The Home Garden at the beginning of May

I haven't posted much about the Home Garden lately since I've been so busy with the Community Garden move. The garden is growing well...but it's pretty messy around here!

This is the Left Cold Frame Bed

All of the overwintered Kale & Collards have been removed in the back of the bed. I planted some Celery and Baby Choi in their place. Do you think that we have enough lettuce growing???? Maybe somebody needs to harvest some!

This is the Right Cold Frame Bed

The overwintered Kale in the back of this bed is still doing well. It does look a bit funny since I just harvested most of the leaves. There is also some lettuce in the back that definitely needs to be harvested. Maybe Miss Banana will take care of that for me today! The mid section of this bed has carrots growing in it. I am keeping the bird netting on to deter those darn squirrels and birds!

Look at all those little carrots!

The Garlic is growing like crazy!

And so are the Snow Peas behind it! 

I know that they are not supposed to be friends....but, I have growing peas and garlic next to each other for years and they do just fine. Look at those boards just laying there....what a mess!

There are 4 Early Tomatoes growing in Kozy Koats in this bed with carrots in between. The pill bugs were so bad under the boards that I had to remove them. I decided to put the shade cloth over them for awhile so they could get a little bigger.

This is Bed #1

There are two different varieties of Snap Peas growing on each end and Shelling Peas along the long side.

Bed #1

Garlic growing at one end.

Bed #1

Some Pak Choi, Lettuce and Spinach at the other end

Bed #1

I also planted a few Broccoli Plants, Chinese Cabbage and I think a couple of regular Cabbage plants in the middle

One end of the messy deck. The cushions and table tops need to be brought out of the basement and put on the furniture. Someone also needs to replace 4 boards on the deck and then power wash and stain it!

My new little Dwarf Carmine Jewel Cherry Tree is in it's pot.

The Herb Garden definitely needs a little cleaning up!

This is the part of the Herb Garden behind the messy patio furniture.

That's a bunch of self seeded Cilantro, weeds and greens from the daffodils!

There is one flower pot that is looking good!

I planted perennials in some of the pots last year and this one doesn't need a thing added to it!

My new Dwarf Tophat Blueberry bush and some weeds in the stone pathway in the background.

The Carrots that I started in this pot in the basement were very happy until I took them outside. I'm sure they will perk up and green up once they get used to being outside. I also have three more large pots that need carrots planted in. That will have to wait until after vacation. And there's that dirty deck again!

Not the best color in this pic.

Here are the Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants and some herbs hardening off on the back porch waiting to to planted......

Here!! Yes, the beds at the plots are finished!!! Yippee!!

Well, it's going to be a busy week! Today I will be baking for the graduation picnic tomorrow. "The Italian's" daughter is graduating from college tomorrow. We will be leaving early in the AM. Then her graduation dinner here (not at our house) on Sunday....then the plots must be planted before vacation next week!

Home Garden & Early Tomatoes

Although this weather really hasn't been cooperating, I finally have managed to get the home garden planting up to date!

Monday I planted the 10 early tomatoes. Four of them are in the greenhouse bed and the remaining six are in Kozy Koats (water cloches). I planted one each of the following varieties, Matt's Wild Cherry (a/k/a "Garden Helper's Tomato"), Howard's German Red, Pineapple (seed from Diana), Black Cherry & Paul Robeson (seeds from EG). I also planted 4 Cherokee Purple. Each one is from a different seed source. CP's are our favorite eating tomato and I have not been happy with the seeds that I purchased for a couple of years now. Thanks to Diana, Thomas, EG & Daphne we now have  a lot of CP's! It will be very interesting to see if there is much difference in this tomato from these four sources.

Early Tomato in Kozy Koat. It's hard to get a good photo with the red color reflection. The plants are doing well in the cloches.

Tuesday, between rain drops I fixed my old strawberry bed for the new owner next door and did some much cleaning up out back. We were starting to look like "Those" nieghbors! I put the shelves up in the greenhouse and moved 4 flats of plants out there to live. All of the eggplant, peppers, some herbs and misc seedlings are now living happily outside!

Peppers in the greenhouse with 3 extra early tomatoes that presently have no home.

A bud on one of the peppers

More seedlings in the greenhouse. The rosemary is doing well!



Wednesday I finally got to sow 4 large planters of carrots! Between the weather and running to the plots I have not been able to get them in. First I had to turn the compost pile to get some much needed compost to add to the planters! I am hoping that the carrots will love these nice deep pots. The carrots were covered with burlap and a tile to keep them moist. If Granny were here, I would have had her cut some nice round pieces of wood with the jigsaw to cover them...you know how handy she is!!

