How Does Your Garden Grow?

Life Support

2011-06-23T05:13:00.000-07:00

Here it is late June, and my garden is once again showing signs of utter, total failure. I'm not posting pictures; I fear that the Department of Social Services Agricultural Division might see them and come out to confiscate. Truly, it could happen.

I sent a plea for help from Phil Wingard, "The Tomato Man" in the summer and the Edgefield Pottery guy in the off-season. "Dr. Phil" was kind enough to make a house call, and proclaimed my garden salvageable for the summer. (I have my doubts, but I will trust the Master of the Mater.)

Phil suggested that I may have fertilized too close to the plants. He said I should fertilze the soil between the plants, several inches away from the stem, to avoid "burning" the plants. He also said my soil may be nitrogen deficient, and prescribed Epson Salt. "Sprinkle some between the plants and water it in," he instructed. Then, he said, add some organic material. This morning I searched my natural areas and found some partially decomposed leaves. I avoided pine straw, remembering some advice a few years ago that pine wasn't ideal for the garden. So, now my garden is full of dead stuff (the organic material), with me hoping that the rest of it will live.

I have harvested a little this summer: two cayenne peppers, one miniscule green bell pepper, three jalapenos, and one tomato, a "Mortgage Lifter" heirloom that I sliced and ate for breakfast. I did not share.

Incidentally, if you want to try some of Phil's heirlooms, he just sold a bunch to Terra restaurant in Columbia. Or you could sneak into Phil's garden one night and take your chances with his pit bull, Daisy. I'm thinking Columbia is not so far away. :-)

Thanks for reading about my trials and tribulations in the garden. For blogs on OTHER fascinating subjects, including local restaurant reviews, you can visit Lake Wylie Information.

Garden Tragedy Averted

2011-06-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I mentioned a bit of concern over my tomato plants, which had some spotting on the leaves in recent weeks. I hypothesized that the condition was from too much rain . . . but luckily I asked for a second opinion! Tomato expert and Edgefield Pottery guru Phil Wingard informed me that the situation was quite dire! My plants had contracted a leaf canker -- which is highly contagious!

Phil advised me to remove the infected leaves immediately to prevent further spreading. He told me to either burn the leaves or put in the trash and haul far far away . . . Don't put them in your compost or simply drop them in the garden!

Phil told me that yellowing leaves are a sign of nitrogen deficiency, but when dark brown spots, surrounded by lighter brown inside the yellow appear, that is a sign of something much more sinister. After trimming all of the infected leaves off of my plants, I had quite a pile of debris:

Into the trash it went, and hopefully my plants are healthier and happier today. I suppose I need to be more vigilant on checking for irregularities. After all, tomatoes are at stake!

(Get it? Tomato stake?) Okay, so maybe I'll concentrate my efforts on botany instead . . .

Thanks for reading my blog. For more great Lake Wylie information and Lake Wylie homes for sale, visit the websites of my clients and friends!

The Secret of Neglect

2011-06-01T06:06:00.000-07:00

Here it is, six weeks after my last garden blog, and I have to admit that I've done precious little in my garden during that time. With a high school senior graduating later this week, our time has been spent during end of year concerts, trips, award ceremonies, etc. Not a lot of time to play in the dirt.

Considering out rain levels have resembled that of the Amazon, I certainly haven't had to water. I did spread some straw around my plants to hold the moisture in and protect them from the intense heat of the South. Recently I heard one of my neighbor's quip, "In July, they shut down Hell and just use South Carolina." Yeah, it can get hot.

Anyway, with no credit to me, my garden is actually doing quite well! I have fruit on most of my tomato plants, and have harvested one tiny yellow pear tomato, which I ate right off of the vine. My squash plants have gorgeous yellow flowers and several baby squash.

I've harvested some herbs, using dill, flat leaf parsley, and chives in some rather awesome potato salad for Memorial Day.

I do have a couple of concerts at this point: some of the leaves on my tomato plants are yellowing and spotted. Too much water, perhaps?

Also, my okra is nothing short of a disgrace. It is almost the same size as when I planted (about 4-6 inches tall). A couple of the plants are trying to produce okra, and it is pretty pitiful! Babies having babies. Todd Ames suggested that deer have been munching the okra plant leaves. I haven't seen any evidence of deer, but there have been some very suspicious bunnies in the area.

Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading my blog. For more Lake Wylie Information, and links to Lake Wylie Homes for Sale, visit the websites of my clients and friends! I'm going to contact Phil of Edgefield Pottery for some tomato advice. He'll know what to do about those spots!

Settling In

2011-04-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

It's always a bit tough getting used to a new home, right? After growing up in the greenhouse, it must be quite a change for all the little plants to get their own piece of earth in the garden. For the tomatoes, they had to adjust from the fine care of Tomato Man Phil, who inspires a "can grow" attitude amongst his proteges, to the cautiously hopeful ineptitude of, well, me. The rest of the plants, accustomed to the Lowe's landscape and garden staff who are constantly spritzing and kabitzing, have to adjust to the loneliness of Jan's garden. Not to mention the threat of rabbits, deer, slugs, and such. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Quite an adjustment, for sure. The first morning after planting, I checked on all of my charges and with the exception of the little okra plant that was puny from the get-go, they all looked good. Morning #2, however, a couple of okra plants looked like they had a rough night. Too much fertilizer, perhaps? Or perhaps separation anxiety? After all, the okra had about a dozen plants in the same pot when I bought them. I had to separate them like Siamese twins - - a tricky procedure, indeed. I watered the okra, left for work, and hoped for the best.

Forecast for tomorrow thru the weekend - - rain and storms. We'll see what these little plants are made of. Live strong.

Thanks for reading my blog. For more about Lake Wylie waterfront, Edgefield Pottery, Lake Wylie dock building and stuff like that, visit the websites of my friends and clients!

Plants in da ground

2011-04-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Plants in da ground . . . plants in da ground . . . whatcha gonna do 'bout my plants in da ground . . . lookin' kinda cool with my plants in da ground . . .

It was a gorgeous day in Lake Wylie, and yes, I got my plants in da ground. Tomatoes, basil, bell peppers, hot peppers, okra squash, cukes, a few herbs. I worked all day long, and might not be able to move enough to type tomorrow, so I figured I'd better get this blog written el pronto.

I planted a total of 14 tomato plants, all heirlooms, courtesy of Edgefield Pottery dealer and Tomato Man Phil. First in the ground was the Ibis Candy Cherry, which promises to have a sweet, candy-like flavor. They are bi-colored cherries, not particularly prolific (which means I'll probably get about two), but the flavor is supposed to be wonderful. Next were Yellow Pears (also miniature sized, have done well for me in the past). I planted a Limmony Tomato next, a beautiful yellow, Russian beefsteak with a tangy taste. I put it next to the tiny yellow pear, so they could keep one another company. Kind of a mentor type relationship.

I planted one of Phil's very own heirlooms this year, Phil's Pink Strawberry. It's a brandywine tomoato (pinkish in color), shaped like a strawberry. It doesn't sound like a very manly tomato, but I'm all about equal opportunity in the garden.

Speaking of, I planted a trio of tomatoes, the Great White, the Black Giant, and Jaune Flammee. I thought I had African American, White, and Hispanic all together in perfect harmony, until I hit the internet and saw that what Phil spelled as "Juan" was actually "Jaune", so there goes my attempt.

A newbie in my garden this year is Mr. Stripey, also known as Tigerella. Considering I have a Tiger-to-be at Clemson this fall, this is a perfect choice! This tomato has a mix of yellow and red, and is nothing short of the coolest dude in the garden. Can't wait to see him!

Then, just to stretch my spelling skills, I added a Czechoslovakian tomato called a Stupice (pronounced stu-peach-ka), which is supposed to produce very early, and very much. You'll have to Czech it out!

Next to the Czech, I planted the Russian Emerald Apple, a gorgeous green fruit producing plant. I hope Russians and Czech's get along. Otherwise, I'm sure I'll be hearing stuff like, "Hey, Stupe! What kind of name is that!" and similar taunts out in the garden. Oy, vey.

I planted some cucumbers next to the dill, hoping they'd cross pollinate and produce pickles. Always looking for a short cut. I planted some cayenne pepper and tabasco peppers for Jimmy, and two rows of okra for my Southern daughter Rachel. It's gonna be a good summer!

Thanks for reading my blog. I'm going to go take some Advil, because I'm feeling every muscle in my body protest over a hard day in the fields. I've got to be ready for a full week of Lake Wylie real estate work with The Lake Wylie Man. Happy trails!

