tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48299597727931062182024-03-12T16:35:26.117-07:00Water Sun DirtBlog about Tomato Plants and other Gardening action!Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-49405605312651278982011-04-17T08:52:00.000-07:002011-04-17T08:52:20.983-07:00An UpdateI hate to admit it but I'm horrible at keeping the tomato blog going ha! After the first ripe tomato every year, I just stop posting!<br />
<br />
I'm about to transplant some tomato plants that's I've got going from seed. They've been out of the ground for about 3 weeks now and look pretty good. The varieties this year are Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Black Cherry, Sweet100, Yellow Ox Heart, Old German, Paul Robeson, and Yellow Mortgage Lifter.<br />
<br />
The Garden has already been planted in Sugar Snap Peas, Green Beans, an heirloom Lettuce, some Spinach, and 20 Broccoli Plants. Most of that was planted a week ago today so hopefully I'll be seeing something coming up soon! I plan on planting some watermelon as well and really trying hard to create a monster, I want something over 70 pnds this year!<br />
<br />
In other news, I've been dreaming for a couple months now about brewing beer. I just have to do it. I also decided to plant some Hops used in brewing. Go figure, only I would plant hops before ever trying to brew beer but what the heck?<br />
<br />
Hope all is well with family and friends. Will try and keep you updated on the gardens progress as well as some changes we hope to make around the homestead soon!Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-14974000703144895612010-06-20T19:29:00.001-07:002010-06-20T19:29:28.680-07:00Red Tomato...My wife found the first red tomato in the garden this year... It was of the Nyagous variety and we didn't take a picture of it. We ate the tomato, and now nobody believes that we had one to begin with ha!<br />
<br />
<br />
There's another about to ripen up in the next couple days. I'll be sure to get a picture of it.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-8544598298734664592010-06-06T08:36:00.000-07:002010-06-06T08:36:34.784-07:00Another Quick Update on pictures... Everything is growing great. Still have not personally watered the garden but we've had some good thunderstorms in the evening that have brought a lot of water to the tomatoes so I can't complain. <br />
Still shocks me at how fast everything grows.<br />
<br />
Some of the older cages are short... like 3 1/2 ft tall. Too short, it seems, to hold back the power of the tomatoes. I put all the short cages at the back of the garden as that is usually where the tomatoes don't grow very tall. That doesn't seem to be the case this year so I'm going to have to invest in a couple tall steel stakes and run some twine in a weave pattern between them to hopefully support the tomato plants as they come out of the tops of the cages. There are many examples of different types on the internet so I'll show you what I come up with next week. Whatever I do, it needs to be quick as they are at the top and ready to come out.<br />
<br />
Here are some pictures. First I'll repost the two pictures of just the garden so you can get an idea of how fast everything is growing.<br />
<br />
May 21<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUaLR_bhSa-BBZfiJMLURtn5SjQTK6XH6rzqbVr8MNzN5dyM5tMUKPdLwePupdI0wGqOSJQeA_ZsYjIKsT-dmNwXLSuU6sSyFytbjtXstl0r1IT3emO__AwiNHohvdD4d5nbByZ5LSx_76/s1600/beans.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUaLR_bhSa-BBZfiJMLURtn5SjQTK6XH6rzqbVr8MNzN5dyM5tMUKPdLwePupdI0wGqOSJQeA_ZsYjIKsT-dmNwXLSuU6sSyFytbjtXstl0r1IT3emO__AwiNHohvdD4d5nbByZ5LSx_76/s320/beans.JPG" /></a></div><br />
May 31<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH4USVHUTHFSKC7-MomJCzKG1qG319frld2qbOE5G7xk8NcQ-C-MTqbZ4amEAgHeTFIN-uOQwP0i7RcL1gETtq_g6N7q8U8DUijK-lRoW6bq3egQU_fz7ESH9bzsE4ZT-LUpGFPIq6I9Wc/s1600/garden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH4USVHUTHFSKC7-MomJCzKG1qG319frld2qbOE5G7xk8NcQ-C-MTqbZ4amEAgHeTFIN-uOQwP0i7RcL1gETtq_g6N7q8U8DUijK-lRoW6bq3egQU_fz7ESH9bzsE4ZT-LUpGFPIq6I9Wc/s320/garden.JPG" /></a></div> <br />
June 6th<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdFNGml7yONIlI7A2c603-1AyRlaAO6NMLvZlcfsMkGDxfAuwqpLdfxIzYxMieLJg7hOxa3ameBk-A06dcBjI5b869jRXOw0iQuLBzTxDj6PSjRlU78TxbiatepJzsydDquCvrfjgBfnp/s1600/garden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdFNGml7yONIlI7A2c603-1AyRlaAO6NMLvZlcfsMkGDxfAuwqpLdfxIzYxMieLJg7hOxa3ameBk-A06dcBjI5b869jRXOw0iQuLBzTxDj6PSjRlU78TxbiatepJzsydDquCvrfjgBfnp/s320/garden.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Here is a picture of what I guess is a MegaBloom on my Tasty Evergreen. It looks like one stem that has 3 blooms that are all squished together... hopefully going to turn into a MegaTomato ha...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgha8CZ_bHC_iQYZ5wUxh7PE2a2OenZIB542DQkB6srUlAgQ-nySy3rXF1KoAGF9aDONX9YR_aZDlD93U-y7kjUbmbnbI_vOTY8argPLyg75p29L9zZ0voWBqzFQOHK0CJLOcgKhMbPkw/s1600/megabloom1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgha8CZ_bHC_iQYZ5wUxh7PE2a2OenZIB542DQkB6srUlAgQ-nySy3rXF1KoAGF9aDONX9YR_aZDlD93U-y7kjUbmbnbI_vOTY8argPLyg75p29L9zZ0voWBqzFQOHK0CJLOcgKhMbPkw/s320/megabloom1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
The beans I planted on the 21st of May seem to have come up well. The 6 or 7 tobacco/nicotina plants are as well as are the watermelon, squash and zucchini. I just planted some more basil and some cucumber and incorporated the piece of chainlink gate I have for my cucumbers to grow on.<br />
