My Surprising Garden

My Surprising Garden

My little vegetable garden often surprises me. We plant a variety of organic tomatoes and I marvel at how different each kind tastes. It’s a delight each summer to pick tomatoes and eat them while they are still warm from the afternoon sun.

Earlier this season I had found that a shallot in my fridge had started growing. I took a chance and planted it. Then I forgot about it, never really expecting anything to come of it. Then the garden surprised me. A tall stalk reached out of the dirt. I thought it was a wild onion and left it alone. It continued to shoot up and then there was an intriguing flower at the end of it. When I dug it up to see what was growing, I saw the shallot had grown and multiplied! Not only was the flower beautiful to see but the shallots were delicious to eat.

Now I see that the pea plant I thought was gone was doing the same thing as the shallot, reaching up with a stalk that has tiny pea pods slowly maturing. I am thrilled to see how the plants develop despite my farming ignorance.

Each year I look forward to what my garden offers. Even if I expect a crop, as I actually do with the tomatoes, I am pleased with whatever grows. And if something I plant doesn’t make it, well, who knows what surprises next summer will bring.

 

Shallots are healthy to eat:

https://foodfacts.mercola.com/shallots.html

Getting Ready to Plant

Getting Ready to Plant

I bought a container of organic strawberries from California last week. They were huge, ripe and delicious! We were still in winter coats while gardens out West were thriving. I can’t wait to dig in my own garden. I’m getting ready to plant!

We didn’t get to eat homegrown strawberries last spring though the squirrels did. I saw them haul off the fruit just before it was ripe enough for people to eat. They do that with the peaches, too. At least we had a bumper crop of tomatoes that were scrumptious. We planted four different kinds and feasted on red, yellow, and mottled varieties. Each had its own taste and texture but every one was a treat. That we had a crop at all was a surprise.

Last year we set up a small greenhouse that had a way of breaking loose from its boundaries despite the spikes we used to hold it down. It flipped over uprooting our peas and beans but the tomato plants were least affected. We couldn’t figure out if an animal pushed it over or some of the neighborhood kids were having fun but it isn’t going back up this season. We’re considering pulling out the ol’ posthole digger and getting serious. We don’t have a large plot so it shouldn’t be too hard to set up posts, connect them with screening, and keep the greenhouse stable. Hah!

I hope that we succeed. There is nothing quite as wonderful as eating what you have grown yourself. But if anyone has a foolproof/easy plan that you want to share, please feel free to do so. We’re probably not the only ones who could use some help.

Free plans for making a greenhouse:

http://freebies.about.com/od/free-plans/tp/free-greenhouse-plans.htm

And if you want to grow strawberries, here’s some advice:

http://organicgardening.about.com/od/fruits/a/orgstrawberries.htm

Tomatoes on the Sill

Tomatoes on the Sill

It has been a good tomato season for us. I rarely bought any this summer. There is nothing better than picking something from your own garden, warm and juicy, and serving it right then. Yum.

But the season has changed and it was time to clean out the greenhouse. Our plants were just about done, though there were several green tomatoes that I couldn’t bear to let go. So I picked the remaining ones and put them on our windowsill, hoping that they would ripen. They wouldn’t be fresh-picked when we ate them but they wouldn’t have traveled for days (weeks?) to get to the market so they should still have a newness about the taste.

This weekend on my regular afternoon walk, I saw that someone else had culled a tomato garden. The wilted vines were laying at the curb – with tomatoes still on them! Some were even red. Why weren’t they picked before the plants were uprooted? Did they have bugs or fungus that prevented a late harvest? It was all I could do to not dive in and rescue the poor produce. It seemed like a gift rejected. When I returned home, I looked at the tomatoes on my sill. One already started to show a blush on its mostly green skin. I was glad I had saved it and the others.

I wouldn’t make a good farmer. I would not be happy if I had to destroy any crops because of blight or government mandate or lack of a living wage due to overabundance. I am grateful for the local, organic, non-GMO, pesticide-free produce offered in my area. I look forward to visiting the farmers’ markets that pop up in Spring, to buying and supporting sustainable agriculture. The little I grow on my own connects me with the earth and I am grateful for the taste it provides. 

There are so many little things that add to the joy in life. Why not tomatoes?

Some easy, practical tips to growing tomatoes:

http://www.backyardgardening.net/article/grow-tomatoes/

More involved info:

http://www.sunset.com/garden/fruits-veggies/how-to-grow-tomatoes-sunset-guide

Tomatoes - Again?

Tomatoes – Again?

I’m sorry. Here it is, almost at the end of the growing season and I am still talking about tomatoes. I admit to being obsessed with them this year. Perhaps it was the challenge of trying to actually harvest some before the squirrels and rabbits got them all.

Challenges often lead to innovative solutions and this one did. We discovered that surrounding the tomato vine with fine netting seems to keep the critters at bay. I don’t know if they are confused or if the mesh coating covers up the tomato smell; what I do know is that we have had produce ripening on the plant without interference.

I acknowledge that the patch is not pristine looking and I can’t imagine a real farmer doing it but for such a small plot, it has proved to be a reasonable answer to an annoying problem. Each day I eagerly go out to the garden and pick the latest juicy, red treat.

Okay, I confess that I don’t deny the animals everything. After all, they can’t go off to the supermarket when they need food. I leave some of the lower hanging tomatoes out of the mesh for them to share. But at least now we can all enjoy Mother Nature’s bounty. I don’t need to wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful – I feel grateful every time I eat a tomato grown right here at home.

Tips for growing tomatoes:

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/secrets-tomato-growing-success

And now, recipes for those great tomatoes!

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/fresh-tomato-recipes-00412000076956/page82.html

Tomatoes For All

Tomatoes For All

Hi Everyone. The summer became rather busy so I gave myself permission to take a blog break. I hope you are all well and keeping cool if you are in the heat zone. But I am back and looking things over in my backyard.

We planted a variety of tomatoes this year – cherry, beefsteak, and heirloom varieties. They are all growing nicely, thriving in the heat/rain cycles. Some of them have grown to an incredible size, which thrills me.

I was watching one as it got bigger and started turning a deep shade of red. It was ripening so sweetly. I could imagine how it would taste. The day I went out to pick it, though, I had a shock; a quarter of the tomato was eaten into. I could see the seeds. The juice dripped from the opening and I could smell the fresh tomato aroma. I mourned the loss of such a beauty.

There was another tomato on the vine that was just starting to ripen. I didn’t want the same thing to happen so I placed a cage around that section of the plant.  But when I went to check on it the next day, the cage was lifted out of its moorings and the tomato had been nibbled on.

Was it a wascally wabbit that was getting into the garden or a sneaky squirrel? I was talking to a man who had a vegetable garden and he said that groundhogs, in particular, loved tomatoes. I occasionally saw a groundhog around but not lately.

I needed a plan. While I love letting the tomatoes ripen on the vine, I decided to pick them when they were partially red, before the creatures got into them, and to let them ripen the rest of the way on my kitchen counter. So far that is working. We ate one of our tomatoes yesterday and it was absolutely delicious! I can’t blame the outside critters for digging in.

I know that everyone needs to eat and I don’t mind sharing but I would like some produce for myself, too. Next year I will plan differently, perhaps setting aside a small plot for the local scavengers; this year I will just enjoy what I can and at least take pleasure in knowing that my tomatoes are making a party for many mouths.

Here are some ways to discourage squirrels, and I imagine other critters, from chomping on your tomatoes. Some are practical, others tongue-in-cheek:  http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/7-ways-to-keep-squirrels-from-eating-your-tomatoes    

Potatoes Ready for Planting

Potatoes Ready for Planting

I am a sucker for plants that start growing on their own. Last spring it was a sweet potato, this season it is a white potato, three actually. They started sprouting in my pantry. They were forgotten in the dark and by the time I noticed them they had more than eyes. I put them in some water and they grew shoots and some roots. I transferred them to soil in a flowerpot and waited to see if they would continue to grow. They did. Green leaves unfurled. The stems began reaching for the sun. I turned the pot and the stems shifted direction. It seemed that they couldn’t wait to get outside so when the weather warmed without the threat of frost, we planted them in our side yard. They are continuing to stretch out and grow.

The other day our neighbor’s daughter asked if she can have some of our tomatoes again this year and have we planted them yet because she can hardly wait. She said they were better than any tomatoes she had ever eaten. I think her enthusiasm is partly because she saw them growing. But she was right about the taste – those tomatoes were great. I am hoping that the potatoes will be as satisfying; we’ll be happy to share.

I, obviously, am not a serious farmer but I can understand the passion of those who are. Growing food creates a relationship that nurtures both sides. I feed the potatoes so they will grow healthy and hearty and they return the favor when they develop to their potential. The process is a wonder to me. Grow, potatoes. Thrive in the garden. You will be appreciated when harvest time arrives.

I love this! There’s more than one way to plant a potato:

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/7-ways-plant-potatoes

The Garden State

Around this time of year I am really happy to be a resident of New Jersey. We have such incredible produce. New Jersey tomatoes, corn, and blueberries are abundant. Of course there are early asparagus and strawberries, and then lettuce, broccoli, garlic, eggplants, cucumbers, spinach, peaches, apples, cherries, pears, plums, and more. Later come the cranberries and pumpkins. There are lots of pick-your-own farms, some organic, for the freshest produce possible and even more farm markets for the next best thing. And more supermarkets are carrying local produce from farms around the state.

This year we planted tomatoes, three different Jersey varieties, in my side yard. Yesterday I harvested the first one! It was warm in my hand as I gently tugged it off its stem. It felt as if I was holding sunshine. The watermelon vine we planted at the same time is slowly snaking its way around the plot which already seems way too small for it; if it produces viable fruit, next year we will offer its successor more space. We are learning, going back to our roots, so to speak. After all, our house sits on what was once a potato field.

One of the state nicknames is The Garden State, well earned I believe. There are others to reflect different times in the state’s history and development, not always flattering. But then everything is flexible, even states. People change, society shifts, culture moves along. I seem to have as well, from former city girl to harvester of Jersey tomatoes, in my New Jersey garden. Nice.

More historic nicknames for New Jersey: http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/nj_intro.htm