Plowing the fields

2011-04-17T05:15:00.000-07:00

My dear husband tilled and hoed the lower 40 yesterday. (The lower 40 square feet, that is . . . ) That is particularly impressive if you consider that he is a strict meat-itarian, and shuns most vegetation, including the Almighty Tomato. Yet each year he tills the soil and hoes the rows so that I can play in the dirt. Is that true love, or what?

The wind was brutal yesterday, and I wasn't able to get much planting done. We had 4 ft swells in the cove, and that's pretty amazing considering we have about 2' water depth. I'm talking that wind was STRONG. I tried to plant some parsley seeds and they blew all over tarnation. I suspect my neighbor across the cove may have a lovely crop of Italian flat leaf parsley this year.

We did visit Lowe's during the torrential rain yesterday. Purchased a 75' soaker hose for the tomato plants, some organic fertilizer and compost, and another hundred dollars worth of stuff while we wandered around the place waiting for the rain to subside a bit. We decided that shopping at Lowe's during a heavy rainstorm was equivalent to grocery shopping when hungry. Not a good idea if watching the budget.

This morning has dawned sunny and beautiful, and the trees are still . . . so happily I should get my garden planted!

Thanks for reading my blog. To read more about Lake Wylie real estate, or Edgefield Stoneware Pottery, or fire damage repair and other completely unrelated topics, please visit the websites of my delightful clients and friends!

Garden 2011 - The Tomatoes

2011-04-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I made my annual trek to the sprawling half acre ranch of the Tomato Man, Phil Wingard. It was time to pick up the heirloom tomato plants that he has been nurturing for a couple of months, growing them from carefully harvested seeds from last year's crop. Phil started the seeds indoors, then transfered the seedlings to his greenhouse outdoors. He put a couple hundred plants in his garden in late March, and covered them up to weather thru the frosts that we've had since then.

I like to wait until the danger of frost is gone, because I am challenged enough when it comes to gardening! So after a couple of weeks of short sleeved weather, I felt it safe to pick up my plants. Phil set me up with a dozen various heirlooms, plus two bonus plants. I then visited the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden to find some herbs to add to my herb garden. With a very busy weekend ahead, I wasn't able to plant anything and set everything on my screened porch.

As it turned out, how lucky was I! Saturday evening the Lake Wylie area was absolutely hammered with some thunderstorms, hail, and high winds. Phil lost only a few tomato plants in his garden, but one of his customers, who planted two dozen on Friday afternoon, lost his whole crop.

I'm planning to get my tomatoes into the ground some time this week. Phil gave me detailed instructions. For each plant, I am to dig a deep hole. If the ground is dry, I should fill the hole with water and let it soak into the earth, until there is no standing water in the hole. Then I am to add about 3 tablespoons of organic fertilizer, a scoop of organic compost, and mix it well. I am then to add about 2" compost so the roots of the tomatoes do not come in direct contact with the fertilizer and "burn".

The tomato should be buried up to its neck. The plants are now about 12-15" tall, and all but the top quarter should be buried. The buried portion will become part of the root system.

Phil told me that I should be careful not to overwater, as the nutrients would all wash away and I'd get very little fruit. (Could have been my problem in years past!) Instead, I should only water when the plants look droopy in the morning. It is common, after a hot summer day in the South, for plants to droop at the end of the day. If the plants are still drooping the next morning, then it is time to water.

Phil also told me that tomatoes prefer to be watered at the base, and a drip hose is ideal. I'll give that a try this year. I've always watered with a sprinkler, figuring it was the same as rain. But considering my crop usually yields about 8 tomatoes, and Phil's yields about 4000, maybe he's on to something.

Stay tuned!

Phil Wingard is not only an expert on tomatoes, but also on Edgefield Stoneware and Pottery. Read more blogs about Lake Wylie living and gardening , plus other topics of great facination. Thanks for reading!

Making the Most of Compost

2011-02-23T05:24:00.001-08:00

I don't know if my title is appropriate, but it rhymed, so I'm going with it. I paid a visit to the Tomato Man (Phil Wingard) a couple of weeks ago, and he showed me this summer's crop, in its infancy stage in his greenhouse. Future BLT's growing all over the place, what a sight!

