I’m going to get things started today by starting my super-hot pepper seeds.  Bhut Jolokia, several types of 7 pot, and some habanero will begin the super slow process of germination and growth.  I have to start these so early because they just creep along until we get high temps in the 80′s and 90′s and then they grow like crazy.

I’ll start my other pepper and eggplant seeds the first of February and Tomato seeds will hit the grow table in ate February and early March.

I’m going to scale back (that’s the plan anyway) on my number of varieties this year.  83 types of tomato plants was a bit much to keep track of last year, so this year I hope to keep the number of varieties closer to 50…fingers crossed and I have well over 100 types of seeds in my hands now and it’s tough to pare them down to the best of the best.

As always, you can help me out by letting me know what varieties you absolutely can’t live without in your tomato garden and I’ll make sure those are on the list.  I can tell you now that Brandywine Sudduth’s, Cherokee Purple, Cherokee Green, Black Cherry, San Marzano, Carbon, Mortgage Lifter, Opalka, and Sungold will definitely be grown as I don’t think any garden is complete without them!   If you have some favorites I’ve grown in the past or have some new varieties you’ve heard about and would like to try, please e-mail me or leave a comment here and I’ll be sure to get seeds and grow them for you.

As always, I’ll have my list of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, herbs and other plants available in early March for you to make your pre-orders.  Plants will be ready for your gardens by the middle of April through mid-May with Mother’s Day weekend always being the best possible weekend for planting.

Enjoy this balmy weather and before you know it, it will be time to get our hands in the soil once again!

Despite the crazy weather, we managed to have the best spring harvests of lettuce we’ve ever had, and an absolutely tremendous tomato harvest.  We lost a lot of plants to the heat, but the ones that survived, turned out the tastiest tomatoes we’ve ever had in our gardening lives.

I firmly believe that the silver reflective mulch film saved a lot of our plants.  The film bounces off a lot of the sun’s heat and kept the roots cool.  I resisted the urge to water often and only used the drip irrigation system about every 5-7 days.  The plants that didn’t die early did very well…the fruit took FOREVER to ripen, but by the end of July/first of August, we were swimming in tomatoes.  Many were eaten fresh and we had BLT’s more times than I can count, the rest were cooked down into glorious sauces and canned for future tomato dinners this winter.

One of the biggest lessons I learned this year is that peppers need to be grown in containers. I plan on moving all of my pepper plants from the garden to 5 gallon, black grow bags next year.  Peppers need warm soil to get going and with the cool spring, they didn’t grow much until the super hot heat hit.  Then it was too hot for fruit to set.  We are just now getting decent harvests of peppers, but nothing like we would have if those plants had had a better start…grow bags do the trick.

Every year, I vow to plant more fall crops…most years I get too busy and don’t get it done.  This year I’ve done a bit better with lettuce, stir fry greens, and spinach all filling up several beds.  The spinach I plant to over-winter and enjoy a better harvest next spring.  the lettuce and greens I’ll shelter with Agribond and hope to have some great salads and stir-fries this fall.

They are calling for near freezing temps this week…for sure we’re looking at a frost.  If you still have tomatoes and peppers on the vine, now is the time to bring them in or cover them up on those nights and mornings with predicted lows in the 30′s.  We picked all of our green tomatoes from all but one bed today and those will be turned into green tomato pies, tomato chow-chow, and maybe some fried green tomatoes.  The ones still on the vine I’ll cover up and hope to have some ripe fruits later this month…fingers crossed!  I’ll likely pick all of my remaining peppers early this week too…going to freeze them and use them this winter in soups and stews.  My bhut jolokia, habanero, and serrano peppers that I grew in containers will be brought in the house to continue ripening through the winter.

Soon, I’ll be preparing my grow list for next year…stay tuned for another awesome selection of tomato and pepper plants next year!

The number of varieties was considerably less than I had hoped for.  Many varieties peaked in early July and then succumbed to the extreme heat we’ve had this season.  I personally lost 6 varieties in the month of July and I know other gardeners had a tough time keeping some plants alive as well.  The good news is, we have a good handle on the types of tomatoes that can handle extreme heat and humidity in our area…food for thought when planning future gardens.

Thanks so much to Todd and Julie, as well as my mother for taking awesome pictures!  Check out Todd and Julie’s blog and pictures at Tomato Town.  Check out my Mom’s pictures here!

We had a contest for heaviest tomato that was won with a Linnie’s Oxheart from Landon Quigley.  It weighed in at 1lb 8 oz.  Second place was a huge Black Krim that went 1 lb 7 ounces grown by Marinda Nash. We also had prizes for most varieties labeled  and brought.  Todd and Julie brought 13 varieties and Marinda brought 9 types.  They are all excellent gardeners and grow an amazing amount of produce in their urban backyards!  My brother brought several platters of beautiful fruits, none were labeled (long story), but I was able to determine what most of them were.  As always, Keith Mueller brought some of his extremely unique varieties he’s working on with some delicious samples of his Apricot fleshed line!

Participants at this year’s tomato tasting had the opportunity to vote for their favorite tomatoes.  Each person was given 10 tickets to use as votes.  Some voted for 10 different varieties, some only voted for a few types, and some voted multiple times for one variety they really, really, really liked.  We tallied up the votes and had a few clear cut winners.  Brandywine Sudduth’s Strain, Sungold, Lucky Cross, Dora, and Cherokee Purple were all superstars for flavor and people raved and raved about their tastes throughout the event.  Check out the results below:

The vote was in no way scientific and the results are a little skewed as some varieties didn’t arrive until after some people had voted.  The only result that truly surprised me was the low vote count for Stump of the World.  This variety gets a lot of kudos from growers around the country, but folks in KC didn’t care too much for it this year.

Mark your calendars for the first Saturday in August, 2012!  We’ll do it all again, bigger, better, hopefully not hotter, but definitely tastier!

Lots of new gardeners and tomato enthusiasts, so I thought I’d make a F.A.Q. to help folks out.

• Does it cost anything to attend?  No…absolutely free for all tomato lovers!
• If I don’t have any tomatoes this year, can I still attend?  Definitely! It’s optional to bring breads or cheeses or anything else that would accompany tomatoes, but you can just bring yourself and you palate.
• What else should I bring?  Bring a lawn chair and a cool beverage (non-alcoholic please per park regulations)
• I plan on bringing tomatoes, how should I bring them?  Please bring them whole and labeled.  Label then at the stem end with a sharpie.  I’ll have plenty of paper plates we can label the plates once we slice the tomatoes for serving.  I’ll also have several cutting boards and knives for slicing as well as salt and toothpicks for serving.
• Can I bring a tomato dish?  YES!  We love to try new and delicious dishes that make use of our produce.  Please bring a few dozen copies of the recipe if you wouldn’t mind.
• When should I arrive?  We’ll start setting up around 10:00 and checking people in around 10:30.  Please don’t be later than 11:30 if you are bringing tomatoes to taste.  We usually wrap up around 2:00 or so.
• Can I bring guests and children?  Definitely!  Please bring any friends that truly appreciate a good tomato!  Children are also welcome. There is a really nice playground there and a public swimming pool right across the parking lot.

You might also want to bring a small notebook and pen to write with.  There will be close to 100 varieties to sample and you might want to take notes so you can keep track of your favorites.

We’re having two contests this year as well as door prizes!  The first contest will be for the heaviest tomato.  Will Rod McBride be ably to defend his monster Carbon from last year or will the heaviest tomato come from another garden this year?

The second contest will have three winners and will be for the gardener who brings the most different labeled varieties of tomatoes (Sorry Keith Mueller…you’re ineligible in the contest, but I’ll gladly supply you with any plants you want next year in trade for another Purple Haze! !).  We’ll have a registration table for folks to check in with their labeled tomatoes.  Top three gardeners with the most varieties will win!

We’ll also have a voting system this year.  Each participant will receive 10 red tickets.  As you sample the varieties and find your favorites, you’ll write the name of the varieties on your tickets and place them in a voting container.  You can use all 10 of your tickets to vote for one variety or vote for 10 different ones. We’ll tally the results after the event and I’ll grow the top 25 vote getters next year and have them available for sale.

Again the event is at Roe Park, Saturday, August 6th at 11:00.

We’ll be in the shelter on the south side of the parking lot by the playground.  The park is very shady and pretty comfortable even if it’s hot out.

Other than a 30 minute trip to the garden each day, I am pretty much in summer hibernation mode.  We are just now getting our first quantities of ripe tomatoes…only about 1/4 of my plants have produced a ripe fruit so far.  We did manage to have our first BLT’s of the season yesterday…Cherokee Purple and Carbon are the finest fruits I’ve ever eaten…if you’re not growing those two this year, make room for a plant or two  of each next season!

Some advice I can offer for gardening in this heat:

• Garden early in the morning to take advantage of the coolest part of the day.  This is also the best time to water.
• Pick tomatoes as soon as they show any signs of blushing (color change)  They ripen SUPER FAST in this heat and can spoil in a day or two if left on the vine.
• Water deeply every 4-6 days.  Avoid watering the foliage and avoid over-watering. If plants droop during the day, but re-bound at night, they have enough water (drooping leaves is a way they conserve water)
• Water container plants twice a day if possible.
• Stay on top of your weekly fungicide spraying regimen…spray immediately after any rain.
• Keep an eye out for insect invasions…lots of people are having problems with various worms…hand pick them (use gloves if they are icky) before they eat too much of your plant.

Other than that, I’m just waiting for August 6th!  If you haven’t RSVP’d for the 3rd annual tomato tasting yet, please do so by e-mail or our Facebook page.  We’re less than 3 weeks away from the tasting and we should hit it at the peak of tomato ripening this year!

I’ll update the blog with information about the tasting next week and send out a reminder notice as well.

A lot of us are still experiencing some leaf curl, but I think it’s going away now that our tomato plants are maturing.

Remember to keep up that weekly application of fungicide and to prune any foliage that’s touching the ground or showing signs of disease…this will extend your harvest considerably into late summer if you’re proactive on pruning and spraying.

I went ahead and booked Roe Park again for the Tomato Tasting on August 6th. One of these days we’ll find an indoor event, but until then we’ll stick with this location.  Make sure you RSVP to me by e-mail or on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101294419965497

I took a few more videos of the garden this week…enjoy!

Tomatillos

Black Tomato Bed Fruit Set

Garden Overview

Patio Garden Progress

Sick Golden Queen USDA

These are just overviews of the garden.  Next week I’ll do a video on tomato plant pruning and tying methods.

Bhut Jolokia

Beets, Onions, Cukes, Compost

Bush Beans, Late Tomatoes, BLack Tomatoes, Bi-Color Tomatoes

Container plants

Drip System

Garden Overview

Tomatillos

Let’s start with the garden layout I have developed.  I use raised beds and containers almost exclusively for growing most everything.  The only plants I have in the ground are on the perimeters of my garden space.  The paths between my beds are covered in landscape fabric and a thick layer of wood chip mulch.  This keeps the weeds down significantly in the paths and makes working in the garden a much cleaner and refined affair.

When I plant my tomatoes, I make sure to plant them as deeply as possible by pinching off all of the leaves except for those leaves near the growing tip.  I dig a very deep hole and bury the entire stem.  I also add a few tablespoons of TomatoTone and some Bone Meal to nourish my plants during their first month or two in the ground. By planting deeply, I reduce the need to water my plants as often during the summer.  I rarely water more than once a week and often go 10-12 days between waterings.

Another thing I do to reduce the need to water is by using plastic film mulch.  I’ve used Red and Black film, but really like to use the Silver Reflective Mulch Film.  Any color of film (except clear) will work to retain water.  Black will warm the soil more, white will keep it cooler, Red is supposed to be good for tomatoes, but Silver is my go to color because of its added insect (aphid) repelling qualities.  The plastic film eliminates a great deal of evaporation of water from the soil.  It is also excellent at keeping your soil from washing out and keeping your plants drier when we have heavy rains.  Finally, plastic film virtually eliminates weeding chores.  You’ll have the occasional weed on the edges of your beds and one or two around the stems of your plants, but 95% of your beds will be weed free all year long.

When using plastic film you need some sort of irrigation system installed or you’ll need to hand water each plant at the base.  I’ve tried using soaker hose under the film and it works ok, but it doesn’t not work with my rain barrels as soaker hoses need higher pressure than rain barrels can deliver.  I now use drip irrigation and really like the products from DripWorks for their ease of use and excellent selection of products.  I place a 1 gallon per hour drip emitter at each plant and can now water the entire garden with the turn of a valve.  It takes a LOT of work to install the drip system, but once it is in, your watering chores for the rest of the year are simplified.  I also have a fertilizer injector I can hook up to my drip system so I can fertilize the entire garden with one easy additional step when needed.

The final thing I do to save me a lot of work in the summer is to use tomato cages.  Properly installed cages virtually eliminate the need to tie up plants all summer long as the cage hold the plants in very well and you only need to move an occasional branch that gets out of place.  I really like my Texas Tomato Cages, but they are a bit more expensive than concrete reinforcing wire cages.  You can use cattle panel fencing or stakes, but you’ll have to tie your plants up every few days and will likely have to do some pruning to keep your plants manageable.  With cages, the only thing I prune is the bottom leaves that touch the ground.  I want lots of air circulation to avoid fungal problems so I prune the bottom of the plants.

Countless hours of garden work in May allows me to spend June, July, August and September out of the garden and on the water.  Try some of these techniques to free up your summertime from the drudgery of gardening in the heat!

I’ve created a FaceBook page for the 3rd Annual Tomato Tasting Event.  Please RSVP!

I’ll have pics of the garden in the next week or so…until then, enjoy the beginning of Summer!

Many people shy away from gardening because they think it’s too complicated.  Gardening can be a daunting task at times, but for the most part it’s as simple as good soil, good seed, good sun, and lots of patience.

I’ll work backwards through the list.

Lots of Patience:  Rushing things is probably the #1 reason why gardeners are unsuccessful.  Don’t try to do everything at once.  Start off small…one or two raised beds or a small in-ground plot is plenty to get your feet wet in gardening.  Don’t try to plant too many different types of plants.  Plant things that are easy to grow and are things that you and your family will eat.  Follow recommended planting times carefully.  Planting too early is a recipe for disaster.

Good Sun: Vegetable plants need a minimum of 6, but more ideally 8-10 hours of direct sunlight to grow.  If your yard is shady, break out the chainsaw and clear out the canopy or find another location with more sun.  If you do have a lot of shade, you will be limited in what you can grow…stick with lettuces, spinach, radishes, and onions in your areas with less sun.

Good Seed: Make sure that when you buy seeds or plants that you are buying quality, fresh seeds and healthy, hardened-off plants.  Buy seed from reputable sources…avoid the mega seed companies and support those that provide quality and excellent service. Do not buy the biggest, most expensive plants at the nursery.  Tomato and pepper plants should be from 3-10 inches tall, have very stocky stems, have no open flowers on them, and should have a “rootbound” appearance when you pull them out of their containers.

Good Soil: Most urban yards have poor quality soil.  Too much clay, not enough drainage, and too many rocks.  All of these obstacles can be solved by building a raised bed.  A raised bed has a lot of advantages over panting directly in the ground and a few disadvantages.

Pros:  Excellent drainage.  Excellent soil quality.  Soil warms up more quickly.  Less bending over to plant and harvest.  Neat garden appearance.  Keeps the gardener cleaner.

Cons: Initial cost of materials.  Initial Labor.  Soil dries out quickly.

A raised bed doesn’t have to be expensive.  You can use recycled lumber to build a box, or use stones from around the yard to make a bed edging.  You can also just make a large, mounded row on top of the existing soil and reap some of the raised bed benefits.

I prefer to use treated lumber to build my beds.  Today’s treated lumber is much safer for gardening purposes than the old “CCA” type lumbers that are no longer made.  Check out this link to learn more about using treated lumber in your garden.  If you’re still not convinced, you can use regular lumber, but it will need to be replaced after about 3-5 years.

Once you’ve decided on your bed location, decide on the length of the bed.  I have raised beds that are as short as 4 feet and as long as 16 feet and everything in -between.  The length isn’t nearly as important as the width.  Raised beds should be no more than 4 foot wide.  Any wider than that and it’s difficult to reach the middle of the bed for planting, harvesting and weeding.  Many tomato gardeners say that 3 feet is ideal.  I prefer 4 foot wide beds.

Go to your local lumber store and purchase two board of the length you desire for your bed.  You can buy boards as wide as 18 inches or as narrow as 6 inches.  The wider the board, the higher the bed.  I really like my 12 inch high beds over my shorter ones.  Also purchase one 8 foot long board that is the same width of your other two boards.  Have the workers cut the 8 foot board in half for you (they will cut them for free).  This will make two, 4 foot long pieces that will be the ends of your bed.

Next, purchase a small box of 3 or 3 1/2 inch screws.  Make sure that you buy the screws that are for use with treated wood if you are using treated lumber. Do not waste your money on those fancy corner connector kits they sell for raised beds.

When you get the board to your garden area, partially install three of the screws in the ends of the longer boards.  Screw them in about 1 inch from the end of the boards.  This makes joining the boards together easier when you put them in place.

Place the boards in a box shape over your garden area, and fasten in all 12 screws.

You can  now choose to lightly till the soil in the middle of the box, or you can place a layer of 10-15 sheets of newspaper over the bottom of the bed to avoid weed growth, or you can just fill the box in over the existing soil.  I’ve used all three methods and haven’t noticed any difference in bed performance, so do what’s easiest for you.

Finally, begin filling the bed with compost.  If at all possible, don’t buy the stuff in the bags.  Go to Suburban Lawn and Garden or Missouri Organic and buy it by the yard.  Buy COMPOST…don’t buy topsoil.  Topsoil is a bit cheaper, but is not what you want to grow your veggies in.  Don’t worry if you can’t fill the bed all the way to the top the first year.  Fill it half-full and then add to it each year.

Total cost for a raised bed up to 12 foot in length should be no more than $100 including all materials and filling it with purchased compost.

Here’s a peek at some of my raised beds and the wonderful salads they are producing right now!

Well, I hope this helps those of you deciding to get into gardening or those wanting to expand their current gardens.

Plant sales start this weekend…can’t wait to see all of you again and talk tomato over the coming weeks!