One perk of being a backyard gardener is that you never know what might pop up. Volunteer plants, for example. One year, I had a strange plant sprout and could not for the life of me figure out what it was. We let it grow to maturity, and finally pulled it up. It was a peanut vine compliments of my resident squirrels This summer, I have another unknown addition to my garden. I thought … [Read more...]
Dr. Earth – Pump & Grow
I have enjoyed an amazing tomato harvest this summer. I have four vines – two slicer tomato plants, one cherry tomato-type plant and a larger “Big Boy” type plant. Not only are they pumping out tomatoes on a regular basis (with many small fruits coming on and still some blossoms) but the tomatoes have been perfect – not a single blemish nor any end rot. This may all be pure, blind luck, but I have … [Read more...]
Some Like it Hot
Hot summer weather? Bring it on, say my four tomato vines. They have survived the 90-degree afternoons and have actually picked up steam. I am now gathering tomatoes every day. I have two vines that are pounding out smaller tomatoes, about the size of a tangerine, and I have yet to find a single blemish and – so far – no critters have pecked away and ruined my fruits. I also have a cherry-type … [Read more...]
Tomato Update
My tomato crop has already exceeded last year’s bust, and I have been getting a slow and steady supply, but nothing special. The best thing is that so far (knock on wood) none of my ‘maters have had blemishes or end rot, and so far, no critters have attacked my innocent tomatoes the day before I would pick them. Last year I bought a gizmo that makes a clicking noise, activated by … [Read more...]
Tomatoes for a Midnight Snack
Luck plays an important part for backyard gardeners. Not only luck with the weather and timely rains, but the luck of the draw when planting seeds or young plants. I had room for 4 tomato plants this spring and wanted one to be a cherry-type vine for snacks and salads. I saw a plant at Cornerstone Nursery that looked healthy and had “cherry-something” on the sticker, so I bought it, … [Read more...]
Growing Tomatoes
(Slicer tomatoes) This year’s crop has already exceeded my pitiful tomato harvest for 2022. It was a bust. I planted tomatoes from seeds last year and the spindly plants never had a chance. This spring I went to the Corner Store Garden Center and bought my plants. I didn’t look at the variety, I just bought the ones that looked healthiest. Two of my plants are called Slicer Tomatoes … [Read more...]
The Rain in Spain
…..is now in Charlottesville. We went from no rain to all of Europe’s quota of rain in a matter of days. But’s who’s complaining? My garden has come out of hibernation and if you listen closely, you can hear stuff growing. Unfortunately, the grass has also noticed the rising rain gauge and is taking advantage, so when it finally lets up, the old mower will get a good work … [Read more...]
My Cucumber Trellis .
I bought my Cucumber Trellis early this spring. The plan was to set this beauty up and have multiple cucumber vines on each side of the trellis climbing the netting to deposit hundreds, perhaps thousands of crisp, green cukes for me to pick and for Nancy to can and make pickles. But there was some assembly involved and by the time I finished putting together the 100 or more parts, I had a much … [Read more...]
Peas to Please
Earlier this spring, I had a small, empty space in my garden, and I also had a pack of garden pea seeds that needed a home. I planted 2 short rows and put a trellis beside each row. The peas took advantage of the rain and warming sun and each and every one sprouted. They also followed the instructions and scaled the little trellis to produce blooms, then peas. I resisted the … [Read more...]
The First Tomatoes
There is something to be said about above ground garden plots. They produce the first tomatoes. While my in-ground tomato plants finally have a few small ‘maters, Nancy’s plants in her above ground garden cage have already produced vine ripened tomatoes. We plucked three, fat, red-ripe tomatoes yesterday. My Daddy once said that it didn’t really matter when you planted tomatoes, … [Read more...]
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