Hades Releases Persephone

February 3, 2014 - 7.3"/185mm snow

The winter has been rather harsh here. A great deal of snow was shoveled. Much more than normal. Temperatures were low into the first month of spring. But as Zeus commands Hades to release Persephone each spring, the earth awakes.

I began the growing season late again this year as last. The reason was one of mixed cold temperatures and malaise. I missed the sowing of peas and onions for the second year in a row. I do so love freshly picked snow peas. Not to worry. The temperature rose above 68ºF/20ºC this week. I feel planting fever coming on.

First action I took in the square foot garden was sprinkling two tablespoons of my organic fertilizer on each square foot section of both raised beds. Second action was to mixing it into the first inch or so of planting medium.

What you see in the photograph are the two of the four drip irrigation tubes I use to water the raised beds along with the fertilizer atop the growing medium.

Fertilizer mixed into the growing medium.

Third action was to cover both raised beds with red plastic mulch.

The mulch will server many purposes.

1. Warm the soil
2. Keep out any unwanted seeds
3. Retain moisture
4. Reflect light up under the leaves.

Persephone is only upon the earth for a short time. Don't just stand there, do something in your garden. 

I am already thinking of that first tomato.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

For A Few Tomatoes More

Mortgage Lifter, 20 Oct 2013

Temperatures are dipping below the point for comfortably wearing short sleeve shirts outdoors. With that ripening has all but come to an end in the garden, but for a few tomatoes more.

Sweet 100, 20 Oct 2013

There are just two tomato plants remaining in the square foot raised beds. A Sweet 100 in near bed, and my prolific Mortgage Lifter in the far bed.

Quite a few pink and plenty of green tomatoes still cling to the vines. There is a chance I will get some ripe tomatoes before temperatures fall below freezing.

Once the tomatoes are all gone, I will don a poncho, cut down the vines, remove the trellises and cover the growing medium with fresh red plastic. To keep out unwanted seeds. If I get ambitious, I just might create a greenhouse over at least one bed with clear plastic and black plastic tubing. When and if I do, I'll plant lettuce seeds. Bunching onions would be nice, too. For a few 2013 harvests more.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Season's Massive Mortgage Lifter

Behold the season's most massive tomato, a Mortgage Lifter. Harvested 17 October. I guess the vine saved its best for last.

While the average weight of Mortgage Lifters were in the 340g/12oz range this baby weighted in at 688 grams. That is 1-1/2 pounds.

One slice from close to the top of the tomato nearly covered a slice of bread. The grilled cheese, bacon, tomato and jalapeño sandwich with oregano was quite delicious. I will surely miss freshly picked tomatoes from the garden until the first harvested in July 2014.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Hades Returns to Claim Persephone from my Garden

Persephone must return to her husband, Hades, deity of the underworld. Her poor mother, Demeter, begins her slow decline into a dark depression. And so the garden begins its slide down the same path. But, not before the cornucopia is full.

It was a good summer for tomatoes, in my garden. Specifically the production of Mortgage Lifter and Tami G varieties. The above bowl of fruit was harvested on October 8. What you see amounts to 7.75lbs/3.5kg of ripe tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumbers and Nacho chiles. Of that total Mortgage Lifter contributed 3.36lbs/1527g and Burpee Burpless cucumber 2.9lbs/1327g of weight. After culling out the unripe fruit, the Tami G grape tomato weighed in at 0.5lbs/259g.

Mortgage Lifter, Rutgers, Tami G, Red Bell Pepper and Burplee Burpless

Mortgage Lifter was by far an away the largest producer of any plant. The total weight of Mortgage Lifter tomatoes harvested, from one 11'/3.35m vine starting July 6 and running through Oct 8, was an amazing 35.53lbs/16.114kg. Let me say that again. Thirty-five pounds of delicious heirloom delights. As for the next runner up, the Tami G grape tomatoes total weight was 11.6lbs/5.67kg from one 9'/2.7m vine.

Mortgage Lifter and Tami G

The third must prolific producer was one the the two varieties of cucumber planted, Burpee Burpless and Tender Green. Burpless was the winner for both production and taste. The total weight of Burpless harvest 30 July through 8 October was 9.58lbs/4.68kg from two 6'/1.8m vines.

Burpless

Overall, it was a good year of gardening in two 16 sq ft/1.48 sq m raised bed square foot garden beds. A grand total of 91.5/43.47kg of produce was harvested. I am a happy gardener in 2013.