Hope all is well with all of you.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJ4-RgC0y6g6G2U-IWwo1owvbwTbbqYeqciyL-KA3LsO0Orr7nGxB9gb7hJsN3wDgf47Cztzhg7_DaJkoGmeXXf22oWfBSkcld3i1c5y6j2fCBnTFR_Xi9Si-TaaKeXVRnE3NnM_EeBxY/s1600/PR.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJ4-RgC0y6g6G2U-IWwo1owvbwTbbqYeqciyL-KA3LsO0Orr7nGxB9gb7hJsN3wDgf47Cztzhg7_DaJkoGmeXXf22oWfBSkcld3i1c5y6j2fCBnTFR_Xi9Si-TaaKeXVRnE3NnM_EeBxY/s320/PR.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif26BXY52isZb9BI317K1ZChdq4O8-i107lTUHVbmXv4hHyVPCkdAnuixCLCjzz41UsTXPQr7oqGhbI7Zl1VMqX_pfcqFYZnUxG5WRhy5AZOH697-syF4riUpD_LCOrgz6a0oo42cqPu3m/s1600/shortcages.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif26BXY52isZb9BI317K1ZChdq4O8-i107lTUHVbmXv4hHyVPCkdAnuixCLCjzz41UsTXPQr7oqGhbI7Zl1VMqX_pfcqFYZnUxG5WRhy5AZOH697-syF4riUpD_LCOrgz6a0oo42cqPu3m/s320/shortcages.JPG" /></a></div>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-8141084138073228382010-05-31T12:24:00.000-07:002010-05-31T17:46:02.246-07:00So, I need to update!My Tomatoes are doing great! The ground is still moist from the rain we recently received and the weeds that I thought wouldn't come up are starting to come up. I've been busy doing other things though, which hasn't left me a lot of time to Tomato Out!<br />
I'm about to grab the camera now and go out to take some pictures. I've got some pictures from one week ago so we'll be able to compare and see how fast everything is going in the garden.<br />
<br />
On a total side note, since I uploaded some pictures from my phone, I figured I'd talk about what we did at work this week ha! We built a house 3 or 4 years ago down on the beach here in Maryland. The house turned out lovely and is seriously only one of only areas in our part of the state that actually has a real beach. It's a lot on the Potomac River. <br />
<br />
Anyhow, we went back this past week to do a little fun construction. The couple that own the house have a pier but you have to walk quite a distance through sand to get to it. They wanted a walkway from the house to the pier with a deck built in between to entertain guests. The walkway from the house and deck itself are covered in that new fiberon material and hooked to the framing using the clips so there is no nailing or screws that show once it's done.<br />
<br />
So I guess the long and the short of this story is that we actually drove pilings into the sand all the way from the house to the pier, and attached our framework to those pilings. We drove four 12 ft pilings down near the deck. Originally the homeowners wanted a little roof made on top, somewhere where they could keep their BBQ Grill. My mind started working as we went thinking "what good is a grass thatched roof if you don't have a bar under it? :)" The homeowners agreed and we decided to turn the 'grillin' spot' into a bar. As we decided on how it was going to be we all talked about how cool it would be (albeit crazy) to use the stern of a real boat for the actual bar! The next thing I know the homeowner shows up with the back of a boat on the trailer. Apparently one of the marinas close by was about to burn the whole boat for their 4th of July celebration.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQGlUjPuCo27b9MJQ3r9WteVtlvo79Ekz63QmhCx1NmIPYsggu23IE4qHChy-guWm12HirH3Ju0ge3HCX_xVpuyfuqS_A_lixpJHlbOgEIzAsPwFuOPUtJ-EJvKesDENjwHDsYU67JPf1/s1600/533034355_1883652364_0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQGlUjPuCo27b9MJQ3r9WteVtlvo79Ekz63QmhCx1NmIPYsggu23IE4qHChy-guWm12HirH3Ju0ge3HCX_xVpuyfuqS_A_lixpJHlbOgEIzAsPwFuOPUtJ-EJvKesDENjwHDsYU67JPf1/s320/533034355_1883652364_0.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
A little grass on the roof, some small walls of treated lumber and rolled bamboo, the stern of a boat... looks like a great place to hang out on a lazy day, huh?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdoUltbY6F-HTHe-4mrWwdiLXoY_OWVoLAl1gP1ObtUr0c2SlOM49oQIpJ9BpBMP_lQLthlEgSMlTqVuFrTY7HtIl6HZE8RfogUhjMUDm0OpC6B2rGD4cMfUiiwlbhupU1ri2wLRDC-We/s1600/533033417_1883648862_0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdoUltbY6F-HTHe-4mrWwdiLXoY_OWVoLAl1gP1ObtUr0c2SlOM49oQIpJ9BpBMP_lQLthlEgSMlTqVuFrTY7HtIl6HZE8RfogUhjMUDm0OpC6B2rGD4cMfUiiwlbhupU1ri2wLRDC-We/s320/533033417_1883648862_0.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
The boat isn't totally connected to the bar frame yet as the homeowner wants to refinish the back of the boat. Everything is still in the stern, rodholders, exhaust holes, gas cap, cleats... it's awesome! Hopefully I'll get invited back for the opening party!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9K4wf3W1Eolo_E-bXaOgPw-8mQC4orpUIGj4yWvT2KT0qOp1AaYGKccGgaZ-lkrTFlHn6FQEsza5qDEZboPM4QKqEn5LulIA9pfMW2XWUq41X-JG0Wl30mEWHDN1tfpt2xNVyiYhUW_W/s1600/533028572_1883630726_0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9K4wf3W1Eolo_E-bXaOgPw-8mQC4orpUIGj4yWvT2KT0qOp1AaYGKccGgaZ-lkrTFlHn6FQEsza5qDEZboPM4QKqEn5LulIA9pfMW2XWUq41X-JG0Wl30mEWHDN1tfpt2xNVyiYhUW_W/s320/533028572_1883630726_0.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZ3SuX0J26D-TtXaO0BEF4cSgyTz3-1pRMiyv1H1Z-2cxWVY2tpjPXTK83KcyQKhVIeyBGHPotxSuRcXHtIdX9nXx13V59heUjpW-WqUg_y0FQUvaKwsAsQQ0xP5niqmGMzruCh80fPoL/s1600/533031960_1883643388_0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZ3SuX0J26D-TtXaO0BEF4cSgyTz3-1pRMiyv1H1Z-2cxWVY2tpjPXTK83KcyQKhVIeyBGHPotxSuRcXHtIdX9nXx13V59heUjpW-WqUg_y0FQUvaKwsAsQQ0xP5niqmGMzruCh80fPoL/s320/533031960_1883643388_0.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, here we go with some pictures of the garden. First a couple pictures from last week. Friday to be exact. It's been 9 days in between the pictures. Hard to believe...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7z2Z_5HQGf_P7md1PFRw0tAIaymMIiL37sZ7R6QMd7-3BxgR2SbbSqWE35rROhsKam8EI1EBAuGvNWXK5WwOMBBOrZI0-u2SKFNsHqINLI5KaGm7VqB38RoSJFZ20Q5Xn9w_qFmxtEppp/s1600/rightside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7z2Z_5HQGf_P7md1PFRw0tAIaymMIiL37sZ7R6QMd7-3BxgR2SbbSqWE35rROhsKam8EI1EBAuGvNWXK5WwOMBBOrZI0-u2SKFNsHqINLI5KaGm7VqB38RoSJFZ20Q5Xn9w_qFmxtEppp/s320/rightside.