I've been working on a website for Phil, not for his prized heirloom tomatoes, but for another one of his passions, Edgefield Pottery. It has been fun learning about vintage Southern potters like Dave the Slave, Thomas Chandler, and others. Phil showed me some fascinating pieces of pottery in his gallery, including a "ring jug" that field hands used to carry into the cotton fields while they worked. These jugs fit over their shoulders, like a sling, and were filled with water to parch their thirst.

Anyway, back to the tomatoes. Phil asked me what I had done for my soil lately. I proudly told him how I'd saved vegetable scraps and coffee grounds, then dumped them into my garden during the winter. "That's not so good," Phil told me.

Composting, he explained, is a little more involved than simply dumping kitchen scraps into the garden. Proper compost needs a mixture of dry and green, nitrogen and carbon. Phil showed me his 2-compartment compost bin. He dumps vegetable scraps (nitrogen, green) into one side, along with dry leaves (carbon). He then turns the bin every couple of days or so. When one side of the bin is full (leaving room to turn and mix), he begins filling the second compartment. After a few weeks, the first compartment mixture had transformed into lush compost. He empties compartment one, stops adding to compartment two, and repeats the process.

Inspired, I went to Lowes and purchased a compost bin. Mine is just one compartment, so I'll need to fill it, then leave it for about three weeks (turning regularly but not adding any additional material.)

We'll see how it goes! Stay tuned . . .

Thanks for reading! For more blogs on Lake Wylie living, gardening, and Lake Wylie waterfront real estate, visit LakeWylieInformation.com.

Month-by-Month Guide to Lawn & Garden

2011-01-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

Great article in The Charlotte Observer this week, written by Nancy Brachey, providing a month-by-month list of lawn and garden activities for our area & climate. I'll summarize for a quick "to-do" list:

January

Check flower beds to make sure no perennials have dislodged.
As daffodil tips emerge, fertilize ground with 10-10-10.

February

Prune evergreens (laurel, holly, boxwoods, etc. to improve shape & size.
Cut back monkey grass w/ shears or lawn mower.
Fertilize fescue grass.
Prep garden area with organic fertilizer.

March

Set out broccoli, cabbage, and sow seeds of cool weather peas.
Cover young plants on very cool nights with a sheet or milk jug (bottom cut out)

April

Sow seeds of green beans, melons, corn, cukes, and squash.
Set out tomatoes and peppers mid-month. (Later if chilly)

May

Plant flowers and vegetables in beds and containers.
Okra, lima beans should be planted now.
Plant grits.
Just kidding about the grits. Wanted to see if you were paying attention.

June

Pick ripe vegetables to keep plants productive. Keep careful watch!
Deadhead annuals and perennials after first big flush of bloom.
Plant summer annuals to fill in.

July

Water regularly through hot dry weeks. (Avoid heat of the day for watering).

August

Begin planning & planting fall vegetables (lettuce, spinach, beets, broccoli, collards)

September

Renew your lawn. Rack, aerate, seed and fertilize.

October

Plant bulbs for spring.
Plant pansies, snapdragons, hardy perennials.
Dig, divide and replant crowded daylilies, daisies, other perennials.

November

Plant new shrubs and trees.
Fertilize fescue.

December

Use cuttings of evergreens in wreaths and flower arrangements.

Thanks for reading my blog! Leave comments for other lawn and gardening tasks, and I'll add them to the list. For more blogs about Lake Wylie living, gardening, Lake Wylie real estate, and Southern wisdom, please visit TheLakeWylieMan.com.

Words Cannot Describe . . .

2010-06-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

It's time to face facts. Words such as bountiful, prolific, abundant, and thriving simply do not describe my garden. It is a darn good thing that my family doesn't depend on my farming skills to put food on the table each night. If that were so, words like tragic, unfortunate, sorry charlie, and too bad so sad would come in to play.

My plants are scraggly. Puny. I didn't realize how much until I visited Todd Ames this weekend. He had tomato plants six feet tall, industrial sized stakes needed, thank you very much, to hold up the bounty of fruit being produced. I coveted. I know thou shalt not, but I did. If I tried to tell you I did not, I would be lying, which is another thou shalt not, so I'm kinda stuck on this one.

I have harvested a few cherry sized tomatoes, and a couple of ping-pong ball sized ones. If not for the generosity of my neighbors and mama, I might be tomato starved this summer.

I can't understand it. I prepped the soil. I've mulched, not watered, then watered. Slapped on some Miracle-Gro when things got really desperate. (Sorry, oh organic ones. I have fallen short of the glory.) And yet, puny.

I've given you sunshine, I've given you rain, you've given me nothing, but heartache and pain! I'm begging you sweetly, I'm asking you please, please, grow for me!

Who knows how much longer this garden blog will go on this summer, but take heart. You can read my Lake Wylie restaurant reviews, and other blogs on Lake Wylie living and real estate. Thanks for reading!

No Bugs, just Slugs

2010-06-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

Whew, it has been hot hot hot this past week. I feel like I'm on the deck of a Carribean cruise ship with the bongo band, "Hot hot hot!"

We've had a sprinkle or two w/ the thunderstorms, but I've had to water the garden about every other day. The plants, in general, are not as robust this year. I do have some fruit on the vine, though, so I can't complain too much!

My pepper plants are TINY, yet they have peppers growing (albeit one at a time!) to maturity. Kind of like babies having babies. Wonder if there's a teenage pregnancy center for garden plants?

I plucked a DingWall Scotty (tomato) today - - about as big as a golf ball, very light red in color. Not sure if it was ripe, but it seemed to want to come inside.

My squash plants are in TROUBLE. I began to suspect late last week that something was gnawing on their roots, as they seemed to be perishing from the roots up. This morning I spotted a SLUG making its way over to the squash. I grabbed a sturdy leaf and hurried over. (HA! Just kidding. I sauntered over and still beat the sorry creature.)

I carefully put the slug on the leaf, then balanced him gently over to the driveway, where I placed him in the soothing shade of the tire of my husband's pick up truck. Right where he'd get squashed. (Seemed appropriate, given the condition of my squash.)

I know, I know, God's little creature, right? Whatev. I'm thinking God created the slug when He was peeved at Eve.

So that's what happening in the garden. Stay cool.

Thanks for reading my blog. For more stories about Lake Wylie, plus a complete guide to Lake Wylie Events and Activities, visit The Lake Wylie Man website!

Is it June already?

2010-06-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, end of the school year festivities, chaperoning the Choralier trip, graduation, etc. have left me little time for the garden. Thank goodness we've had lots of rain. Everything has survived my neglect!

I went out early this morning, and found that while we were involved in graduation festivites, the garden was having a festival of its own. Weeds were rampant, and some of the tomato plants were growing in rather unruly fashion. It was definitely time to cage 'em up - - actually I think it was time about a MONTH ago. It was a bit of a struggle putting the wire cages over the plants to stake them up. Kind of like putting a snow suit on a wiggly toddler. Unfortunately, I broke a couple of fruitful branches trying to set the wire around the plants.

I've picked a couple of yellow cherry tomatoes so far (from the Lowe's hybrid plant . . . ) Several of the heirlooms have fruit growing now, while others are pretty bare. I'm going to take inventory tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!

Deer? Oh, Dear!

2010-04-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

The garden is growing quite nicely, and nothing has died at this point!! I was a bit concerned about the Marizold Red tomato plant - - it yellowed shortly after planting. I think it just had an upset tummy, though, from a little too much compost. You gotta watch those young 'uns when they've just left the greenhouse . . . they are prone to overindulge.

Meanwhile, the deer have been feasting over at my Mama's garden (just around the corner from me), so I've taken precautions. When we planted, both Mama and I bought deer repellent kits from Lowe's - - little canisters that see on top of a wire post (see photo). The repellent is supposed to last ALL season, and contain a scent that is not detectable to humans, but deer find it quite frightening. Guess my mama has brave deer.

She strung up some pie plates in her garden to beef up the security. (I dunno about you, but I can't figure out why deer would be skeered of pie.)

I've been encouraging my dog to "mark" around the garden. He isn't always cooperative, and doesn't understand that I don't want him to whiz ON the tomato plants, just NEAR them. So I enlisted my husband and son. I figured that Jimmy (my son) used to go in the yard all the time when he was younger . . . so why not now? Ah, life in the country. Fighting deer with my dears.

Stay tuned for more facinating progress in the garden! For more blogs, check out Lake Wylie Living blogs on The Lake Wylie Man.

And It Begins - Garden 2010

2010-04-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

I got a call from The Tomato Man on Saturday, and the word was: It's time to plant! I headed over to his half acre farm - - it's a town farm - - and found him and a teen aged helper digging in the dirt. By the end of the day, he'd have a couple hundred tomatoes in the ground.

