Suburban Valkyrie: Garden Update

Garden Update

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The recent cool, rainy, grey weather here in the Philly 'burbs has had me worried. Not just for my own sanity - honestly, after this past winter, we all NEED some sunshine, amirite? - but also for the health of my latest obsession: tomatoes. Well, my garden overall, really.

But my weekly garden tour and assessment perhaps should put some of my fears to rest. Everything seems to be gaining in size and production, and, so far at least, staying ahead of pests and diseases. Here is the nickel tour.

This is the newest area of our garden. I created it in May, by moving an old garden bench we had between the windows to the back by the deck and putting the arbor in its place, along with other various containers - including the picnic basket, which I got for about $8 at our local thrift shop. At the far right, in the first crate, is a Black Cherry tomato.

This is an Early Girl. I don't think I'll plant this one again next year. It has not proven to be particularly early, nor particularly prolific.

This is an Indigo Rose tomato, which was bred at Oregon State University and released in 2012. I picked this up as a seedling from Ott's Exotic Plants in Schwenksville, Montgomery County, PA. Watching it develop has been a true pleasure, and the blue-black of the fruit is intriguing. (I'll post a close-up later) I'm looking forward to tasting it.

Next up is a Sun Sugar. This one, I actually purchased from Frederick's Flowers in Souderton, and it was already of substantial size when I bought it. The foliage is a little more yellowy - lime greenish than I'm used to on a tomato, so I don't know if that's because I'm doing something wrong, or if that's just how the plant looks. One of these little gems has ripened so far, and the taste is amazing. So incredibly sweet and fresh. I hope this one keeps producing.

Next, is a 4 x 4 raised bed that we installed last year. Below, you can see a Super Sweet 100s red cherry tomato (on the right) and to the left is a Mr. Stripey, an heirloom that ripens to a red with yellow stripes. I'm going to try saving seed from this one for use next year, or the year after.

At the front of the bed is a straightneck summer squash plant. If we're not careful, it might swallow the house. So far, it is producing well, and we are staying ahead of powdery mildew, a fungal disease with which we have had issues in past years. Keep your fingers crossed. And send squash recipes. Many, many squash recipes...

My husband's poor little jalapeno plant has been totally eclipsed by the squash, but it honestly doesn't seem to mind. Hidden under those leaves, it is still flowering and producing little baby peppers.

A better view of Mr. Stripey. You can just barely see the first few tomatoes in the middle.

The second 4 x 4 raised bed is by now a sprawling mound of vining plants. Left, zucchini. Right, toward the fence section, is a burpless cucumber that is producing faster than I can keep up. Bottom right corner is Blue Lake Bush Beans - which started as five "little" plants. I've never grown beans before, and I just noticed the first few have materialized, so I am beyond thrilled that they are (so far) growing. Bottom left corner, barely discernible under the zucchini leaves, is a cantaloupe plant. My daughter picked it out, but I have since learned that cantaloupe is somewhat difficult to grow, so I'm not surprised that it hasn't done much. Plus - with the Monster Zucchini for a neighbor, the poor thing probably gets little sun.

This is the first large-ish tomato to begin ripening. This is an Amish Paste, another heirloom variety that legend has it was collected from the Amish in Lancaster County, PA. It is supposed to be great for making tomato sauces, as it is very thick-walled with lots of flesh. I've never grown this one before, so we'll see how it turns out. The plant itself, I put in a pot that I now realize is too small for it - but I'm afraid to re-pot it into a larger grow bag, at this point.

Speaking of grow bags, below are two different kinds that I ordered after the tomato seeds that I started actually produced seedlings. (I've never started anythings - successfully - from seed before, so I was kind of surprised that it worked.) By the time the seedlings were established, I had already planted in every container I had and a few I had to buy. Grow bags were recommended to me by Craig LeHoullier, the author of Epic Tomatoes, which I admit I have read cover to cover. They have proven to be an economical alternative and the seedlings are flourishing. The two plastic grow bags are the kind Mr. LeHoullier said he uses, ordered from GrowOrganic.com; the two fabric ones are "Dirt Pots" I ordered on Amazon after checking literally every garden supply shop within miles. No one carried them locally.

Unfortunately, the seedlings were desperate to be planted, and in the rush to get them in the soil, I forgot to mark which was which. I do know that the one in the back Dirt Pot is a Yellow Pear, an heirloom that produces small, pear-shaped sweet tomatoes. The other three are heirlooms too: a Black Krim (originally from Russia), Box Car Willie, and Cherokee Purple. I just don't know which is which, at this point.

I do have one more tomato, a Cherokee Purple that I bought as a seedling, but I forgot to take a picture of it. That will have to wait for the next update!

Are you growing anything this year? What is working and what isn't? I would love to hear your thoughts and stories.