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1Sc8FGW401_i-0b3tzEQdYeojliLsBmXB633fecARadr1G418SdfNYvPR7F6KTW6-DqPvtAfvwUiw0sz8jnFAzy-tzckWwJldsiMnb-VqFnPWljyAmGDbt9xx-ru8hYi2HPyXTkhjjsr/s1600/left+side.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1Sc8FGW401_i-0b3tzEQdYeojliLsBmXB633fecARadr1G418SdfNYvPR7F6KTW6-DqPvtAfvwUiw0sz8jnFAzy-tzckWwJldsiMnb-VqFnPWljyAmGDbt9xx-ru8hYi2HPyXTkhjjsr/s320/left+side.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now, this week</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowNuKUDkZekrGS5kx2LMnuSPYt4yU1qxQhBzffuiCJqVVSnHlLS3x2GhfTnw97tqMq9nAZTgTyttpHp8-Nn5HTKMqHqFUDHhUYxDUf0WWHKkMEOGquzLOd3JFqFgzVjKyhvT3iYnelPTo/s1600/garden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowNuKUDkZekrGS5kx2LMnuSPYt4yU1qxQhBzffuiCJqVVSnHlLS3x2GhfTnw97tqMq9nAZTgTyttpHp8-Nn5HTKMqHqFUDHhUYxDUf0WWHKkMEOGquzLOd3JFqFgzVjKyhvT3iYnelPTo/s320/garden.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAf8dtgYldrLHKA8ZQeugk9H1Mk82RyfAlRCEMSZ-vl4BZBw6AZ6BLdBOtK-3nszTscgJi-1_IEWWnQ42KQWK9VAtKFPPoaWFxf-YO-rjNKsczKaPGNsnnodqhs12RCQt84qsFNiIaNx_/s1600/Tomatoes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAf8dtgYldrLHKA8ZQeugk9H1Mk82RyfAlRCEMSZ-vl4BZBw6AZ6BLdBOtK-3nszTscgJi-1_IEWWnQ42KQWK9VAtKFPPoaWFxf-YO-rjNKsczKaPGNsnnodqhs12RCQt84qsFNiIaNx_/s320/Tomatoes.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iotIU9YY1yRHssVkIX9g78Ku_1eDX-jgkX-ehH-T0j8iQ9YCo9_CcfHmx92N5BLIuTSoQQUn5VjofLhk6eRE-a5YMzJNNBDD4zCWvf9WJR-qSaYHwBCGcdxoVZikeBmfJkJJ9udq_f9M/s1600/beans.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iotIU9YY1yRHssVkIX9g78Ku_1eDX-jgkX-ehH-T0j8iQ9YCo9_CcfHmx92N5BLIuTSoQQUn5VjofLhk6eRE-a5YMzJNNBDD4zCWvf9WJR-qSaYHwBCGcdxoVZikeBmfJkJJ9udq_f9M/s320/beans.JPG" /></a></div>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-24722005572875956082010-03-28T12:49:00.000-07:002010-03-28T12:51:35.311-07:00Tiller Time!Well, it's about that time to break out the ol' EconoHorse Tiller I inherited from Grafton. The thing just keeps on truckin'. I tilled the leaves under last Saturday and the garden didn't look as nice as I'd hoped it would but that's just because there's so many leaves in some spots and less leaves in others. Today I tilled the garden again and it looks a bit better this time. I'm thinking it's going to need 3 or 4 more tills before it's ready for my plants.<br />
<br />
I also planted some more stuff last Sunday. I planted some more tomatoes. Black Krim, Yellow Brandywine, Boxcar Willie, some more Paul Robeson that I saved myself from last year, some Green Zebra, and Orange Oxheart were started and I see they're just now peaking through the soil. That makes my list look like this:<br />
<br />
Paul Robeson (true seed)<br />
Tasty Evergreen<br />
Red Zebra<br />
Gold Medal<br />
Yellow Mortgage Lifter<br />
Nyagouos<br />
Japanese Trifele<br />
Black Krim<br />
Yellow Brandywine<br />
Orange Oxheart<br />
Boxcar Willie<br />
Paul Robeson (Chris's mix)<br />
Green Zebra<br />
<br />
I also planted some Peppers... a Giant Yellow Monster bell pepper, and another sweet pepper called Macaroni.<br />
I found some seed I saved from a huge watermelon I planted a couple years ago called Carolina Cross, and added to that with a couple plantings of Kolbs Gem and Moon and Stars. I don't have very good luck for some reason planting the Watermelon seed inside as I think it needs higher soil temperatures to get going but we'll see what happens.<br />
<br />
So anyway, I tried to make a quick video that highlights the ol' EconoHorse... My movie making skills leave a lot to be desired though ha.<br />
<br />
<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J1YRx9vnIZ8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J1YRx9vnIZ8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="395" height="325"></embed></object>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-92036043019695337072010-03-13T16:56:00.000-08:002010-03-14T04:46:22.628-07:00Tomato Plants a-poppin'!They're starting to poke through the soil. I have both flats under a 4 ft fluorescent light out on the porch. Actually, I just let them go on their own from last Sunday till Friday, at which time I added the light over top. I would love to experiment with doing some time lapse pictures of them as they sprout and grow. Maybe I can talk my wife into letting me use her old laptop and I can probably scare up an old webcam (Good idea Diggs)...<br />
<br />
So I also helped 'The Neighbor' build another Salad Box. This one was made of 2x4 and some screen. It's roughly 16" x 32" and is put together with 8 screws. Important to note that pre-drilling is a good idea and makes your life easier in the long run. With someone with some knowledge on using a saw and a drill it should take mere minutes to get together and ready for dirt. A metal screen is stapled onto the frame after it's screwed together, making sure to double-up/fold the screen over where you staple it on the sides for extra strength. 'The Neighbor' always uses another layer of 'ratwire' that just increases the strength and makes sure that the screen won't fall through after the dirt is added. <br />
<br />
Video shows short clips of the assembly, screening and two salad boxes made from old lumber found in one the many sheds on the compound. Shows that it doesn't take much to grow fresh veggies like lettuce, spinach and herbs inside using some partial sun coming from a window and artificial fluorescent lighting. The lettuce is probably going on 3-4 weeks and the spinach 2 1/2 weeks. There is also some parsley in there as well.<br />
<br />
note2uppl: Yes that is a Gen-U-ine miniature ball-peen hammer! <br />
<br />
<object width="395" height="325"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/o_7TnuuDS3o&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o_7TnuuDS3o&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="395" height="325"></embed></object>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-78917458492007394852010-03-07T13:27:00.001-08:002010-03-14T04:48:10.506-07:00Tomato planting time!I don't know if it's late or early for getting my tomatoes started. I always forget the dates that I planted them the year before. Last year I even went so far as to write everything down... who knows where that paper is... ha.<br />
<br />
A couple things I wanted to mention. Everyone I've seen uses different mediums to start their seeds in. Some like sunshine mix, some use seed starting mix... I like to use dirt. When I say dirt, I mean that I like to use something heavy, dark, and something that's easy to get AND keep moist. All of those seed starting mixtures out there are mostly sphagnum moss. That stuff is a pain in the butt to get wet for the first time. Last year I had to put a bunch into the wheelbarrow and dump some water in and mix it around forever until it soaked up the water.<br />
<br />
This year I'm just using a Miracle Grow potting soil. Yeah, most people probably wouldn't use it... it has weird stuff in it... and fertilizer but you know what? When I'm planting this many tomatoes, I'm going to do what's easy and I know this stuff works. Probably better than all that sphagnum moss, at least in my opinion.<br />
<br />
Today I planted 144 seeds. Here's the rundown:<br />
<br />
36 Paul Robeson (true seed)<br />
18 Tasty Evergreen<br />
18 Red Zebra<br />
18 Gold Medal<br />
18 Yellow Mortgage Lifter<br />
18 Nyagouos<br />
18 Japanese Trifele<br />
<br />
I still have all my Uncles seed to plant as well as some more Paul Robeson that I saved from my own tomatoes last year. I wanted to see if they might be a bit different since they were packed in with some other tomatoes. It'd be cool to see some crossbreeding going on with that one.<br />
<br />
My wife and I have been real busy with life in general so I haven't had much time to post. Work picked up, a lot! And it's rare to get a day off that you don't work or plans doing something else. I'm still trying to get lined up to do some of the things I talked about in the previous post.<br />
<br />
Hope everyone is well... and yes I know I have 'ham hands'<br />
<br />
Tomatoes!<br />
<br />
<object width="395" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/f68KbocNuQQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/f68KbocNuQQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="395" height="315"></embed></object>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-43741058270852118892010-02-01T16:56:00.000-08:002010-02-08T08:54:17.337-08:00So I can't stop myself...So today I went to throw away the envelope that my Uncle sent me seeds in and realized there was one more little bag of tomato seed I didn't even see. A variety called Boxcar Willie! I've seen this variety a number of times and now I get to try it out.<br /><br />That compounded with the fact that I ordered more seed today means that I have a real problem. A bunch of plants that I want to have - vs - not that much space to plant them. I'll definitely have to figure something out.<br /><br />I added to my original list which brings the total so far to:<br /><br />Paul Robeson (the favorite)<br />Boxcar Willie<br />Gold Medal<br />Black Krim<br />Yellow Oxheart<br />Yellow Mortgage Lifter<br />Lemon Boy<br />Better Boy<br />Green Zebra<br />Red Zebra<br />An organic Tasty Evergreen<br />Japanese Black Trifele<br />and Nyagouos (another purple/black variety)<br /><br />So my list is growing. I don't want it to really but I can't help myself. I'm going to need to talk to someone about some land ha!<br /><br />I hope to update from here on out weekly and plan on doing some how/to posts including but not limited to:<br /><br />How to make your own salad boxes<br />How to make your own seed starting/growing shelves complete with lights.<br /><br />Hope everyone is well.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-25961240771410518142010-01-30T14:14:00.000-08:002010-01-30T14:27:11.647-08:00Ok...So there's 10 or 12 inches of snow on the ground... so what? We can still all dream about planting our tomato plants can't we?<br /><br />I'm going to try a little harder this year to post more pictures and maybe even some video on the who, what and where. I just got some seeds in the mail from my Uncle George including Black Krim and Yellow Oxheart. This should be a fun year as tomatoes go.<br /><br />I learned quite a bit from last year.<br /><br />1. I need a bigger garden ha!<br />2. Flagging tape does hold up tomato plants but DOESN'T hold up tomato plants with tomatoes on them.<br />3. I know what didn't do well last year and what did.<br /><br />As far as #1 is concerned, I'm going to address that to a point. Last year I had a strip of grass big enough for my tractor to fit down the center of the garden to get my clippings to the compost. I'm going to turn most of that back into usable soil. That at least would give me another two rows of tomatoes.<br />I'm not going to mess with cherry tomatoes this year. They did great last year but I personally could care less about them. My list of tomatoes that I want to plant is this:<br /><br />Paul Robeson (the favorite)<br />Gold Medal<br />Black Krim<br />Yellow Oxheart<br />Yellow Mortgage Lifter<br />Lemon Boy<br />Better Boy<br />Green Zebra<br />Maybe a new Green Variety...<br /><br />Now, instead of the 17 varieties I had last year, I can plant more of the tomatoes I really want to eat!