My aspirations were much more modest - - I asked for twelve plants, well behaved and prolific, if you please. I don't want a repeat of '08, when I had the most beautiful plants of all time, and like, three tomatoes the entire season.

We stepped into Phil's 4'x8' greenhouse, filled to the rafters with eighty (80!!) varieties of heirloom and specialty hybrid plants. Phil raises these youngsters first in his kitchen, then moves to the greenhouse once weather permits. He rotates them religiously, up and down the shelves, to the front, to the back, checking their progress several times a day.

Phil carefully selected a dozen plants for me, explaining the characteristics of each as he placed them in a box. "This one dates back to Thomas Jefferson," he'd say. Not sure what that means to me and my BLT, except I might be eating the same salad as a signer of the Declaration of Independence, which is pretty darn cool in my book.

At the end of my visit, I went home with a Great White (big & white, just like the name), a Brandy Glick (some sort of Bradywine variety), an "Earl of Edgecomb" (a particularly flavorful orange heirloom), a "Ferris Wheel" (looks like a ferris wheel when you cut into it!), a "Marizold Red" (Phil had never tried, but said you couldn't go wrong with a Marizold family heirloom), a "Ding Wall Scotty" (a mid-sized red that grows in clusters), a "Pineapple Fog" (hybrid mixing a Pineapple yellow tomato and a San Francisco Fog), a "Mule Team" (like a work horse, keeps on producing and producing!!), and a Limmony (light yellow in color).

Twenty-four hours later, after my sweet husband plowed up my garden, I had the tomatoes plus a few assorted peppers buried up to their little necks in my garden, wondering what happened to the Holiday Greenhouse Spa and Resort. I planted them just as the Tomato Man Phil instructed me last year - - deep hole, a shovel full of organic compost, about a gallon of water, then plant the tomato up to its neck, burying a good 2/3 of the vine and leaves. I won't have to water for about a week.

I've checked on my garden each evening after working all day with the Lake Wylie real estate man, David Coone. With this warm weather, we're staying quite busy! Check on my other blogs about Lake Wylie waterfront and living in Lake Wylie on TheLakeWylieMan.com. Have a glorious day!

Visiting the Mater Man

2008-09-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

As the growing season comes to a close, I paid a visit to Phil (a.k.a. the "Mater Man"), who supplied me with the heirloom tomato plants this summer. I got to see his greenhouse, where my little plants were born, and got to visit with all of my tomatoes' relatives in Phil's garden. Phil and his wife showed me their composter, and I was duly impressed!

By the way - - the picture to the left is a picture of SOME of Phil's harvest . . . just a bit more bountiful than mine, I'd say. Must be something to that composting!!

I also got to see some of Phil's pottery collection - - turns out he's a collector & trader of antique Edgefield Stoneware, pots made by Dave the Slave, and rare Catawba Valley pottery. Quite a fun & enlightening visit!

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day!

Thanks for reading my blog! For Lake Wylie, Rock Hill, Fort Mill, and Tega Cay Events and Activities, please visit my website, TheLakeWylieMan.com. Your source for Lake Wylie waterfront real estate and more!

Bountiful Harvest

2008-08-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend, and the garden has ceased its labors. I took advantage of the recent rains and damp ground to pull up tomato vines, pepper plants, and other garden fauna that has stopped producing.

I did enjoy what little tomato crop I had this year (I think a total of 10 full sized tomatoes.) While I was disappointed in the amount of fruit produced by my 8, count 'em 8, heirloom tomato plants, I fully enjoyed the tomatoes that I did harvest!

The Kellogg's Breakfast (orange in color) were by far my favorite. Sweet, low acidity, and absolutely delicious! I think I had one Paul Robeson - - a purplish, black tomato with a rich flavor. The Giant Delicious were a Giant Disappointment with zero tomatoes produced. The plant looked gorgeous, however! Omar's Lebanese was also a no-show.

I did have about a gazillion little yellow cherry tomatoes from a plant I never identified (its name was illegible). They were lots of fun, and I even had enough to share a few. Next year, I've been told to add phosphorous to the soil. I'll give it a whirl, but I think I'm going to throw in a few "Better Boys" for good measure. Maybe they won't be as tempermental!

Happy Harvest!

Thanks for reading my blog! For Lake Wylie, Rock Hill, Fort Mill, and Tega Cay Events and Activities, please visit my website, TheLakeWylieMan.com. Your source for Lake Wylie waterfront real estate and more!

There's always August

2008-07-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

I was walking down the drive after retrieving the mail yesterday, and caught a glimpse of RED amongst the leaves of my tomato plants. Excitedly, I picked up the pace to see if I had missed some miracle of nature and somehow had ripe fruit on the vines. As I got closer, I realized that I was seeing the red wheelbarrow that my husband parked in my garden. Oh well. At least I had a moment of hope.

Meanwhile, I have a (as in ONE) fist sized tomato on the "Kellogg's Breakfast" plant. Ultimately it should turn yellow/orange. My daughter has been eyeing it for a dish of fried green tomatoes, but with the lack of production of this crop, that ain't happening.

My mystery tomato plant has a bunch of marble-sized tomatoes now. I guess the "vibrating" and "suckering" is paying off, at last. I really don't know what this variety is, however. I couldn't decipher the label. I think "Mater Man Phil" might need to pay a house call! Maybe I can get him to bring some tomatoes as well . . .

Thanks for reading my blog. If you'd like to read more, please visit my Gardening in Lake Wylie blog, Events and Activities in Lake Wylie, and other blogs about living in Lake Wylie and Lake Wylie Real Estate.

Bunch of "Suckers"

2008-06-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

In my ongoing investigation of the fruitlessness of my heirloom tomatoes, I was recently asked the question, "Have you suckered your plants?" Say what? Turns out that the nutrients of the tomato plant can be misdirected to LEAVES instead of FRUIT, and the gardener needs to trim off perfectly healthy branches so that fruit will grow!

Here I was PROUD that my plants looked so beautiful and full - - and now I find out that I need to whack the branches off. Last week I was shaking my plants, this week I'm mutilating the branches! My tomato plants are beginning to regard me with quite a bit of apprehension!

Stay tuned.

For more insight about gardening and living in Lake Wylie, please visit our Lake Wylie living and real estate website!

Malfunctioning Pollinator?

2008-06-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

Some of my tomato plants are up to 5 feet tall, and it would be nice if I were looking eye to eye with ripening tomatoes. While I have lots and lots of blooms, however, the emergence of fruit is not forthcoming! I'm getting a little concerned, quite frankly.

Since I've had blooms on the plants for a couple of weeks, I am a bit concerned about pollination. My father told me that tomatoes are self-pollinating, which means they don't need bees. He also told me that commercial growers use little vibrators on the tomato plants to speed up the pollination process. I am not making this up. It sounded very wierd to me, so I went to Google, and sure enough, tomato vibrators.

So, for the past couple of days, I've gone out to the garden and given each of my tomato plants a gentle little shake. I try to do it early in the morning, in a very nonchalant manner. Don't want the neighbors talking.

This morning, I read in the paper that the recent heat wave may have inhibited pollination among tomato plants. Not sure how to remedy that one. If any of y'all have advice, please advise away!

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First BLT of the season!

2008-06-05T05:10:00.000-07:00

I could wait no longer, and fixed a BLT for breakfast this morning. Put it on an English muffin, which made it breakfasty. That way the breakfast police would let it pass - - not like I was eating a plate of spaghetti or something.

Anyway, before you get all excited, I'll have to admit that I used a STORE-BOUGHT tomato. I know, the horrors. It was actually one of those "cluster" tomatoes, you know, the kind that have four or five small tomatoes, still connected on the vine. Gorgeous color of red. Now, I'm worldly enough to know that those tomatoes were probably as green as Herman Munster when the vine was snipped. But that way, once they do turn red, the tomatoes can be advertised as "vine ripened." Tricky marketing people.

You know, now that I think about it, what happens to the productivity of the plant once the vine has been brutally severed? Wait a minute! I think I'm developing a moral objection to cluster tomatoes! Holy oregano! I never thought about it before.

So, now that I'm not buying any more cluster tomatoes ("Save the Tomato Plants! Stop Senseless Sever-ation!"), I guess I'll have to wait until my tomatoes ripen. After I write my congressman.

I do have some cherry tomatoes coming along nicely. Then again, they might be "grape" tomatoes. I never heard of grape tomatoes until just a few years ago. Wonder how they came about. Maybe the Grape Growers Group (GGG) decided that cherries were getting all the attention - - what with Cherry Tomatoes, Cherry Coke, hot fudge sundaes ("Would you like a cherry with that?"), and Santa Claus with his dimples (how merry) and nose like a cherry. My guess is, the GGG had just had it and started promoting GRAPE tomatoes. Like we wouldn't see through it. HA.

