April 27, 2014 - Tomatoes At 4 Weeks

Each of the 10 tomato plants is doing well. I think within the next week they'll be strong enough to survive the removal of the plastic. It's likely I'll need to remove it anyway in order to train them properly to remain in the cages as they grow.

April 27, 2014 - Potatoes Are Curious Things

Over the past few weeks I've noticed something about my potatoes. The rate at which they're growing has reversed dramatically. The Purple Viking are now growing much faster than the Purple Fingerling. I'm sure there's a simple, logical explanation for it, and it isn't something that actually concerns me in any way. It's just noteworthy.

In the last week, both have grown enough to require another level of wood on the boxes and additional soil.

As you can see, I'll probably be adding another level of wood and soil to the Purple Vikings next weekend as well.

April 19, 2014 - Garlic and Onions

Have been harvesting some of the green onion and garlic to use in cooking. Some of the onions are bolting, and I don't really mind. I've discovered that the blossoms provide an incredible burst of flavor in salads and cooking.

April 20, 2014 - Potato Boxes at 8 Weeks

Added another level of wood to the boxes.

With the rain we've had, it's likely I'll be able to add another level this coming weekend, as well as some soil and compost mixture.

April 13, 2014 - Potato Boxes at 7 Weeks

Both the Purple Viking and Purple Fingerling are growing very well. Added a lot of soil mixed with some compost to them today. Next weekend, I'll need to build up the boxes. I think I'll add two levels. The growth rate of the plants is much faster than I anticipated.

March 30, 2014 - Planting Tomatoes

So the weather has finally become stable enough for planting tomatoes. These Jprobably could have gone into the ground a week or two ago; however, I preferred avoiding any temperature dips below 40° F. Tomatoes like it warm.

Planted 10 total plants. There are:

• Cherry — Sungold (2) and Sweet Chelsea
• Paste — Amish Paste (2) and Black Plum (2)
• Red slicing — Peron and Box Car Willie 
• Non-red slicing — Manyel (a yellow tomato)

Planting tomatoes begins with preparing your cage. That requires not only the materials for the cage, but also garbage bags.

After you have built your cages and wrapped them, they'll look like miniature greenhouses, which is exactly what they'll be. The plastic will help contain heat, and block wind damage to your precious plants.

Planting tomatoes in groups of four is a good idea. It allows the cages to support one another, and still provides plenty of space for you to move around them to prune, train the vines to grow inside the cage, and harvest when the time comes.

Obviously, the plants are looking tall and healthy after growing in the greenhouse. That's going to provide a lot of root structure. You'll want to plant them lying down, so only a few inches remains out of the ground.

Wrapping aluminum foil, or a bit of newspaper loosely around the stalk so that it's approximately one inch below and one inch above the surface will help deter cutworms. They basically wrap themselves around the stalk and pinch it off.

Once the tomatoes are in the ground, lay down newspaper and mulch heavily. I prefer using straw.

Then stack four, gallon jugs of water around each of the plants. This helps regulate the ground temperature so the roots are well protected from any unexpected dips in the temperature.

Then just slide the cages over the jugs, and stake them into place.

Two sets of four cages take up a bit of space in a garden. It will, however, be well worth it. The double cages at the rear of this shot are for the Sungold. They will grow up and over those cages, even with regular training, and could reach the ground again — about 16 feet total.

For the past couple of years the Sungold have produced abundantly, and done so well into the fall. I've probably given away well over a hundred pounds of tomatoes over that time. During the high heat of a late Texas summer they slow down production. Will definitely weigh the yields this year, and see if my estimates are right.

For now, they're in the ground and protected. Next step is to baby them with plenty of compost tea, and help them grow. 

March 30, 2014 - Potato Boxes At 5 Weeks

Lots of good growth in the potato boxes. The Purple Fingerling (bottom photo) are definitely growing faster than the Purple Viking. Should be adding additional soil/compost to at least the fingerlings next week.

March 23, 2014 - Potato Boxes at 4 Weeks

Seeing good growth in both boxes. The Purple Vikings aren't as prodigious as the Purple Fingerlings at this point. There is still a lot of time for both to grow.

I added an additional level of boards this weekend in anticipation of needing to add soil in the next couple of weeks. Also gave the plants some compost tea in addition to the regular watering.

Tomato Planting Time Is Almost Here

On Saturday, March 22, community gardeners and supporters of Gardeners In Community Development (GICD) will have an opportunity to buy tomato plants. The varieties are wondrous. I know I'll be planting several Sungold and Amish Paste. Both produced very well last summer—a less than ideal summer for growing tomatoes in Texas.

There will be 28 varieties available.

Looks like I'll be spending my weekend building tomato cages. Don't worry. I'll be sure to create a better how-to guide.

There will also be a variety of vegetables and herbs available for purchase on April 12, 13, 19. For more information and location of sales, visit the GICD website.

March 16, 2014 - Potatoes Sprouting

Three weeks ago, I built two potato boxes. One of them — the Purple Fingerlings — is now showing a lot of life. Plenty of the potatoes are now sprouting. With a lot of care and a little luck, there will be more potatoes than I know what to do with.

That's just the beginning. Garlic that was planted a week ago is sprouting, and the onions and garlic that have been in the ground a while are all growing well. Obviously there are many weeds to pull.

March 8, 2014 - Planting A Little More Garlic

Today, another bulb of garlic was broken into cloves and gently lowered into the earth. It's a beautiful thing when it is ready to harvest. I think there are nearly 100 plants. Here's hoping that they continue to grow until they can be harvested.

The spinach and carrots we planted two weeks ago are growing nicely, too.