I had neglected my garden, having gone to Urbanna for an extended weekend. Last Saturday, Nancy was off and saw some pole beans on my vines. It turns out there were lots of pole beans and she picked two pecks – at least I think they were pecks. They were large baskets, and the two combined equaled maybe a half bushel in all. It was a bunch of beans, I know that. We sat down and proceeded … [Read more...]

  The first year I planted Abraham Lincoln tomatoes was a fluke. I had tried to grow some tomato plants from seed and they didn’t do well, too spindly, so I headed for Snow’s Nursery. I saw two tomato plants that looked healthier than the rest and bought them. I noticed that they were Abraham Lincoln tomatoes and I picked literally bushels from those two plants that summer. Not … [Read more...]

    My pole beans have been reaching for the stars for two months, vines on top of vines, but no pole beans. Blooms, yes, beans, no. Fellow gardener Sherman Shifflett said he was having the same problem and an agriculture agent said others were wondering where the beans were. I read recently that if the ground temperature reaches 90 degrees, the beans say, “Forget it. We’re not … [Read more...]

    I planted four short rows of Blue Wonder Pole  beans back in May, and after keeping the rabbits away, the vines took off, reaching for the heavens. They bloomed about a month later, but no beans, then they bloomed again, but no beans. What gives? Sherman Shifflett in Louisa has the same problem and an agricultural agent said others are experiencing the same results. Perhaps … [Read more...]

  We wondered just how high our giant sunflower would grow. We think it came from a packet of assorted flowers that Nancy scattered along the garden, but unlike other sunflowers that top out at two or three feet, this one went for the stars and reached 11 feet. The reason I know this is because we secured it to a ten foot pole and it grew another foot. The head of the sunflower spread … [Read more...]

  Plucking that first red-ripe tomato from your garden is more than simply harvesting – it’s a special event – almost the equivalent of Thanksgiving. That’s because after months and months of eating plastic tomatoes grown in hot houses, you can finally slice into a real tomato and enjoy a BLT – bacon, lettuce and a real tomato sandwich. For that first BLT of the season, I insist on … [Read more...]

I suppose they call them sunflowers because  some of them think they should grow as high as the sun. At least that’s what the sunflower that sprouted and grew next to my garden must think. I thought it was an accidental squirrel planting, but Nancy thinks it may have been included in an assorted packet of wildflower seeds that she sewed along the edge if our garden. They say if you have bright … [Read more...]

I do not recall selling the family cow for a handful of magic beans, but the way my pole beans are heading for the sky makes me wonder. I have erected supports up to 6 feet and they have long since passed that height. It’s as if they are daring the Giant to climb down the beanstalk – or for me to climb up? I have had decent luck growing pole beans in seasons past, except for the rabbits. I … [Read more...]

  We have had rabbits in our yard and garden before, but never like this. They are everywhere - big ones, middle sized ones and baby ones. It’s the baby rabbit in my yard that’s killing me. This a two fence rabbit. Noting all the rabbits this spring and recalling how they have wiped out my beans and cucumbers in bygone years, Nancy and I decided to put a two foot fence around my garden. … [Read more...]

No, not my waistline, that definitely needs thinning. It’s thinning the recently sprouted seedlings that I can’t stand, and I usually do a lousy gardening job by letting the plants crowd themselves and therefore produce fewer vegetables. I’ve got that problem right now. I decided -  since I now have a small fence around my garden to prevent rabbits from sampling my wares – to plant pole … [Read more...]