<br /><br />As for #2... I found out the hard way and toooooo late that flagging tape just won't hold tomato plants full of tomatoes to stakes. I did come away with three smaller rolls of concrete wire from the job site this fall so there's at least 7 or 8 more cages right there. I guess I will go spend the 70 dollars per roll and at least buy one, which would give me another 20 25 cages. With my slimmed down list and # of plants I should be fine adding those to what I already have.<br /><br />Enjoy the Snow everyone... at least everyone around here...<br /><br />ChrisChristopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-62573076109725525542009-07-28T10:43:00.000-07:002009-07-28T10:45:06.757-07:00Tomatoes on SaleI put some tomatoes up for sale this past Sunday. They seemed to go pretty quick. I think I'm going to be selling them on Sundays and Thursdays for the time being.<br /><br />So, if you're looking for something good to eat, stop by the backyard and put your money in the toolbox!<br /><br />$1 a pound.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-12509113009468125532009-07-07T19:14:00.000-07:002009-07-07T19:27:24.235-07:00Paul Robeson<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHylBiVeGF9w8jSLaP6Jr9q80YQ7-zAHEvICn0ZijDtSDhZzoP10cnh5Gpkb9bwQMuAi4E_nfVEW2hSNDidntJp3ZTy4BussaUQDGzphxRYPdzj2qd833Y4NlSRyGGj1p80LDngc24Y_h/s1600-h/CIMG0933.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHylBiVeGF9w8jSLaP6Jr9q80YQ7-zAHEvICn0ZijDtSDhZzoP10cnh5Gpkb9bwQMuAi4E_nfVEW2hSNDidntJp3ZTy4BussaUQDGzphxRYPdzj2qd833Y4NlSRyGGj1p80LDngc24Y_h/s400/CIMG0933.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355907811835070850" border="0" /></a><br /><br />All I can say is yummy! Picked a couple Paul Robesons today. The first got quartered and eaten with salt and pepper. The other became Angelas' first tomato sandwich of the year. Things are looking up. Still crossing my fingers that I have a good selection come the middle of this month. With only a couple ripening we'll just have to see.<br />Hopefully everyone gets a chance to eat one of this variety this summer. Awesome taste, rich and just different. 'Better' even... when fully ripe the inside is almost a beet red color.<br /><br />Also ordered a scale to put on the stand. As I said in my last post I'd hate to 'package' the tomatoes up already and with so many different sizes it just makes sense to sell them by the pound.<br /><br />It's funny how great that thing tasted today. I guess I haven't really eaten a tomato like that since last year. Maybe that's why. The hothouse tomatoes you buy in the store with the dry pink interior just don't make the grade.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-50892957912620583892009-07-06T13:51:00.000-07:002009-07-06T14:01:27.361-07:00RED ALERT! RED ALERT!3 Paul Robeson Tomatoes look to be ripening. They should be ripe in a couple days. Alas the public will not see them ha... I'm still hoping that the others begin to ripen shortly. Hopefully in 2 weeks (more or less) I'll have a decent enough selection to go around. I don't know how many Early Girls I'll even have as they seem to not be producing very well. The shade I think is a big factor for them. The Brandywines look awesome but are still not showing any color. Lets cross our fingers and hope that it all comes together soon.<br />I still need to figure out how to sell them. It's going to be a 'Do it yourself' stand as I won't be around during the day, but I'm leaning on finding a cheap scale to screw down to the table back there. Weight would be the fair way to do this. Especially since some of the tomatoes will barely fit in a quart container. Plus I don't want to set them up so that people HAVE to take what I choose to put in the baskets/containers. Should be mix and match.<br /><br />I will also say that when they start ripening, the heirlooms will probably go real quick. When it all goes down I'll post more about them. The red and yellow striped varieties look to be well on their way and if they're as pretty as I think they're going to be, they'll be the first ones to go. People also need to understand too that the Heirloom plants don't produce as many tomatoes as the others so when they go out there, first come first serve. I'll most likely be putting them out around 6am to 6:30am so the early bird gets the worm.<br /><br />Again, just a note to say it's the beginning but that no tomatoes are out yet. I'll post pics of the first ripe ones in the next couple days :) They'll be getting eaten by me! Hopefully this is the start of something good.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-52837868251162233112009-06-29T13:24:00.000-07:002009-06-29T13:46:11.009-07:00C'mon and Ripen Already!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSaW3bkUK2dcFH3RgWfuJVMhpMwdbzglZPyi5OOb3pUVflGd7XakjZFRzge8fZktAeBl5BsrC8vdTJpG6W-JY5Mqkyz4H1ve4645BCXhAXrWMbJrIfhYBsWl4XlMUItGaBz3ymwMjxjbS/s1600-h/CIMG0926.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSaW3bkUK2dcFH3RgWfuJVMhpMwdbzglZPyi5OOb3pUVflGd7XakjZFRzge8fZktAeBl5BsrC8vdTJpG6W-JY5Mqkyz4H1ve4645BCXhAXrWMbJrIfhYBsWl4XlMUItGaBz3ymwMjxjbS/s400/CIMG0926.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352848755825706562" border="0" /></a>One of these days I'll remember to force the camera into not posting the date and time on the pictures...<br /><br />Anyways, I thought I'd take some shots of the garden to show what a couple weeks can do for you. The garden has changed quite a bit. The dreaded watermelon zucchini cross in the compost has gone from 'scary tendrils' to 'it's taking over'. Great looking 'watchamacalits' growing from it. Some are dark green, some are near black. Some are all yellow, some are a little bit of everything. Here's some pics!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOkKf6UpTEOvtRNsbUD15JnYeXVkZbRJ2c8YuvqnoXATVM-NiZ6yogGCQUL8NljTw5UiSYfmDfui16Rb3JWE1LdjWpEcze7oyxmgq35BDpTb4dC7TrBSFhAZ8pink53wrV7Oal0VJgvX-r/s1600-h/CIMG0921.