Garden

August 14, 2008

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Give Me Tomatoes

Above image is the July entry from the 2008 You Grow Girl Calendar

I LOVE tomatoes. If I had to give up growing all other crops and choose just one I would probably choose tomatoes although basil would follow as a close second. Who can imagine tomatoes without basil?

Don’t make me choose.

Tomatoes aren’t the easiest food plant to grow but they are the most rewarding. No homegrown vegetable tastes, looks, and feels more radically different to its grocery store counterpart. That watery, anemic thing isn’t a tomato, it’s an impostor, and a bad one at that.

I love the challenge in growing tomatoes. The learning about this single crop type is endless. Every variety is different from the 6 feet (plus plus) tall indeterminates to teeny little potted plants. The leaves and shapes are different, their wants and needs are varied, and their disease and pest resistance can shift radically from plant to plant. And then there’s the weather. What thrives and grows abundantly one year can melt into a pile the next. Finding more water during a drought is hard enough, but how exactly do you take it away during a flood year? My region has already far surpassed all the records for summer rainfall and the summer isn’t even over yet. If you’ve ever experienced frustration and loss as a tomato gardener do not give up. Who knows what next year will bring? That next variety might be the one that kicks ass in your growing conditions. The one thing a gardener can never control or really predict is the weather. How amazing would it be if we could? But then I wonder how interesting gardening would be if we knew exactly what was going to happen and what to do about it beforehand.

Photo by Gayla Trail All Rights Reserved
A clump of ‘Purple Calabash’ tomatoes harvested just yesterday!

A gardener could focus their entire life on just the tomato and still live a very full and varied experience. I constantly long for the space to toss in 100 varieties or more in one year and just immerse myself in it completely. Still, I try with my little roof garden and community plot, slowly inching my way through the lists of inspiring varieties one plant at a time. I had to cut back this year to give my soil a break. It’s a bummer but has made me all that much more appreciative of the plants I do have, most especially the few that have pushed on through the excess rain to bring me my first sweet, ripe lovelies.

Eating

Tomatoes are beginning to ripen in both of my food gardens which means I am indulging in all of my favourite tomato recipes. I prefer to make tomatoes the star of the show rather than hiding them in among other overpowering ingredients so as soon as the first tomatoes were ready I dove straight into the two dishes I crave most during the off months of the year: Roasted Tomato Soup and Fried Egg Sandwich. (I cooked and ate one for lunch midway through writing this post!) The egg sandwich is as simple as frying two eggs any way you like them with a light spread of mayo and a couple of leaves of fresh basil. Add a little salt to taste. My newest love is Caprese Salad. I took up cheese making last year just so I could have really fresh delicious cheese with it. When the plants really start producing I’ll be making Roasted Tomato Sauce and Blackened Ranchero Salsa and then canning for winter usage. Yum.

Photo by Gayla Trail All Rights Reserved
Amazing that this is where it all begins. This is the ‘Purple Calabash’ shortly after germinating.

Growing

This post is a part of Away to Garden and Dinner Tonight’s Tomato Week Fest 2008.

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August 8, 2008

20 Comments

First Casualty of the Season

… a ‘Black Brandywine’ tomato taken before its time was up by an unknown mammalian critter. This kind of thing is like a right-of-passage for food gardeners. Unless you’re gardening in a sterile bubble, you have probably experienced the blow of crushed anticipation when a ripening tomato, eggplant, or pepper is snatched in the night. It’s a drag but the reality is that our tasty food plants are attractive to all kinds of creatures. I’m so used to it by now, I barely flinched this time. I just shrugged my shoulders and went inside to grab my camera without missing a beat. I suppose what might be lessening the blow is the realization that I got off pretty easy this year. I don’t think I have ever made it as far as August 8 without experiencing some critter theft on the roof.

See this. And this. And this time. Oh yeah, and that other time. Sometimes I blame the wrong critter. Oops.

Now if they would just eat the whole thing instead of leaving half or more we might be able to come to some sort of cooperative arrangement that everyone can feel good about. Taking a bite and leaving the rest is just wasteful. And cruel.

Thanks jerks.

And yet I still prefer a little nibbling on my prized tomatoes (Ummmm… not a euphemism) to the kinds of stuff humans have been pulling in recent years. They still win the prize for “Most Annoying Garden Pest” and seem to be in some sort of competition to outdo each other in the category of WTF?.

Where do I begin with this years’ Festival of Weirdness? I’ll save some of that for another day but will leave you with this delightful gem: What appears to be a pile of fresh human feces was recently discovered on our doorstep. And its not the first time this summer either. At least they didn’t go in the garden? Several witnesses have “examined” the pile and all agree it has to be of human origin. What was even more surprising was the woman sitting on our doorstep enjoying a beer like there wasn’t a pile of festering, possibly human feces only inches away. I do not enjoy the taste of beer but if I did I can tell you I would prefer to savor the horrible flavor that many of you think is wonderfully refreshing amidst an ambiance more appealing then the sounds and smells associated with ripe humanure.

Enjoy your weekend!

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August 7, 2008

5 Comments

A Way to Stake: Wall O’ Mesh

I think this method is called, “Using Whatever’s Available.” It seems to work. I think it’s kind of interesting and matches the hodge-podge style of the space although I don’t think it would score points for curbside appeal with The Better Homes and Gardens crowd. It’s the kind of look I will miss dearly once the whole neighborhood becomes gentrified and scrubbed clean.

On a practical level I suspect that having the plants pushed so closely together like that will cause air circulation problems and possible disease at some point down the line. We’ve had a lot of rain this season causing tomato plants to grow very lush and bushy. Every local gardener I know has started pulling out leaves and branches to improve air flow.

Oddly enough this is not the first time I have seen this plastic orange mesh employed as a tomato staking method.

Here’s the full garden in case you’re interested. They have more edibles growing in the side yard.

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July 14, 2008

23 Comments

Worms for Composting

I ordered a 1/2 pound of red wiggler worms back in May but the sellers have experienced such a boom in orders this year that they were unable to fill my order until July. Encouraging don’t you think?

I have kept a vermicomposter many times but haven’t had one recently. We’ve just been composting on the roof in boxes or carrying our food scraps over to the community garden where our bins of dry browns need all the wet they can get.

I have to admit though that I love having a bin of worms living with me, so when I had an excuse to get some I jumped on it. I have loved worms since I was a kid. Worms remind me of summer nights running outdoors searching the neighbors’ “lawns” for little dew worm heads poking up out of the ground. We always let them go, there was no reason to keep them. I just liked finding them and feeling them wriggle in my hands. I still do.

Worms also remind me of my grade two teacher, Mrs. Hamson. I’m pretty sure her name was Hamson although my brain wants it to be Hamster.

Mrs. Hamster.

Anyways, when it rained the concrete pad of my schoolyard became flooded with worms, and I’m not sure if it was a particularly rainy year or what but the boys in my grade had developed a trend of throwing worms at the girls and it seemed like this was happening fairly regularly. This of course always sent the girls off shrieking which only served to egg the boys on more. Mrs. Hamson sat us down one day and explained that worms are animals, that there was nothing for the girls to be afraid of and that the boys should respect them as living creatures and leave them be. She brought some worms in and we all took turns touching and holding them.

That lesson has always stuck with me. I wasn’t one of the kids throwing the worms or one of the kids having worms thrown at me for that matter but what created an impression was the fact that this adult cared enough about something as small as a worm to teach us a lesson about creature abuse. A lot of adults in my neighborhood kicked cats and abused their kids. So when our teacher talked about the lowly worm as something to be respected and cared for she was also telling us something important about all living beings and ourselves. And what’s more she taught by example with a kind voice instead of lecturing or finger wagging. I don’t think I was the only kid who heard her because the worm throwing did stop. To be replaced shortly thereafter by digging clay or petrified cat poo out of the sandbox to throw at each other.

Here’s how to make a worm composter. They’re fun to have around, especially if you have kids, and those suckers (the worms, not the kids) will eat their body mass in food scraps daily. Worm poo is some of the best stink-free organic fertilizers you can also make yourself. Just be sure to get yourself the red wiggler type. Dew worms, night crawlers, and earth worms are good in the garden but won’t survive the conditions of a compost bin.

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July 11, 2008

11 Comments

Your Questions Answered: Black Bottomed Tomatoes

Question: I am having a problem with some tomato plants in my back yard. The plants are growing good and strong and small green tomatoes are begging to grow. I looked at the bottom of one tomato and it is turning black. Can you please tell me what is causing this. There are several tomatoes on the vines of this plant, but only one tomato has this black section on it.
- George K.

Answer: Hi George,

Your black bottomed tomato sounds a lot like blossom end rot. I don’t have a picture of it to post but a quick search will bring up countless photographic evidence for identification. The reason I am ruling out other problems is because you describe your plants as healthy. Blossom end rot appears as a blackened, sunken spot on the bottom of green or ripening fruit. The plant itself rarely shows any signs of a problem. In fact some stricken fruit is found growing on plants that are exceptionally leafy and health. This particular brand of the condition is a symptom of excessively fertilizing with a high nitrogen fertilizer. In that case, much of the plant’s energy goes into producing big, healthy leaves, leaving little else for fruit production.

Blossom end rot is a very common condition said to be caused by a calcium deficiency, however in general the problem is not caused by a lack of calcium in the soil but inconsistent watering, drought, and uneven soil moisture making it difficult for the plant to draw nutrients up through the roots.

From your description it sounds like your tomatoes are growing in-ground however this problem is especially common for container grown plants since containers dry out quickly and can be difficult to keep consistently watered.

The good news is that the problem is easily fixed — future tomatoes grown on the same plant aren’t doomed to be diseased if you follow the advice below.

General Tips to Avoid Blossom End Rot

Amend poor soil by adding lots of organic matter like compost. This will provide better nutrition for the plants and make for soil that holds moisture well.
Water tomatoes deeply, but less frequently. This means give them A LOT of water when you do water rather than watering regularly but in small quantities.
Water more often once your plants start to produce fruit, continuing to water deeply each time. Tomatoes are a watery fruit, your plant will need lots to grow healthy fruit.

When Excessive Nitrogen is the Problem

Cut back on high nitrogen fertilizers like fish emulsion.
Add kelp meal or liquid seaweed to ergular waterings. You can even spray the blossoms with this mix when they first open.

Tips for Container Gardeners

When growing in a container, grow only one tomato plant per pot.
Choose a container that is appropriately-sized for the plant. Small busing and dwarf tomato plants will do in a hanging basket but most tomatoes have very deep and ample roots requiring lots of space. Garbage bins are the way to go.
Grow tomatoes in plastic pots when possible. Plastic retains water much better than terracotta, a difference that will become much more noticeable at the peak of summer drought.

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You Grow Girl™

Books by Gayla Trail

Give Me Tomatoes

First Casualty of the Season

A Way to Stake: Wall O’ Mesh

Worms for Composting

Your Questions Answered: Black Bottomed Tomatoes