Point & Shoot

I have concocted a screwy way to take pictures when my back won’t allow me to get down on the ground with my eye against the camera.  I simply set the camera to automatic, point, shoot, and hope for the best.  Here are some of the results from today’s garden tour without any editing:

Granny Smith Apple

 

Al Kuffa Tomato (harding off)

 

Freesia

 

Merlot Lettuce

 

Golden Bantam Corn

 

Strawberries

 

O’Henry Peach

 

unknown variety Fig

 

George L. Taber Azalea

 

Generally, the images turn out just fine.

Eenie Meanie Beanie Surprise

As I was ripping out the last of the tomatoes I noticed that the Borlotto Solista Beans had gotten intertwined with the Al Kuffa tomatoes.  No big deal.  Those bean vines are getting ripped out too.  Those danged beans didn’t produce much of anything.  Shoot.  I planted them way back on May 18th.  Once I untangled the beans from the tomatoes look what I found.  There are a bunch more just like this big, fat baby.  With that, the Borlotto Solistas are in.  The Al Kuffa are out.  More broccoli will be planted.

Most all the seeds have germinated – cabbages, lettuces, onions, radishes, cauliflower, carrots…This recent flush of summer’s hot toilet has helped to push those seeds right along.  Next, the peppers need to be harvested to make way for garlic.

Things are just movin’ right along.

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

The variety that wins the growth (height) contest in Maybelline’s Garden this year is Henderson’s Pink Ponderosa.  The wooden supports are about 6’ tall.  Old Henderson overshot that by some distance.

There’s still a bunch of tomatoes remaining.  One of the DBE gals came to harvest with her husband.  I really appreciated that someone came to pick and enjoy the tomatoes.  Things are slowing down a bit though.  There are still blooms on all the varieties.

I can’t decide whether to say good bye to the tomatoes and pull them out so I can prepare for the fall or continue to harvest tomatoes. 

In 2010, I had 72 tomato seedlings with 37 staying in the garden.  All the others were given away for other gardeners to enjoy.

Notes for 2011: 

• Try to settle on one variety with a focus on seed collecting.  I learned that I planted different varieties too close to each other producing seeds that may give me an unusual variety.  I may save the seeds regardless to see what happens.
• Don’t thin the vines.  That seemed to be unnecessary work.
• Consider varieties that will grow within the limits of the supports.  This support system is great and is much easier on my busted back.  I would love to try draping thin cloth (cheese cloth?) over the tomatoes ala the Godfather.
• Plant only three rows per bed to allow movement between rows for the gardener.  It got pretty cramped.
• Don’t plant as many tomato plants.  How much salsa can be eaten in a few months anyway?!  This will be a difficult suggestion to follow.  Perhaps this should be altered to “Give more seedlings away.”
• Plant companion crops like basil, carrots, onions, and chives to benefit the tomatoes.  Start the seeds in the beds allowing germination before transplanting the tomatoes.  Don’t expect fabulous production from the companions.  There will be something to harvest.  Just bare in mind these are being planted as beneficials.

Here’s my rating for the varieties grown this year:

1. If I decide upon a sturdy, red, medium – large sized tomato it would have to be Arkansas Traveler.  The fruit is a nice round shape.  There was only rare occurrences of blossom end rot.
2. Al Kuffa was my favorite plant with its sturdy, bushy plant growth.  There was an over abundance of fruit but they were pretty small.
3. Mule Team was similar to Arkansas Traveler but there were problems with hornworms loving this variety the most and sunburned fruit.  This variety probably ties with Al Kuffa.
4. Henderson’s Ponderosa Pink was a large vine with large fruit.  The tomatoes were odd shaped with blossom end rot being a problem.  The bottoms formed with lots of scars and bumps so peeling is a bit difficult.
5. Carbon just didn’t do well in the heat that Bakersfield, California is famous for.  Most of the fruit cracked and had to be used for slicing or fresh salsa.  The tomato is a beautiful deep, dark purplish red and is rich in flavor and color.  However, because I would like to be able to preserve my tomato crop I do not believe I will grow this variety again.

If you would like to know more about these varieties, there is a list of labels on the right side of your screen. Scroll down and click on whatever you like.

I’m in search of recommendations of heirloom tomatoes grown in zone 9 (Bakersfield, California in particular).  If you have a recommendation, please leave it in the comments section.

Thanks -

Please enjoy this fun 3 minutes:

More Tomatoes

Every evening and most mornings I patrol the garden looking for those big ol’ hornworms along with grasshoppers.  The garden is growing 37 tomato plants; so the pests have plenty of places to hide.  They munch away without a care until I show up with my killing Crocs. 

Even though I have a pest problem, production is moving right along.  This evening, I needed to pluck pests AND tomatoes.  The Carbon variety were getting too heavy for the vines.  I grabbed a few to lighten the load along with some basil. There is a bit of blossom end rot on most all varieties.  The problem is so small, I don’t plan on doing anything at this time.  Note:  The Al Kuffa variety continues to be the heartiest in the garden. 

Tomatoes – Patience, Patience

 Farmer MacGregor overseeing his estate while tending to his Red Flame Grapes.  Bed 1 = tomatoes, Bed 2 = watermelons, squash, Bed 3 = hot peppers, tomatoes, Bed 4 = tomatoes.

July  is here.  We’ve endured our 1st heat wave.  Around here, a heat wave is a cluster of days where the temperature exceeds 100.  Another definition is a cluster of days where you experience swamp pants.  The tomatoes have reacted in a variety of ways to the heat.  There is a push of growth in all the varieties.  Some varieties handle the heat much better than others.  Al Kuffa seems to be the champion so far.  They’re tough.  Every variety has some kind of pest munching on it – caterpillars & grasshoppers.  I spied a wasp in one of the Mule Team rows helping with the pest control by battling a caterpillar. 

There are companion plants growing amongst most all of the crops.  The radishes are bolting and I don’t care.  I’m leaving them alone.  I did notice something rolled up in one of the radish leaves.  Any idea what it could be?  I don’t want to disturb it if it’s beneficial.

I picked a couple of tomatoes for Farmer MacGregor to participate in a taste test in the kitchen.  Al Kuffa and Arkansas Traveler went head to head with no winner determined.  Farmer MacGregor instructed me to let them ripen a bit more before the next test.  Meanwhile, a few miles east of Maybelline’s Garden, my mother harvested her 1st tomato of the season from her Al Kuffa plant. She is very weak when it comes to tomatoes.  Right there in her garden she simple plucked the fruit, wiped it on her shirt and ate it.  She’s tough.  The review was “delicious”!

Arkansas Traveler – July 1, 2010 (Planted March 1, 2010).

Garden Update on a Full Stomach

This evening I had a nice spaghetti dinner with Farmer MacGregor’s Hungarian style sauce.  Doggies, I’m stuffed.  I couldn’t bend over and work in the garden after dinner.  All I could do was take photos and some of those are really out of focus.  Here’s a report of progress in the garden using only photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st Tomatoes of the Season

Nope.  This isn’t about strawberries AGAIN.  Today, I noticed the 1st tomatoes of the season.  Al Kuffa is the winner.  Al delivered 1st.  There are five tough bushes all with several tomatoes.   The stem end of the fruit reminds me of fairy caps.  It’s exciting to see the 1st successful tomatoes arrive on the plants grown from seed.  The fruit should be medium sized.   Chives are planted along with the Al Kuffas as companion plants to ward off pests.  This variety comes from Iraq and will no doubt be able to endure all that Bakersfield summers will dish out. Since these are dwarf bushes rather than vine type tomatoes they are supported with old wire cages that have supported many, many tomatoes over the years.  Farmer MacGregor has constructed all the tomato supports for the remaining tomatoes to be strung.  I hope to be able to post about the gentleman farmer’s handy work over the Memorial Day weekend.

Beans Beans the Magical Fruit

The Borlotto Solista beans planted on 05/18/10 germinated today.  The Summer Savory seeds have been ordered.  The savory will be planted along side the beans as companions.  According to Carrots Love Tomatoes,

in Germany savory is called the bean herb because it’s good to grow with beans and also to cook with them.  It goes with onions as well, improving growth and flavor.

Farmer MacGregor has plans to build a bean support for what should be very colorful beans.  I’ll feature more of his handy work soon. Also in garden news – The Black Hungarian Peppers have bloomed.  There are 5 plants sharing a bed with Serrano Peppers and Al Kuffa Tomatoes.  The garlic will make way for more Serranos. From left to right:  Al Kuffa tomatoes, garlic, Serrano peppers, Black Hungarian peppers. 

The beans are planted in the holes of the cinder block seen in the foreground.   Planted in the other holes are chives, thyme, marigolds, and lobelia.  There’s also lavender but you can’t see it in the photo above.

Tomatoes Are In!

30 tomatoes are in the ground. 

8 Arkansas Travelers + 8 Carbons + 6 Henderson’s Pink Ponderosas + 8 Mule Teams = 30 tomato plants

The Al Kuffas need to go in; but I ran out of daylight.  I will probably have 36 tomatoes to work with this summer.  As the plants go in the ground, they get an extra kick of Dr. Earth’s All Purpose Fertilizer.

The rest of the plants will be divvied up between neighbors, friends, and the Daughters of the British Empire plant auction.  All the plants are heirlooms and all the plants need to get in the ground soon.

It’s gonna be salsa time before I know it.

Tomatoes Gone Wild

During Spring Break, other types of tomatoes (the real ones) go wild.  The heirlooms were planted on March 1, 2010.  Less than one week later, the seedlings sprouted on March 6, 2010.  On March 28, the seedlings were transplanted into the kegger type Dixie cups until they are ready to be planted in the ground.

Here’s how the varieties look today.

Al Kuffa (red) – This variety is the stockiest of all the varieties I’m growing this season.  It really looks like a healthy start.  Mule Team will be another red competitor.  Manicure mandatory.

Arkansas Traveler (pink) – Taller and more slender than Al Kuffa.  This pink variety will compete with Henderson’s Ponderosa Pink for the Best in Pink competition.

Carbon (purple) – Will win the purple competition by default.  It’s the loan entry in this slot.

Henderson’s Pink Ponderosa (pink) -  These seeds were sent to me courtesy Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  This is supposed to be a big, beefy variety introduced in 1891.

Mule Team (red) – These were ordered because they were out of Jersey Girl.  They are described as being resistant to heat and disease on vines that bear heavily over a long season.

One bed is ready to accept 16 (4X4) of the 53 tomato plants.  53?!  What the heck was I thinking?  There will be a second bed planted with tomatoes once the peas, garlic, beets, carrots are finished.  That leaves me with 21 plants to adopt out.

Farmer MacGregor will be designing and constructing the frames to string these plants.  Stay tuned.

72 Seedlings?!

Insanity struck me yesterday.  I started 72 seedlings of mostly heirloom tomatoes and peppers.  All the seeds are mail ordered through Baker Creek except for the Serranos I picked up at Floyd’s (Where else?).  I’ve grown tomatoes from seed before with great heartbreak.  I’ve plucked up enough courage to give it another go.  Here’s the list:

Tomatoes (all heirloom):

 Carbon (purple)– Winner of the 2005 “Heirloom Garden Show” best-tasting tomato award. Henderson’s Pink Ponderosa – Huge size, some over 2 lbs.; a meaty pin-red beefsteak introduced by Peter Henderson & Co. in 1891.  Mule Team (red) – Medium sized plants produce perfect 8 0z. red globes that have very little cracking, making this a good choice for market growers.  The fruit have a sweet but acid flavor; a good all-around standard red variety.  Good resistance to heat and disease. Arkansas Traveler (pink) - A medium sized pink tomato that is smooth and a beautiful rose color.  Tolerant to heat and humidity, crack and disease resistant.  Good flavor, an excellent hillbilly favorite.Al Kuffa (red) – Early tomato produces 3-4 oz fruit on compact, dwarf vines that yield till frost.  Mild tasting from Iraq.

Peppers:

Black Hungarian – Heirloom, unique, black colored fruit that are the shape of jalapeños.  Mildly hot with delicious flavor.  Tall plants with purple flowers.  Rare & colorful.

Serrano – Hot peppers grown successfully in 2009.  Lake Valley seed purchased at Floyd’s.

I don’t have room for all of the plants IF the seeds successfully sprout.  I’ll be giving away healthy seedlings to relatives and neighbors.  Chives seeds will be sewn among the tomatoes when they are planted out in the garden to prevent pests and harvest as needed.  Nasturtiums will be planted at the base of the fruit trees to repel borers. These are some ides I want to try from a book I purchased at Baker Creek along with my seeds – Carrots Love Tomatoes.

In case anyone reading  this doesn’t know, Floyd’s is a local hardware store.  It’s great.  You can buy gardening stuff (seeds and seed starting kits), plumbing junk, canning supplies, crickets, and ammunition.  They have everything.  I wish they would consider bridal registries.  Very practical.

Note:  Pictures of the vegetables were lifted from the Baker Creek website.  Their service was great and quick; so go there and order something OR move next door and reap the benefits.