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOkKf6UpTEOvtRNsbUD15JnYeXVkZbRJ2c8YuvqnoXATVM-NiZ6yogGCQUL8NljTw5UiSYfmDfui16Rb3JWE1LdjWpEcze7oyxmgq35BDpTb4dC7TrBSFhAZ8pink53wrV7Oal0VJgvX-r/s400/CIMG0921.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352849875353996226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtjQuniLxPDE2Th3Uwh55swSftqg9EvGjUiwn-9-vi9jDA3cC0fTOFJCsrxMrstAtZcb6UFPDyA-ewq6KVGJXLU-vBw9V_1mYXskZPBbTw2weJb-pDX8fSiATzDhFeMtNzlXCfznj8qG8/s1600-h/CIMG0928.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtjQuniLxPDE2Th3Uwh55swSftqg9EvGjUiwn-9-vi9jDA3cC0fTOFJCsrxMrstAtZcb6UFPDyA-ewq6KVGJXLU-vBw9V_1mYXskZPBbTw2weJb-pDX8fSiATzDhFeMtNzlXCfznj8qG8/s400/CIMG0928.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352850150379780210" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXFf1KxftEfBxDfPMHLqe1CS9UQUz33JUIZMskXhc8-vZZRDeh5cxcrS0Hxg3p2ALeQqiqtSTdMAbwtSbqsjZXaOiXGKbKkW0HDPDM8pwlWK3P7Ht5iXa3qxrLm-6d0dyzwHywOmkzkK5/s1600-h/CIMG0918.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXFf1KxftEfBxDfPMHLqe1CS9UQUz33JUIZMskXhc8-vZZRDeh5cxcrS0Hxg3p2ALeQqiqtSTdMAbwtSbqsjZXaOiXGKbKkW0HDPDM8pwlWK3P7Ht5iXa3qxrLm-6d0dyzwHywOmkzkK5/s400/CIMG0918.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352850385849789442" border="0" /></a>Don't know what to say about that. They taste fine. I've been meaning to slice some up and grill them but always forget.<br /><br />The cucumbers and I have been fighting a fierce battle. They keep trying to climb up on my tomatoes and I keep pulling them off onto the ground. Neither of us is winning. There is a winner though... The dog.<br />She loves cucumbers and while I was tying up the tomatoes on Sunday morning I heard her crunching and munching on them. She just goes out and picks her own. You can see where she's been wading through them in search of something big enough to snack on. I wondered why she always has 'dirt nose'. Now I'm positive that's why I have only got one cucumber so far this year.<br /><br />The tomatoes are doing fine. Just not ripening up fast enough for me. We'll see what the next few weeks brings. Here are a couple pictures including one of a Brandywine Tomato plant with a 6 ft Hoe next to it to help gauge size.<br />I'm still crossing my fingers for the middle of July!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWb2HXqyvnh4k0gYduM7sei6-OS4TgGgevah_Pk99iYJ1Ypz8-qhIbF0fpkiGdCDLj8rfmsr_dEw5oikJJeqZKHWZM2x5rPWl97bnwLAiscN22UDWb9XmKS_yx0aHfzp-x1NbV9x7TX2Nc/s1600-h/CIMG0917.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWb2HXqyvnh4k0gYduM7sei6-OS4TgGgevah_Pk99iYJ1Ypz8-qhIbF0fpkiGdCDLj8rfmsr_dEw5oikJJeqZKHWZM2x5rPWl97bnwLAiscN22UDWb9XmKS_yx0aHfzp-x1NbV9x7TX2Nc/s400/CIMG0917.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352852890132057522" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWEeGtecgrrebQrDeq6PU51Kkkq3sd1L5riCfilJXKkJNGX1eLzCy4KHZ1ICtNmIUkGlOfGgYSNk-nZuMsK8SZFEgPhMVIphOpl7XudOStejgvD7ZWB__OQNt_VGh-DpiyK3mkueMiMZz/s1600-h/CIMG0925.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWEeGtecgrrebQrDeq6PU51Kkkq3sd1L5riCfilJXKkJNGX1eLzCy4KHZ1ICtNmIUkGlOfGgYSNk-nZuMsK8SZFEgPhMVIphOpl7XudOStejgvD7ZWB__OQNt_VGh-DpiyK3mkueMiMZz/s400/CIMG0925.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352853091952754114" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrLgPI-ILxs3uzIDYsLV-o77SefTUufEm00IurjZCzSySpy1auLAVDwdPck7ewiFJSrcOJpIwwlt2iUbMF4pffrHOfCDUJyHse_D_KIst4SCIcieG_BqA1NWjzMBvS4bHZ4GTNE1Fwq3Z/s1600-h/CIMG0923.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrLgPI-ILxs3uzIDYsLV-o77SefTUufEm00IurjZCzSySpy1auLAVDwdPck7ewiFJSrcOJpIwwlt2iUbMF4pffrHOfCDUJyHse_D_KIst4SCIcieG_BqA1NWjzMBvS4bHZ4GTNE1Fwq3Z/s400/CIMG0923.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352853495892476834" border="0" /></a>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-38528631253133211672009-06-14T06:13:00.000-07:002009-06-14T06:43:44.266-07:00Land STAKES Alive!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fQG3yPewWGqS9GqMTPbk9oBoUOqoPI7_172dpYXUac1_cOIDMfA95efxr0j0ZuaNQFL8US55VToH1zjkty-xL6GR7CVfEgVvwPhdsv5cSUy2fukIe4CY31JL_SBJP5tZ7DuH1-lQIkkJ/s1600-h/CIMG0910.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fQG3yPewWGqS9GqMTPbk9oBoUOqoPI7_172dpYXUac1_cOIDMfA95efxr0j0ZuaNQFL8US55VToH1zjkty-xL6GR7CVfEgVvwPhdsv5cSUy2fukIe4CY31JL_SBJP5tZ7DuH1-lQIkkJ/s320/CIMG0910.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347177869733526802" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So, finally I got my butt in gear and searched high and low for stakes for the tomato plants. I found some good old metal fence posts in the shed that I've used in previous years to hold my cages up. The next door neighbor had some that she wasn't going to use anymore. Then I made a trip to Lowes and bought a few cheap wooden stakes. I have a few plants that still need to be staked but I've put in some calls and have some Tobacco sticks coming soon so all is well.<br /><br />I used green flagging tape to tie the tomatoes up and hope it will do alright. It's got some stretch to it, and much like using strips of sheets/pillow cases like I've done in previous years it shouldn't cut into the plants like twine or string would. Oh yeah, the best part is it's cheap!<br /><br />The Brandywine, Mountain Fresh and Paul Robeson all have grown pretty tall very quickly. The Copia and Gold Medal is also doing well with lots of blooms which I'm excited about because they didn't do well at all last year. By far, the Brandywine seems to be outgrowing everything else and has tons of blooms too.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFeC8TeErJg01u_jGyk6pRt-cxFjVhyQoBuPfmTx907AX-xT5yewDP1dslSaEvQOMKHp1fvEz18katTlBRYSJtvcWrFhEykzZ-k5HEUpuyiI_A9R6zYeg94d_atIWQkv-b_B22Yi49uaG/s1600-h/CIMG0902.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFeC8TeErJg01u_jGyk6pRt-cxFjVhyQoBuPfmTx907AX-xT5yewDP1dslSaEvQOMKHp1fvEz18katTlBRYSJtvcWrFhEykzZ-k5HEUpuyiI_A9R6zYeg94d_atIWQkv-b_B22Yi49uaG/s320/CIMG0902.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347176741216810834" border="0" /></a><br />One issue I need to resolve is the pruning of a Red Birch planted next to the garden. It needs to be limbed up so that the tomatoes that are planted under it get more sun. They are the smallest in the garden. I man-handled the dill problem I had last year and have left only a few patches here and there. I also have some cucumbers that started from seed from last year but I just go out every couple days and make sure they aren't climbing up the cages or trying to grab hold of the tomatoes themselves.<br /><br />The other bed of tomatoes is doing pretty well too. There's 15 or 16 planted in a different spot over by the fence and I was worried they might not get enough sun but look to be doing alright. The problem over there is I planted them too close to the lines that we hang our laundry on. I may be digging the first row out so that when we hang our laundry out to dry they won't get tomato pollen/green stuff all over them.<br /><br />The last thing I'd like to mention is that in my compost, some plants sprouted out this spring. They looked like Zucchini so I let them go, but as they grew I started to wonder what they actually were... They have Zucchini leaves, but they were vining like crazy... I've never seen a zucchini plant take over like that. It's taken up the whole compost area. I thought about where I planted things last year and did some research on the net and it seems as though there's a slim chance that the hill of zucchinis I planted last season could have crosspollinated with the Carolina Cross Watermelon that I planted right next to it. That would explain the crazy vines and tendrils. You see, after eating the watermelon last year I put all the excess waste (rinds and seeds) into the compost. The plant has flowers like a zucchini, but the vegetable growing out of the flower is egg shaped with stripes ha.... w<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAxHQR9SW3YdklEog8HDaUad9qyzb4aCDmc2sIQI8FlJAc7eCUKamjncao43qhNvpT0MPnOhnrwd9YPMKQt8rypQ2QxnFLf7LiL9QiU0x6QCIKPW6Szuo3Lfglq232KkWdk5G7HoppPPM/s1600-h/CIMG0896.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAxHQR9SW3YdklEog8HDaUad9qyzb4aCDmc2sIQI8FlJAc7eCUKamjncao43qhNvpT0MPnOhnrwd9YPMKQt8rypQ2QxnFLf7LiL9QiU0x6QCIKPW6Szuo3Lfglq232KkWdk5G7HoppPPM/s320/CIMG0896.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347176630540285810" border="0" /></a>e'll see what happens.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt64MeEpZKTghCuOCNMN0A2l0i4V6PLEH82O7v012IkftmrDQH8EqPw54KKukklMrrkf4I3S4QDaTsKdlFfYSO3ukJMJyP97AtA5S5awdSYsOm5P73CHpNy1Ayo_IhVePd3GCqSMquIbD/s1600-h/CIMG0904.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt64MeEpZKTghCuOCNMN0A2l0i4V6PLEH82O7v012IkftmrDQH8EqPw54KKukklMrrkf4I3S4QDaTsKdlFfYSO3ukJMJyP97AtA5S5awdSYsOm5P73CHpNy1Ayo_IhVePd3GCqSMquIbD/s320/CIMG0904.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347177450414671810" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_aGa9Q8R9P9FSR3X9cTgglPoxQd-u7cd4yENUZVRY9KB73RyXR9ab6N9MhhMzOinCi96QO1XlOb4Gf-XJUTCypeFdt8xFxxoaYoJwA058SWl56V7c9_iR8OjnmY9wqBe298ghM8QLCAnp/s1600-h/CIMG0905.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_aGa9Q8R9P9FSR3X9cTgglPoxQd-u7cd4yENUZVRY9KB73RyXR9ab6N9MhhMzOinCi96QO1XlOb4Gf-XJUTCypeFdt8xFxxoaYoJwA058SWl56V7c9_iR8OjnmY9wqBe298ghM8QLCAnp/s320/CIMG0905.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347177635641749106" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66teihibZv8aahhd-z0txSjcKThA7yYJ9HaLq0CofnKM01RaoPxj9eyoQ0mNyhj2duazQY8RxZ0Y5hMv5c3b1HAOA3lRjRtU6m_-ePS0zIzwm9-l5cg-HSKkONgd1RlFX7FG5Ayw_1jjF/s1600-h/CIMG0911.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66teihibZv8aahhd-z0txSjcKThA7yYJ9HaLq0CofnKM01RaoPxj9eyoQ0mNyhj2duazQY8RxZ0Y5hMv5c3b1HAOA3lRjRtU6m_-ePS0zIzwm9-l5cg-HSKkONgd1RlFX7FG5Ayw_1jjF/s320/CIMG0911.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347178274818871778" border="0" /></a>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-70508540057025985182009-06-03T17:02:00.000-07:002009-06-03T17:45:05.326-07:00Varieties and More...Well, I've run into a bit of a speed bump as I can't find the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">usb</span> connector that allows me to upload pictures I've taken of the garden to the computer. Never fear, as a trip to Staples or Best Buy should remedy that.<br /><br />As I stated in the previous post I've planted 79 tomato plants including 16 different varieties. (I know I said I had 17... I must have miscounted, or just exaggerated to make my garden sound better ha!)<br /><br />Tomatoes I started from seed myself:<br /><ol><li>Big Boy</li><li>Beefsteak</li><li>Paul Robeson</li><li>Green Zebra</li><li><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Copia</span></li><li>Gold Medal</li><li>Sweet 100 (cherry tomato)</li><li>Early Girl</li></ol>Tomatoes I bought at various Amish stands around the county include:<br /><ol><li>Better Boy</li><li>Pineapple</li><li>Mountain Fresh<br /></li><li>Lemon Boy</li><li>Golden Jubilee</li><li>Yellow Pear (cherry tomato)<br /></li><li>Hillbilly</li><li><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Brandywine</span></li></ol>I'd have to say that my two favorites have been the Paul Robeson and Lemon Boy.<br />The Paul Robeson is an Heirloom tomato that's got a distinct purple/blackish color and has a very sweet smokey flavor. The Lemon Boy is a sturdy nice sized yellow tomato which is a good producer and has a lower acidity than some of the red tomatoes.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpubWy4bWp2_FvlB6mzWf4GwN7u1duM-otX5x-Lw13NgdrRzhJkrutvmZpK29MJGGGj7pOGuX1AtvHzbjvyMzF10LLBuiD2dS8Ws6bMHNG1Ief-NHRiRPxaNLbQBUUyLDTFto4_70sYiw/s1600-h/Green+Zebra.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpubWy4bWp2_FvlB6mzWf4GwN7u1duM-otX5x-Lw13NgdrRzhJkrutvmZpK29MJGGGj7pOGuX1AtvHzbjvyMzF10LLBuiD2dS8Ws6bMHNG1Ief-NHRiRPxaNLbQBUUyLDTFto4_70sYiw/s320/Green+Zebra.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343262521688396578" border="0" /></a><br />Here's a picture of the prettiest tomato. I'm not a huge fan but the Green Zebra tomato wins best of show when it comes to looks.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And Paul Robeson here.. These pictures were taken from the net as I don't know that I have any of them from last years garden.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWjenQz7G-vRLE_iRGvUF3VHU2W-7UmBNqv1Uu5tNeou73ZRypNSEjh8RUoQzr4IRmID3Mjv_tB-tg_kwfkaQlM4K9r1kVenyHZqe4P_JRDX0SE9IZ-2wLOiy_xZbiG-UbdaPYDZT044_/s1600-h/Paul+Robeson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 99px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWjenQz7G-vRLE_iRGvUF3VHU2W-7UmBNqv1Uu5tNeou73ZRypNSEjh8RUoQzr4IRmID3Mjv_tB-tg_kwfkaQlM4K9r1kVenyHZqe4P_JRDX0SE9IZ-2wLOiy_xZbiG-UbdaPYDZT044_/s320/Paul+Robeson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343263248032285858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I look forward to the red and yellow stripe varieties as well which are <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Copia</span>, Gold Medal, Pineapple, and Hillbilly. My <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Copia</span> and Gold medal didn't do that well last year but I did let that part of the garden get taken over by Dill, which choked and shaded out both of those varieties so I'm hoping that was the problem.<br /><br />It's been raining cats and dogs every few days with huge downpours from thunderstorms. Normally I don't like to see them but my tomatoes are going to get some great growth from all that deep penetrating water so bring them on!<br /><br />I'm going to save some info for later but I'm thinking I should post some more pictures of my garden last year... at least until I can get my butt over to Staples for that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">usb</span> cord.<br />Hope everyone is well.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNa9GtJ7KrRpZlJtKOSZkPl_EsGbnziraVElT6EGK4lHq88hmZHqC5cnb9wZCLrptkr9_mhGoHvugWwPVdhCNbHJPCdpF9IMFPbaCpY3kQXASHu6dpUWNyzqIVreorN67DFHkVFYPguYf0/s1600-h/2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNa9GtJ7KrRpZlJtKOSZkPl_EsGbnziraVElT6EGK4lHq88hmZHqC5cnb9wZCLrptkr9_mhGoHvugWwPVdhCNbHJPCdpF9IMFPbaCpY3kQXASHu6dpUWNyzqIVreorN67DFHkVFYPguYf0/s320/2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343265786718925330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxRAXc2_rL80mep8XjlJ_I5lKgwewcjMg8Sc_mEFCL1vhO0Mc8M-bWOJL2bX6xTNFBid_ricf43PqGMoBeJP7fW0urWjRIYaYiFsrAZg_oUzZozdRAGACBvSmA85vEvE5ekm_l04csfiD/s1600-h/DSCN1153.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxRAXc2_rL80mep8XjlJ_I5lKgwewcjMg8Sc_mEFCL1vhO0Mc8M-bWOJL2bX6xTNFBid_ricf43PqGMoBeJP7fW0urWjRIYaYiFsrAZg_oUzZozdRAGACBvSmA85vEvE5ekm_l04csfiD/s320/DSCN1153.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343266203969128066" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Also a <span style="font-size:180%;">BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER SJ WHO TURNS 31 IN 6 DAYS. Have a good one maggot! Wish I could be there to celebrate!</span>Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4829959772793106218.post-91731482132282176102009-05-30T08:02:00.000-07:002009-05-30T08:30:01.853-07:00Spring is in the Air and my Tomatoes are in the GroundI've been planting this vegetable garden for about 7 years now, but it has been a garden for generations. The man who owned this house before me planted here, his parents planted here and their parents planted here. Over time the size of the garden has changed in size and the crops planted have changed as well.<br /><br />I've always planted a diverse array of vegetables and/or flowers but this year I decided to do something different and plant almost all of the garden in my favorite varieties of Tomatoes. 17 varieties to be exact... and 79 plants. I had this idea that I would sell them to the neighborhood folks that are always walking by. I doubt I'll have a problem getting rid of them but we will see.<br /><br />I've used no fertilizer and no pesticides at all. I collect grass clippings and leaves, refuse from the kitchen and it goes into an 8' by 8' compost that's fenced into the center of the garden. All year long this builds up and each spring I spread the rich black compost across the garden to be tilled in for the coming years harvest.<br /><br />About half of the tomato plants I planted were grown from seed by me. The other half were bought from local Amish farms. They were planted about 3 weeks ago and are well on they're way. Some problems I'm facing now include wire grass invading the bed and the fact that I've never had this many tomato plants before ha! I've only got about 20 cages and I'm trying to do this on the cheap... I've got some posts and may just be staking most of them, as it costs quite a bit of money to make decent cages for them. I priced some concrete wire , which in my opinion is the only way to go, and I found that one roll of wire @ 150' costs roughly $110 dollars. @ 6 feet of wire needed per cage that would leave me with 25 cages at that price. Quite expensive, at least for me... so stakes it is. We'll have to see what I can rustle up.<br /><br />We'll talk more about the varieties I've planted and I'll post some neat pictures of the garden from 'back in the day' up till now. Happy Planting.Christopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11645633801043615648noreply@blogger.com5