During the dark hours that cover my garden until Hades allows Persephone to return to Demeter, I will plan the garden for 2014.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Mortgage Lifter Harvest Savored

For the last two months I have been savoring home grown tomatoes from my garden. Not that I am bragging but if you don't grow you own tomatoes, you don't know what you are missing. Rutgers, Cherokee Purple, Beefsteak, Tami G, Sweet 100 and Mortgage Lifter. Of all the varieties the Mortgage Lifter provided the most pounds of big tomatoes.

I was taken by surprise with the massive production of Mortgage Lifter. As a matter of fact, if back in late April, you told me that one tomato plant was going to produce over 22lbs/10kg of tomatoes in one growing season, I wouldn't have believed it. Nonetheless, that is exactly what happened in my raised bed square foot garden.

The tallest plant is Mortgage Lifter Tomato 28 June 2013

Mortgage Lifter Tomato 18 July 2013

Here is how this went down. 

1. One store bought Mortgage Lifter plant was transplanted into the bed on 20 April.
2. On July 6, a 13.7oz/388g Mortgage Lifter was the first tomato harvested from the garden.
3. As of August 31, 22.19 lbs/10.065kg of ripe Mortgage Lifter tomatoes have been plucked from a single vine.

Let me repeat that. I think it deserves repeating.

One Mortgage Lifter tomato vine produced 22.19lbs/10.065kg of ripe tomatoes from July 6 through August 31.

A plant that is still producing wonderfully tasting vine ripened tomatoes.

Mortgage Lifter harvested 6 July 2013 weighed in at 388g/13.58oz

Production was not the most important feature of this variety. For hugh production of a rotten tasting tomato would just be, well, a waste. Of course, the most important feature of any tomato is taste. The Mortgage Lifter has that wonderful old fashion taste you remember as a child. A taste you can only get if you grow your own tomatoes and allow them to ripen on the vine. Or get them from your generous gardening neighbor.

http://carrot.mcb.uconn.edu/~olgazh/photogal/summer08/

I will probably plant at least one Mortgage Lifter again next year. Maybe two. If I transplant any more, I will surely need to set up a roadside stand at the foot of my driveway to sell the surplus tomatoes. Then I could spread to my neighbors, the pleasure of eating home grown tomatoes. I might even sell enough tomatoes to pay for the seeds, soil mixture, fertilizer and lumber for the raised bed frame. I'll have to consider that in the coming months.

In just three weeks summer will die to autumn. I will leave you with a thought I believe you should take very seriously.

Savor your garden while ye may.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

August 13 Harvest

A few vegetables harvested within this last week from my raised bed square foot garden.

One Nantes and several Kaleidoscope carrots

In this one bowl are 2.9 lbs/ 1343g of Tami G grape, Beefsteak and Rutgers tomatoes and one bell pepper.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Tomatoes - Beginning of August 2013

Early August finds the raised bed square foot garden beds doing well. You can see in the above photograph the Mortgage Lifter tomato is quite tall. Easily 9'/2.8m in height. As of 3 Aug, 6.5kg/14.5lbs of Mortgage Lifter tomatoes have been harvested from just one plant.

On a sadder note, to continue my problems with tomatoes this year, I believe the Cherokee Purple plant is dying. I haven't seen a new flower on it since the weather got hot. By hot I mean above 90ºF/32ºC in July. I must say I believe the tomatoes from this vine were the best tasting harvested this year.

Rutgers

Beefsteak

Along with the Mortgage Lifter, I continue to harvest Tami G, Super Sweet 100, Rutgers and Beefsteak tomatoes. However the Rutgers and Beefsteaks are small in size.




Sandwiches with tomatoes are quite popular since the beginning of July. Bagel with cream cheese, tomato and sweet onion, grilled cheese with tomato, oregano with and without bacon are the top choices.

Although the homegrown tomato season is not over, I will really miss them when they are gone.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

First Cucumber Harvested 30 July 2013

This cucumber started at a very early age on 11 July.

It appeared to be growing into its prickles on 18 July.

Almost ready to be harvested on 26 July.

Weighing in at 226g/0.5lbs this Burpee's Sweet Burpless Hybrid Cucumber was cut free from its vine early on the morning of 30 July. A meeting with dill and sour cream is scheduled.


©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Produce Harvested from Garden as of July 30

I have been keeping track of all the produce harvested from my raised bed square foot garden, with the exception of lettuce. Following are the vegetable varieties and their weights harvested since the first planting/transplanting into the garden on 20 April 2013. 

