last week, but am settling into my summer routine:

• Work in the garden from first light (as soon as I can tell a snake from a stick) until the heat and/or humidity become unpleasant, which is about 9.
• Get on the tractor and bushhog or mow until the heat and/or humidity become unbearable.
• "Chill out" in the cool house:  cleaning, cooking, or writing.  (Or napping!)
• Go back to the garden when the breeze comes up in the evening and work until I can no longer tell a snake from a stick.
• Chill out inside for a bit before enjoying the sleep of the weary.

Mandy (Big Red Ripper) cowpeas!

This week has been typical, and the beans, peas, squash, and cucumbers planted on Monday night have sprouted!  That is a testament to warm air temps as well as warm soil temps and some judicious watering.

Water everywhere

Speaking of watering, since I've expanded my beds this year (growing from 4 to 8), I'm in need of more low-pressure Gilmour flat soaker hoses, especially since my wonderful 50-foot hose lost its battle with the tiller last fall.  (It took me over an hour to unwind the snarl from the tiller tines.)  We've been watering with oscillating sprinklers this week, but the additional hoses go in next week, which will, hopefully, save some water, especially once I begin mulching with yard clippings.

Broccoli and cabbage have grown a lot in 2 weeks,
but need fertilizer!

I've also fertilized the transplants this week, giving them a dose of the lovely Garden-Tone from Espoma.  Although all of my garden area was, at one time, part of a corn patch, some of the strips have been "worked" more than others, and it shows.  I stabbed the ground next to each plant for a fertilizer "earth funnel" and the newer beds (worked less) were harder than the beds I worked last year.  The plants in those strips will need some extra care.

In fact, I'm considering tilling up another strip and planting a series of mulch crops to help condition the soil for next year.

Interplantings

Back to this year, though.  Since I will not have enough grass clippings to mulch all of my garden strips this year, I plan on interplanting other vegetables.  The current plan is:

• Carrots with tomatoes
• Beans with tomatoes
• Beets with cabbage and broccoli
• Eggplant among the pole beans

Peppers will be mulched with the grass clippings; that has worked really well for several years.

Working through the time of long shadows!

Cucumbers and beans are already planted in the same bed (cucumbers down the middle along a trellis, in the hopes that the bean canopy will minimize the weeds around the cucumbers.

Pole beans are planted at the foot of each tripod leg (including the tomato trellis supports) in the hopes they will climb up the leg.

A new tool

In years past, my patches were grassy and weedy, but I've already improved on weeding this year.  The difference?  The "action hoe"!  It's light; it's nimble; it's fast!  I know my plants will do better when they are not competing with grass and weeds for nutrients.

A "berry" good report

The early blackberries are turning red (from green) and we are hoping to have the first berries in a week or two!  The canes are loaded and we're hoping for a good year.  We've been watering with a t-post sprinkler from Tractor Supply which we've found to be far more stable than a tripod.

Wild roses, violets and buttercup--
beauty is there for those with the eye to see it!

Slowing down

As you can see, it's been a busy week here on the farm, but sometimes I am forced to stop and remember why I am so thankful to be here:

One of my early memories is sitting on the church steps on the opposite corner of this property and listening to the bobwhites and whipporwills.  I was disappointed, when I moved here, to learn that they had been gone, hunted out, for many years.  The second summer, I thought I heard bobwhites, but could never prove it.  The third summer, several others in the community heard what seemed to be a lone bobwhite.  The fourth summer and fifth summers, we had a pair.  This summer, we've heard at least two pair.

This morning, I saw a bobwhite sitting on the trellis that is 25 feet from my back door, calling for his mate.  By the time I retrieved my camera, he had flown away.  But I saw him.  He seemed comfortable here.  I hope he stays--and brings friends--for his call takes me back to a slower time when time was savored.  And that's my most important plan for the summer:  savor the time, and the people I share that time with.

What about you?

How are you living your Savory life?

Nancy

Organic Gardening: Too Tired To-Do

One blackberry variety (Navaho?  Apache?)
is fruiting while the
Triple Crown is just now blooming.

I'm burning daylight again.  After a ridiculously busy week at work and in the garden, I'm sitting inside on the most beautiful morning we've enjoyed since the heat set in.  There's only one reason I'm doing it:  I'm tired.

I've spent the past two weeks making trellises, repairing trellises (after a night of squall lines and heavy rain), planting seeds, and mowing.  Those are the things I actually did.  The undone items on the garden "to-do" list are:

• weed garden, 
• till unplanted garden bed,
• plant remainder of vegetable seeds,
• deadhead roses,
• weed roses, 
• harvest rose petals, 
• work on rose petal dehydrator, 
• put together bird house, 
• set bird house, 
• plant clematis, 
• fertilize everything, and 
• WEED!

I raced the storm to make repairs on the trellises!

Yes, the grass is already encroaching and the weeds are making serious inroads.  I have a new

The Wolf-brand "Crumbler":
It's a combination garden "weasel" and stirrup hoe!

tool which is great for open spaces, but too big for weeding between intensive plantings.

The Resident Dragon is tired, too, and he suggests a movie.  I have errands to run in town so we combine trips.  Car loaded with the results of our expedition, we settle in to watch the latest installment in the Star Trek franchise while sharing buttered popcorn.  It is a nice break from the demands of the garden.

Soon enough, the movie is over, and we're back on the farm with six hours of daylight to accomplish the day's task list.

The biggest goals for the day are weeding, planting, and watering, and, thanks to the new stirrup-hoe, we accomplish all three!  (Well, we do have some fill-in planting to do, but we're done with the big stuff!)

I'm relieved.  I'm really counting on the garden this year, and this is the earliest I've ever completed planting.  I'm hoping that I can devote more energy to staying ahead of the weeds and the insects.  Of course, that's my plan every summer.

Perhaps a baby Green Zebra Tomato!

It's long after dark now, and I'm dozing off to a cool breeze.  I am still tired, but it's not from mental fatigue; I've rediscovered muscles I'd forgotten about.  I accomplished something today; something worthwhile.  I'm actually a little proud of myself;  there's something invigorating about that.  In fact, I think I'll make that a daily rule:

Today, do something you can be proud of.

I did that today and tonight I will not just sleep, I will rest.  It's about time.

So, how are things growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Organic Gardening: "Zing!" Went the Strings of My Tomato Trellises!

My old canes were too flimsy!

Well, we've set out most of the tomatoes, and have finally begun to trellis them.  Last year we used cages with little success because most of the varieties were too heavy for the wire.  The only variety for which the cages worked well was the currant tomatoes and we are caging them again this year.  

We needed another support system for the other varieties.  One alternative was to drive t-posts into the ground and tie the plants to them--my father-in-law's preferred method.  The t-posts are sturdy, but require removal with the tractor bucket as the ground is always rock-hard by the end of tomato season.

Over the winter we saw an example of our current trellising scheme on a show about a heritage garden:  training tomatoes up string attached to cane tripods with crossmembers.  I had some 1/2-inch-diameter canes from last year, but they seemed very flimsy.  Fortunately, my father-in-law had a large supply of locally-grown 1-inch cane from his pole bean experiment two years ago (result:  he returned to growing bush beans), which he generously offered.

The Resident Dragon has joined me in the garden this year, which makes it so much more fun (and I get so much more done!).  He arranged the tripods and I tied them with surplus cotton yarn since I had forgotten to order hemp twine; I hope they hold up!

Tie the strings loosely enough
to wrap around the  tomato plants
without breaking them.

The crosspiece nestles in the forks of the tripod, but you need about 8"-12" of excess on either end which determines the placement of the tripods.

My garden strips are about 20' long and it took four tripods and three crosspieces, each crosspiece about 8' long.

Next, we ran the trellis lines.  We cut the twine long enough to reach from crosspiece to ground plus about 2'.  Loop one end over the crosspiece securely (I used an overhand knotted loop), and tie the other end to a landscape pin.  We "pinned" the twine to the ground next to the plant and wrapped the twine gently around the plant.  Our tying methods demonstrate the differences between my dragon and me:  his are meticulously tied--slip-knotted and adjustable; mine are overhand and square-knotted, and are not adjustable.  I suspect his will be better, but we will see!

Repeat for each tomato vine.

Several days, and an inch of rain, later, I already see that some of the strings have stretched.  Looks like the dragon will be proven right after all!

Tomato trellises with cucumber "fence" in the background.

As we were working we noticed a few of the smaller plants had been nipped off about an inch above the ground.  Old deer tracks nearby suggest likely suspects, and we may have to fence in the garden plot to protect it.  As we were trellising the tomatoes, Jim had commented that the deer would appreciate our making the tomato vines more accessible for their nibbling pleasure!

That's one thing about gardening:  humans have to compete against bugs and varmints for any produce they enjoy.  I know; as an aspiring organic farmer, I'm supposed to work in harmony with Mother Nature, but, sometimes, it feels like a battle of the bands and I'm playing with broken strings.

We work long past sunset most evenings!

No time for self-pity, though!  We still have 3 or 4 tomato varieties to plant, most of which will need trellising.  One variety is the Italian Tree Tomato (Trip-L-Crop) which, because it is such a heavy vine, we'll plant at the foot of a tripod leg so it can climb up the cane itself.  I'm also planning to plant pole beans at the foot of the tripods to maximize space and minimize weeding (I hope).

With peppers, herbs, corn, and beans yet to plant, there's not a minute to spare, so I'm off to cut more trellis string.

What about you?

What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy