Three Effective Tomato Supports

 

s 1944

How did I wind up planting twenty one tomato plants this spring?  Anyone that knows me, knows that I don’t like tomatoes.  Well, raw tomatoes anyhow.  So, 19 of those plants are Roma type tomatoes, cooking tomatoes.  You see, I love making homemade pizza, pasta sauces, and stews in winter, so this year, I came up with the idea of canning my crop, rather than freezing, as I’ve done in the past.  Freezing is easy.  Pick a few ripe tomatoes, put them in a freezer bag, repeat.   When the bag is full, start a new one.  Canning doesn’t work that way.  You pick a bushel of tomatoes, you blanch them, remove the skins, boil lots of water ….  Well, that’s why I planted so many Roma tomatoes, one does not can three jars of sauce, no, one does not.  One spends all day in a steamy kitchen, canning dozens of jars of tomatoes, so that when friends come over, and you ask them to go into the pantry to get a jar of tomato sauce, they come out and say … well, who knows what may come out of their mouths when they see jar upon jar of home canned tomatoes.  All I know, is that next winter is going to involve a lot of good cooking, and every time I pull down a jar I’m probably going to think “These are the greatest f@cking tomatoes ever”, but what I’m thinking right now is “These f@cking little plants better get going, or I’m never going to get any tomatoes.”  So to help them out, I built them a support system.  Something we all need, to do our best.  Don’t you think?

s 1935

Everything I used to make this A-frame, I had on hand, so the cost of construction was zero.  Well, I did use fifty cents worth of twine, considering I paid a dollar for it at an estate sale,  and the eighteen fence staples (left over from fencing the vegetable garden) had some cost, but the wood and aluminum tubing were found in the trash.

The construction is simple, utilitarian you might even say, although elegant in it’s simplicity – more Mies Van der Rohe and less Louis Sullivan in it’s direction.  The big idea is that each plant, as it grows, get tied to the the jute twine.  This keeps the fruit off the ground, improves the air circulation around the plants, and gets the plants up in the sunshine, so that, hopefully, they will produce a good, no, GREAT crop that can be “put up” for winter use.

s 1937

The wood supports have two, two inch wood screws drilled into the red cedar raised beds.  A clamp was used to hold the piece in place prior to driving screws in with a cordless drill.

s 1939

A drywall screw holds the thin aluminum tubing in place.  Inexpensive iron gas line pipe or electrical conduit could be used in place of the aluminum tubing. The wood was stained simply for appearances, and because I had the stain on hand.

s 1936

Next, fence staples were hammered in near each tomato plant.  In hind sight, were I to do it again, I would leave one side of the staple hanging over the inside edge of the bed, thus creating a hook -this would make running the jute string go more quickly.  I used one continuous line of string for the entire run.

s 1940

The string was pulled through each galvanized staple (eye screws, cup hooks, nails, etc. could be used also), then wrapped twice around the pipe and down to the staple on the opposite side, and so on down the line.

s 1941

As the line was strung, the twine was kept taut, however, since the tubing was actually two telescoping pieces (it was part of a swimming pool skimmer), it began to bow a bit in the middle.  A third wooden support was added where the two pipe sections intersect.  This support pushed the pipe up, keeping the jute twine in tension.

s 1945

The base of the middle support sits on a piece of stone, to keep it from driving itself into the soil.

s 1946

The two varieties of plum tomatoes being grown, San Marzano and Opalka, are termed “indeterminate”, or vining type, as opposed to “determinate”, or bush type tomatoes.  The structure was designed with this vining growth habit in mind.

s 1953

 

The Mighty ‘Mato get a Florida Weave

Ever hear of a grafted tomato? No?  I hadn’t either, but I am currently the proud owner of the Mighty ‘Mato, a grafted San Marzano tomato.  Apparently, the vigor and disease resistance, is matched only by the amazing output of tomatoes – and maybe the marketing, it even has it’s own Facebook page.  Gives a whole new meaning to “liking” a tomato!  Eager to believe it’s promise of incredible growth and productivity, I knew that I needed a support structure that was up to the task.

s2 1924

The scion (fruiting part of the tomato) is apparently grafted on to the rootstock of a wild, or undomesticated, form.  The graft is marked with a tag, so that the gardener does not put soil over this area.  The graft must stay above the soil line so that the scion does not root, and thereby negate the mighty input of the wild rootstock.

s2 1929

I first saw the “Florida weave”, used as a way to support tomato plants, at a local plant nursery a few years back.  They had long rows of tomatoes, and the twine wove in a out between each plant and around wooden stakes.  I only had one plant, but I feared that a simple wooden stake pounded into the ground would not be enough for this ‘mato.  The Florida weave, hmmm, that just might work.

s2 1897

When it comes right down to it, other than a few tools, all that is needed are a couple of wooden stakes (of course, metal fence posts would work too) and some twine.   A carpenter’s square, you ask?  Yes, I grew up watching Master Carpenter, Norm Abram, “true and square.”

s2 1899

The posts were predrilled, to avoid having the wood split as I drove in the screws.  A clamp is helpful as a third hand.

s2 1900

Once the posts were in place, the jute twine was woven back and forth between them, and around both sides of the vine.

s2 1908

The twine was cut with an additional length  left for impromptu weaves as the Mighty ‘Mato continues to grow.

s2 1912

 

Sometimes a Wooden Stake is Enough

s3 1921

Especially for bushy “determinate” forms of tomatoes.  “But what about cages?”  Cages take too much room.  The way I garden, I don’t allow for much space between plants, and if there is space, I  plant some carrots or shallots, maybe some marigolds in that open space.  Cages would be a difficult fit.  I this case, a Rutgers tomato and a black cherry tomato (impulse buy) were planted near a Poke Milkweed plant (much smaller a month ago!).  A cage would not work, and besides, I would have to buy the cages, I have scrap wood to make stakes.

s3 1916

As the plants had already gotten pretty big by the time I got around to staking them (they were using the milkweed as support), I put a stake near each major stem and tied it off, not too tight, allowing for stem growth.

s3 1918

I like to use thick jute twine when tying off tomatoes, it’s  less likely to  cut into their tender stems.

s3 1922

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What’s Blooming in the Cutting Garden? – Early July

After moving into my home in the fall of 2005, I began planning out a rough idea of what kind of gardens I wanted, and where.  Most of those of those initial ideas evolved as time went on.  Sometimes I simply underestimated my, or the plants, enthusiasm and needed to make the original beds bigger.  This was the case with my cut flower garden.  Over the years it has changed.  I removed the German Bearded Iris (although I kept the blue form) because they only looked great for too short a time, and most of the oversized flowers flopped over in the spring rains – out they went, to the back meadow, next to the daylilies, which were also moved there from the cutting garden because the deer seemed to find them just before their buds opened – too frustrating. Out.

I included many annuals to the bed, in the early years, to add color and fill the gaps between the perennials.  Now the big Red Cannas, ‘The President’ or ‘Lincoln’, whose tubers dug and stored unceremoniously in the basement every winter, are planted in a poorly drained corner of the garden along with the self-seeding purple leaved Perilla, also an annual.  Perilla is a member of the mint family and used mostly in Asian cuisine and as a natural food colorant.  I seeded in some tall zinnias with the Perilla this year – it should be quite a show.  The following photographs highlight some of the flowers on display in early July:

s garden

For the most part, cool color plants were chosen for this garden, although in mid-spring, orange oriental poppies, ‘Orange Princess’ Trolius, along with pink and burgundy-red Peonies are in bloom.   After a first summer of being horrified at how the Sundrops (Oenothera) spread by their roots, I’ve been keeping them in check, and only allowing them limited territory under the grape arbor.  I do like their sunny yellow flowers. You can see one has escaped to the front right corner in the above photo.

s Lychnis

Rose Campion (Silene coronaria or Lychnis coronaria), shown here with earlier flowering Arkansas Bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii) behind it, is a short lived perennial.  I collected my original plant from an abandoned garden, probably thirty years ago.  It will spread by seed, and I let it do so, only pulling out plants that are crowding others, or past their prime.  The seed heads can be removed to eliminate reseeding, some seeds will still find their way to the soil, so you will never be without new plants.  It knits well with other perennials, and the soft silver leaves brighten the garden.  An old fashioned perennial, still worth keeping in the garden.

s Lychnis sdwk

Yes, Rose Campion takes tough growing conditions in stride.  Here, self-seeded in a gap between the walk and foundation.

s phlox minnie pearl

Most of the tall phlox are just now thinking about flowering, but ‘Minnie Pearl’ has been doing her thing for a few weeks now.  Bought at an end of the season sale last year, this is its first growing season in the garden.  Behind, the self-seeded Purple Perilla and some Zinnia seedlings will take over the show in a few weeks.

s stachys humello

Ah, Piet Oudolf’s Stachys ‘Hummelo’, here with ‘Autumn Joy’ Sedum, is a free flowering, low maintenance plant.  So far, it is well behaved with nice foliage below the 18 inch tall flower stems.  The deep purply pink flowers harmonizes well with other flower colors.

s veronica royal candles

This Salvia has been blooming for a few weeks, and has another week or two left in it.  When the blooms are finally spent, the whole plant will get cut back.  Some reblooming should occur.

s veronica

This deep pink Veronica (possibly “Pink Panther’) is coming on strong,  the earlier, blue flowering with silver foliage, ‘Pure Silver’ has been finished for a week or two.

sm stachys cotton candy‘Pink Cotton Candy’ Betony (Stachys sp.) is similar to “Hummelo’ in habit, but has bi-color pink blooms.  They look well planted together.  Last year, the flower stems on ‘Pink Cotton Candy’  leaned quite a bit, while the ‘Hummelo’ stayed upright.  This year both are standing tall.

s alchemilla

The plant that never quits, Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis).  Adaptable to many growing situations, it’s a great plant for difficult areas of your garden, sun or shade.  This past June, I moved several from the front, to the rear of the bed.  First, I took a serrated bread knife ($2 at Goodwill) and whacked off the foliage so I could be sure not to step on, or damage, other plants that may be hiding under the two foot broad canopy of leaves.  In just two weeks, the plants looked no worse for the indignity and were covered with new leaves.  Irish garden writer, Helen Dillon, in fact, recommends cutting back Lady’s Mantle after flowering, as a quick way to refresh the plant’s appearance.  I enjoy the chartreuse flowers and interesting foliage, but the plants got larger than I had expected, and were crowding out other plants, making themselves too dominant a force.  Play nice or go home.

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Serviceberry Coffee Cake

 

READY TO EAT 1096 ed2

 

For the first time since it was planted five years ago, my Serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflora) in the garden was laden with small, maroon colored, blueberry-like fruit.  I thought “Wow, I’m gonna have a lot of berries to snack on this year”, alas, the robins and squirrels thought the same (Cedar Waxwings are also fond of the fruit), and were well on their way to clearing the fruit from this small tree.  I decided that if I had any hope of having some for my dinner table, I would need to pick them two or three days before they became fully ripe. The bowl of serviceberries below, shows the color when they were picked.  They are quite tasty even at this stage, but I let them sit at room temperature to more fully ripen to a blue-black color, like the fruit seen in the photo above, along side of the Serviceberry Coffee Cake.

 

fruit 0791

The cake is very tasty and quick and easy to make.  It is a nice seasonal treat with a side of ice cream and a cup of coffee.  To make your own, I’ve included the recipe below.  Click on the slideshow to see the process, step by step.

 

Serviceberry Coffee Cake

Based on Blueberry Brunch Cake found in “Noteworthy, A Collection of Recipes from the Ravinia Festival”, NOTEWORTHY Publications, 1986

4    tablespoons butter (softened)

¾   cup sugar

1    egg

2    cups flour

2    teaspoons baking powder

½   teaspoon salt

½   cup milk

2    cups serviceberries

Topping

¼     cup sugar

¼     cup brown sugar

¼     teaspoon cinnamon

¼     teaspoon nutmeg

4      tablespoons butter (chilled)

½     cup English walnuts (coarsely chopped)

Preheat oven to 350°

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg. In separate bowl, sift (wisk) together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Fold serviceberries into stiff batter.  Pour batter into greased and floured 8-inch square pan.  Use spatula to even out batter.

Combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Add butter into mixture, cut into small pieces.  Blend by pinching together mixture with fingers until coarse crumbs are formed.  Sprinkle crumb mixture over batter in pan, then top with chopped walnuts.  Bake in 350° oven for 45 minutes.  Let cake cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing cake from pan.  Note, batter will rise by double as it bakes.  Very good with a garnish of fresh fruit and vanilla ice cream.

2011 Apr

Spring blooms

2011 oct

Fall color

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