Carrots sown in planter. I even started to set-up the patio furniture.



I cleaned up the flower pots on the deck and porch and planted some new mint I had grown in a few small pots. Six celery plants were put in at the end of the garlic bed and most of the early potatoes were finally planted! I planted 2.5 lbs of Yukon Gold and 1.25 lbs of Sangre. The balance of the Sangre potatoes and the Kennebecs will be planted at the plots today. It seems so late planting the potatoes, but it really isn't. I always plant my potatoes when the first dandelions bloom and yesterday I saw the first one.

Potato bed next door with early potatoes.

The Sugar Magnolia Purple Snap Peas are doing the best out of all of the peas I have planted at home. The Little Marvel English Peas germination rate is a little sporadic. I may sow some additional ones this weekend.

I'll be heading over to the plots shortly and will post what has been going on over there tomorrow. Have a great gardening day everyone!



Busy day at the Home Garden

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day! The sun was shining all day and the temperature had to be at least 60F!! I had a list of things to get done at the home garden and actually accomplished everything! I started out this morning making many carrot seed mats as done by Granny. Around noon I started working outside in the garden.

It was such a beautiful day even the little daffodils were happy in the messy herb garden!



I cleaned up and re-arranged both cold frames. I moved some of the plants around and set-up two Kozy Koats in the right cold frame and four in the one small bed bedhind the cold frames. They will accommodate six of the early tomatoes. I will also plant four more early tomatoes in the bed covered by the greenhouse.

Right cold frame all cleaned up with some extra room for probably lettuce or spinach.

Left cold frame all cleaned up. I am going to sow some spinach in all of the empty spaces.

I took some of the straw off of the garlic and moved some kale to an empty space in the bed. The straw I got last year was not very good and I was getting weeds and grass growing from it. There are no signs of the peas popping up yet which are planted around the perimeter of this bed.

Kale moved to the garlic bed.

"The Italian" was out and about, so I took it upon myself to put the greenhouse up. I was going to wait for him, but wasn't sure what time he would get home or if the weather would hold out. Even though it usually takes two or three people to do put it up....I thought "what the heck, I can do this by myself"! As you can see it is like a pop-up tent. You have to lay it out and start by putting in two side supports on each side. No problem....I'll just go inside the collapsed greenhouse and put them in. Well the first one went in just fine. Then I realized that one of the velcro straps that you wrap around the poles was tangled in my hair! I managed to free myself with the collapsed greenhouse on my head and preceded to erect the greenhouse. After about 30 minutes of tugging, pulling and forcing the poles into their designated pockets....it was up!! As I sat on the steps to take a break.....guess who pulled up??? "The Italian" 

"The Italian" staked and tied the greenhouse in place.

We usually put the greenhouse up about a month earlier. It will stay up until the danger of frost has passed, around May 15.

2011 Tomato Varieties and planning update

Well, my tomato plans have changed a bit since I did this post. I had originally planned to sow 30 tomato plants consisting of 17 varieties. We are now going to sow 41 plants consisting of 20 varieties. First, 30 plants would not be enough for our family's needs. Second, Emily sent me seed for a wonderful sounding tomato called Purple Calabash. It's her favorite....so how can I resist???

Third, I also found a local Heirloom Seed Project at Landis Valley Museum where I purchased two additional varieties, Reigart Plum & Belgian Beauty. "The Italian" and I were watching PBS a few weeks ago and saw a program on Landis Valley Museum. We have never been there and truthfully didn't know of it's existance. It is about 60 miles from where we live. The museum is dedicated to Preserving Pennsylvania German Culture. I really wish that I had known about their seed project earlier. They have a lot of Pennsylvania Heirloom seeds available to purchase. I was as good as I could be and only purchased a few things that I absolutely "Needed"!!........well, basically "Wanted".

This week I will be germinating the ten plants that will be sown here at the house. These plants will be sown in the ground early, probably in early April as I did last year. Four of them will be sown in the bed where we will place the greenhouse over and the other six will be in Kozy Koats.

The "Kozy Koats" worked out very well last year and I was able to sow the tomato plants in the ground about 5 weeks earlier then normal.

The balance of the plants for us and others will be germinated in mid-March. I do not want to go through what I did last year. Last year I had started all of the tomatoes in February and they go so big it was a real pain to tend to them.