Clockwise from the top - Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter and Rutgers

Starting with the most total weight to the least:

1. Mortgage Lifter Tomato - Heirloom 4.291kg/9.46lbs
2. Cherokee Purple Tomato - Heirloom 3.334kg/6.82lbs
3. Tami G Grape Tomato - 1.088kg/2.23lbs
4. Rutgers Tomato - Heirloom - 0.589kg/1.21lbs
5. Anaheim Pepper - 0.305kg/0.62lbs
6. Sweet Red Bell Pepper - 0.274kg/0.56lbs
7. Sweet 100 Grape Tomato - 0.267kg/0.55lbs
8. Mucho Nacho Jalapeño Peppers - 0.255kg/0.52lbs
9. Carmen Pepper - 0.09kg/0.18lbs
10. Kaleidoscope Carrots - 0.067kg/0.14lbs

Total weight of all produce through July 29 2013 from two 4' x 4'/ 1.219m x 1.219m raised beds was 11.034kg/23.26lbs.

That is an amazing amount of produce for July here in USDA zone 6B. It must be a combination of the raised bed, non-soil planting mixture, red plastic mulch, ambient temperatures and earlier than normal planting/transplanting. No matter what the reasons I am happy with production. I have the tomato seeds running down my chin to prove it.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Teenage Cuke

Baby Cucumber 11July2013

Two weeks have passed since the first baby cucumber arrived.

Toddler Cucumber 18July2013

Last week it had grown to the toddler stage.

26July2013

This week it's hanging out, a fresh teenager. It will be a legal adult before you know it.

I sneaked a peek at its calendar. I believe it has a lunch meeting at the beginning of next week with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and radishes.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved



Made on a Mac

Veggie Magic in a Bottle

Source:http://pickleinabottle.com/gallery.html

Have you ever seen the cucumber in the bottle magic trick?

I was a child when my dad showed me a cucumber in an old glass milk bottle. I was dumbstruck. How did that thick cucumber get through that narrow neck? I never did figure it out on my own.

It is time to pass on that mysterious veggie in a bottle trick. I will show you how it is done. If you prepare now you, too, can accomplish this before the end of the growing season.

You will need a few items before you begin. If you are growing cucumbers vertically you will need a bottle(s), wire and wire cutters. If growing on the ground just a bottle.

Choose a tiny to small size cucumber as a target. As it grows, the cuke will need to be directed into the opening of the bottle.

Cut some lengths of wire. Each length needs to be long enough to circumvent the bottle, the support structure and still have enough to twist the ends together. Once you have that length calculated, add more for later fine adjustments.

As you can see from the photograph above the cuke is a small distance from the bottle. Adjustments in bottle position will be made as the cuke grows. That is were the extra wire will be needed.

Don't limit yourself to one size and shape bottle. I will also be using a 1.75l gin bottle. I am sure the results of one or the other will be to my liking.



Don't limit yourself to one vegetable either. This can be done with any growing fruit or vegetable. Think of the possibilities- apples, pears, peaches, tomatoes, squash, watermelons, pumpkins. Get out and have some old fashion fun in your garden.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved



Made on a Mac

Mortgage Lifter Production

By far, the tallest tomato plant in the raised bed square foot garden is the indeterminate Mortgage Lifter. The trellis is 8'/2.4m tall and the plant bests that by another 1'/30.5cm.

It is not just all vegetation either. It was the first to produce a large ripe tomato. On July 6 a 13.7oz/388g tomato was harvested. Up to and including July 19, the total production of this variety has been 5.46lbs./2.5k.

The other tomato to produce anywhere near that weight in red deliciousness was Cherokee Purple. The first Cherokee Purple was harvested July 10 and has produced a total of 3.9lbs/1.785k in the same period. I have to say this tomato has the best taste of all those harvested to date.

At this time the one Mortgage Lifter is out producing all the other tomato varieties in my raised bed square foot garden beds. I like every bite of it.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Cute Cuke Growing Fast

What a difference a week makes.

July 11, 2013 baby cucumber. Cute little bugger.

July 18, 2013 toddler cucumber. My cute little bugger.

Its body will catch up to it's head. Won't it?

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Ripe Tomatoes - Slicing, Snacking or Salads

Two varieties of tomatoes were ripe on Sat., 13July.

Tami G, grape tomato and Mortgage Lifter.

I am weighing all the produce, as I did last year, and keeping a spreadsheet of dates and weights.

This handful weighed in at 14oz/397g. One slice covered a hamburger completely.

The total weight of Tami Gs was 11.28oz/320g. These babies are good just popped into the mouth as a snack with some cheese and fresh bread, kind of like a raw pizza.

Of course, both varieties would be good in salads.

A good harvest for this early in the growing season in USDA zone 6B.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Cute Cukes Destined To Be Eaten

Cucumber seeds were directly planted on 27 May. I saw the first baby cuke starting on 11 July. At my age, if my math skills are any good at all, it has taken 35 days from seed to cute little cuke. 

I may sound a little like Kronos, but I can't wait to eat my babies.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved