I weeded and cleaned up the tomato plants yesterday. We have so many little tomatoes coming on and one big one almost ready to pick.
Rick has been dosing them with manure tea and they are growing like crazy. I trim up the plants to about 12 inches from the ground. This keeps the leaves off the ground and away from pesky viruses and fungus. I also trim off water shoots. This keeps the plants in check and lets the sun in to ripen up the fruit.
For many years we used cages around the tomatoes, but I switched to stakes about 15 years ago after seeing it in a magazine. The plants are much more manageable and easier to pick. We use old t-shirts for the ties. They are soft and stretchy and expand as the stems grow.
I should be able to harvest some baby squash today. And also some peppers:
The small pepper plants were started late in the greenhouse, but the larger ones are already producing sweet bell, jalapeno, and chilies.
These plants have tiny cukes in with all the yellow flowers. I love cucumbers in salads and chopped on bagels. I can't wait!
Now this pile of bean plants were supposed to be neat rows of bush beans. I buy my seeds at a garden center that packages it's own seeds and I think they made a little mistake! I have since reseeded, but I left these and hope I can get in there and harvest some beans soon.
This is the salad bed. I just pulled up the spinach plants that had gone to seed and will plant more onions in their place. I'm still harvesting the mixed lettuces and will probably save the carrots for later and freeze them for soups and pot roasts.
Years ago we had a much bigger garden and it has slowly gotten smaller as we've added more perennial fruit plants and trees. Now we just have these 9 raised beds. The center bed is filled with annual flowers and a rusty windmill.
I love working in this vegetable garden. It is small enough to clean up quickly and large enough to provide us with the vegetables we can really use. So what are you growing in your gardens? I'd love to see!
10 comments:
Your garden looks wonderful, Cindy. And a red tomato....I am so jealous!! We still have nothing but green, green, green!!
Have a terrific weekend!
Bev
Cindy, your garden looks so wonderful and neatly tended. I need a stake for my tomato. I was thinking about a cage, but you are right... that would make it harder to get in there to pick when they ripen. I like your idea of tying with old strips of t-shirts.
you have a beautiful garden!
Your garden is the gardener's dream! Cant wait to see all of the bounty you harvest!
Your veggie garden is thriving. Everything looks wonderful.
Margaret
My goodness, how exciting to have such a lovely productive garden. We just have tomatoes, onions, and cukes and are just happy with that!
Thanks for sharing.
I think I must be the laziest farmer ever. I hate weeding the little vegetable garden that I planted this spring, so they have kind of taken over. All I have harvested so far is the cilantro. I'll take heart, however. You have inspired me to do better! <3
Cindy, your garden is gorgeous! I love fresh tomatoes and the little tips you have given will be stored in my memory for the next time I attempt to grow them. I don't have a veggie garden, but it has always been my dream to have one. But we need electric fencing first - too many hungry critters. I grow berries, though - lots of different berries and freeze them for pies and other yummies. I always enjoy seeing your beautiful gardens. Happy 4th! xoxo
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This is an amazing garden, Cindy! We have had such a rainy, cool spring that we were late in planting our garden. We do hope to have a tomato in the next day or so, though.
We have been able to harvest some berries thus far. The birds are enjoying them, too.:-)
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