2010 Tomato Review

This year was a very good year for tomatoes here....no Blight!! The total of the tomatoes that were wieghed came in at over 221 pounds! We are very pleased, especially since the total gardening space we have is only 230 square feet. This year I planted 19 tomato plants, which consisted  of 14 different varieties. All of the plants (except for 2) were grown from seed and all are heirlooms. I started 11 varieties of the seeds inside on 2/17/10 and the remaining 2 on 4/28/10 (these were the seeds my in-laws brought back from Italy). Next year I will start some of them a little later, probably sometime in March. They got so big and were quite a bit to tend to in the greenhouse.

"The Italian" bought me a portable greenhouse for Christmas a couple of years ago. It's like a tent!!  We usually put it up late in the winter over the one 4' x 5' bed. Four tomato plants were put in the ground inside the greenhouse on 4/9/10. We live in zone 6b, so our last frost date is not until May 15th. Due to the size of the plants, my lack of patience and a credit I had at a on-line garden garden supply company, I purchased some Kozy Koats (water cloche). 13 plants were put in to the ground on 4/30/10 in the Kozy Koats. The last 2 plants weren't ready to put in to the ground until June.

Tomatoes in Kozy Koats & Portable Greenhouse

Red Tomatoes:

Early Pack 7 - Determinant (I think) - These seeds were brought back from my in-law's trip to Italy this year. They look like a beefsteak type with some green at the top. I couldn't find any information on them. This tomato was planted in a pot and I think it really needed to be planted in the ground. The plant was very short & stocky. We didn't get many fruits and we really don't remember exactly what they tasted like. I will plant this variety in the ground next year to get a better overview on it.

Howard's German Red - Indeterminate - A very good tomato and one of our favorites! This is a Pennsylvania Heirloom. It is long with a pointed end , great tasting, meaty, extremely prolific and disease tolerant tomato with few seeds. They are pretty large for a long tomato, many weighing up to a pound. This is supposed to be a canning tomoto....but it's great for eating too.

Italian variety - Semi-Determinant - This is a variety that my in-laws gave to me about 4 years ago from a trip to Italy. They look like a small San Marzano. They produce well. However, they seem to be the first plants to be affected by disease. They are good for cooking and canning.

Lancaster County Italian Paste  - Indeterminate - The fruits are a medium size and square shaped with ridges. They are very prolific and very disease tolerant. This is the tomato that I use to make my salsa.

Matt's Wild Cherry - Indeterminate - This tomato was the best producer, biggest plant and very sweet in taste! It's my "Little Garden Helper's" favorite. He eats them right off the plant and can hardly wait until they are ripe! I can't really estimate how many fruits this one plant produced. However, I can tell you that I would pick a basket of 100, 2-4 times a week! Origin of seed; friends of U.of Maine AG faculty members, Dr. Laura Merrick and Dr. Matt Liebman, brought seeds to Maine from her family's home state of Hidalgo in Eastern Mexico it's the region of domestication of tomatoes The original seeds were picked from plants growing wild. Therefore, this is a species of wild tomato.

Paulina - Indeterminate - I saved the seeds from some tomatoes that were purchased in 2009. They came from an Amish organic heirloom farm here in Pennsylvania. We purchased a couple of boxes for canning due to the blight that year. They are an oval shaped, medium size, very meaty fruit and had a decent yield. This is a good variety for canning and sauces.

San Marzano - Semi-Determinant - These seeds also came from Italy this year. This plant did not seem to get going very well either. It may have been due to our extreme heat and the time it was planted. So, the verdict is still out on this one. I will also plant this one again next year to get a better overview on it.

Winter Long Storage - Semi-Determinant - This tomato is a round medium size fruit with very good yield. They have yet to turn red and are in storage in the basement. I did learn that they have to be harvested without any marks on them or they will rot. I will post on their taste when they are ready to be eaten.

Pink Tomatoes:

Glick's Brandywine - Indeterminate - Of course it is a wonderful tasting tomato... it's a Brandywine! Although it is supposed to be a pink variety, I think it is more purple. This was the largest variety of my tomatoes this year weighing 1 lb. 7 oz. It was also the ugliest. It produced very well and kept going late in to the season. Seed Origin; The history is that the seed came via Glen Brendle, whose family obtained it from Isaac N. Glick, an early seedsman from Lancaster, PA, who distributed seed for Johnson and Stokes Seeds of Philadelphia. Brandywine Tomato was first introduced by them in 1889. This is supposed to be the most original of the many Brandywine strains.

Tiffen's Mennonite - Indeterminate - This is a Mennonite heirloom potato leaf variety very similar to a Brandywine. The fruits were large with a wonderful flavor. The plant was also a good producer.

Purple Tomatoes:

Cherokee Purple - As always, this is our favorite eating tomato. These two plants I purchased from an on-line company. I was not happy with the flavor of the seeds I purchased two years in a row. I would greatly appreciate in-put as to where I could purchase good seeds for this variety.

Eva's  Purple Ball - Indeterminate - Another great producer! It's a smaller very round fruit ranging on the average 5-8 oz. each, just the right size for lunch. This is a wonderful tasting tomato, extremely prolific and disease tolerant. Seed origin; This is a late 1800's heirloom tomato from The Black Forest Region of Germany via Joe Bratka's grandfather who kept this lovely heirloom tomato from dying out. Joe donated seed to a seed saving organization in 1992.

Other Colors:

Pineapple Bi-Color - Indeterminate - I was not happy with this tomato. It has always been one of my favorite eating tomatoes. This year, it only produced a few very late fruits. I would greatly appreciate in-put as to where I could purchase good seeds for this variety as well.

White Tomesol - Indeterminate - We were extremely pleased with this tomato! It's very pretty and has a very nice flavor. The taste is light, not acidy at all, not too sweet or rich, just light. It was a pretty good producer and the fruits were medium to large in size.

I hope that you all enjoyed my tomato review for 2010.

Also, if anyone has a good source for Cherokee Purple and/or Pineapple tomato seeds. Please let me know..thanks.

In-Laws Balcony Garden Update #2

Sunday afternoon we went over to my In-Laws home for corretto. I really wanted to check on the plants..... since I haven't been able to install a "Nanny Cam" as of yet :) Everything is growing very well. All of the tomato plants have little tomatoes on them. A few of the pepper plants have peppers also. The eggplants & peppers in the swc are blossoming and growing nicely.

Tomato Plants on balcony

Tiny Tomato

Cucumbers

Eggplants and Peppers (plants purchased) in swc

In-Laws Balcony Garden Update

Sunday afternoon we went over to my in-laws for a family picnic. The first thing I did was go upstairs to check on the plants. I couldn't believe how well they are doing. Two of the four tomato plants have grown over the top of the cages already!

3 of 4 tomato plants

He has one pepper already! These plants look better then mine. I think that he has a perfect combination of sun and shade up there.....or, maybe it was the person who propagated the plants :)

This is the swc container that my sister-in-law bought him for his birthday. He planted some eggplant that he purchased in that container. They are also doing amazing.

These are the 3 cucumber plants that I started for him. I did threaten to take them back....and give him seeds. I just direct sowed my cucumbers two days ago. I guess I will have to swallow my pride and come to terms with the fact that he will have peppers and cucumbers before me :)

Potatoes and Tomatoes

The potatoes seem to be doing well in the bags that I made. The little helper and I had to add straw two times this past week.

Many of the tomatoes are growing out of the top of their cloches. I covered the tops the past two nights due to the freeze warning. I certainly hope that this crazy weather is over!

Saturday's gardening work

Yesterday was spent on plants and plantings for others.

My husband and I set up four tomatoes in pots for my in-laws on their second floor porch. (Birthday present for my father in-law) The tomatoes are in large pots with tomato cages and Kozy Koats. They have too much shade in their yard for veggies to do well. Later this week we will plant some peppers in smaller pots and place them with the tomatoes. My sister in-law gave him a nice self-watering pot for growing some more veggies! They will have a balcony garden this year!

 Earlier in the morning, my little garden helper and I helped our neighbor Sophia plant some herbs in her first garden. She has always helped me in my garden and loves gardening. Her grandfather is a tomato farmer in Ghana Africa. Sophia came here 5 years ago and has been my buddy ever since she arrived. We are going to plant more herbs, tomatoes and peppers in her garden.

Tomatoes planted!!!

It seems as though the weather has stabilized.....I hope!! My garden helper and I planted the balance of our tomato plants in the garden today. I am not taking any chances with this crazy weather we have been having. So, all of the tomatoes that are not planted in the greenhouse bed are in Kozy Koats. My tomato plants were way too big and getting a bit stressed. Next year I am going to start the tomato seeds later.

Tomatoes planted to date:

1 - Brandywine
2 - Cherokee Purple
1-  Matt's Wild Cherry (my grandson's plant)
2 - Howard's German Red
2 - Unknown Italian - Seeds my in-laws got for me 4 years ago in Italy
2 - Lancaster County Paste
2 - Paulina
1 - Pineapple
1 - Eva's Purple Ball
1 - Tiffen Mennonite
1 - White Tomesol
1 - Winter Long Storage

My litlle helper and I also planted 4 tomatoes in large containers for my in-laws. These will be placed on their upper porch. Their garden gets way too much shade and the plants hardly produce anything.

I will do a complete garden update of this past week tomorrow.