Well, enough rambling for today. I will tell you that my Breakfast BLT was quite delicious, with the English muffin toasted just so, and the perfect amount of Duke's mayo (gotta be the Duke). The tomatoes were merely satisfactory, nowhere near exemplary. That will come, my friends. Good fruit is coming!

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Fruit of the Mater Man

2008-05-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

I got an email from MaterMan Phil, and he sent along some pictures of his heirlooms. I feel so much better now! I thought he was over there munching on BLT's already, but as it turns out, his tomatoes are all still green! The pictures above are of his Costuloto Genovese tomato (an Italian varietal with scalloped edges!) and Julia Child's.

Thanks for sharing, Phil!

The Matter of the 'Maters

2008-05-29T05:12:00.000-07:00

I received an email yesterday from the "'Mater Man", reporting on the fruitfulness of his heirloom tomatoes. Ranging from poor to excellent, the different heirlooms are faring mixed results in our South Carolina climate. I'm a little alarmed, because I can't comment AT ALL on the fruitfulness of my plants, as they, well, haven't yet produced fruit.

They're looking very healthy, nice and green, and I've got to be happy about THAT. After all, some years the only thing my garden has produced is laughter. (And not from me! Thank you very much.) A few years ago, after he stopped laughing, my friend Todd enlightened me a bit on soil prep. The following year I followed his instructions carefully, and had the Best Garden Ever. (At least by my standards.)

Last year the drought pretty much wiped everything out, so this year I'm encouraged to at least have green in my garden. The tomatoes do have some flower buds, so fruit is sure to follow, right? I really am looking forward to a tomato basil omelette. In fact, some "volunteer" basil plants have sprouted right in the shadows of the tomato plants. How convenient is that?

My garden is not totally without fruit thus far. I do have some peppers growing on my tiny little pepper plants. The little plants are not really sturdy enough to support the peppers at this point. Maybe there was no education about teenage pregnancy in pepper school. I am concerned about them, for sure.

Then there's the matter of the Sweet Orange peppers, that at this point look suspiciously like jalapenos. Maybe some jokester at Lee's Landscaping mixed them up?

The mint patch looks great. Of course, the mint patch ALWAYS looks great. How tough is it to grow mint? (Answer: Not. How tough is it to KILL mint? Answer: Entirely a different story.)

So, perhaps I should try a mint omelette?

Advice welcome. See more posts about Lake Wylie living on Lake Wylie's premier waterfront real estate site, www.TheLakeWylieMan.com.

Herb it thru the grapevine

2008-05-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

I hit the Herb Barn for the third - - no, fourth time this year - - on Saturday. Cathy was having a half price sale, and I couldn't resist. I bought a couple of sage plants, some more lamb's ear, and a little more thyme. You never want to run out of thyme.

This year, I planted some of my most used herbs in a large pot next to my deck, so they're very accessible for cooking. Dill, parsley (both Italian flat leaf & curly), and culantro are growing there. Culantro is a cousin of cilantro - - very similar flavor, but it doesn't go to seed. It lasts all season long and is very hardy. I can't wait to make salsa when my tomatoes ripen!

In the garden, I have basil, stevia and burnet. Burnet is a salad herb with a taste that resembles cucumber. I bought it last year at the Herb Barn, thinking it was an annual. As it turns out, the plant stayed green all winter long! We just tilled around it when turning the garden this spring. I guess it's a keeper!

Stevia is supposed to be a perennial, but I've never been successful in keeping it alive through the winter. Stevia is a natural sweetner, 300 times as sweet. One tablespoon is equivalent to one cup of sugar! No calories, no chemicals. I like to pluck a leaf and eat it right off the plant. Paired with mint, it's like a stick of gum. Paired with my pineapple sage, it has the delightful flavor of a pina colada! Paired with rosemary, it's just weird.

In my landscaping areas, I grow perennials such as rosemary (my plant is 7 years old and HUGE), mint, oregano, sage, thyme, and a few others. Pineapple sage has a wonderful flavor, plus has gorgeous red flowers in late summer that attract butterflies.

This year I added a couple of St. John's Wort plants in my flower bed. It blooms little yellow rose-like buds. I asked Cathy at the Herb Barn if I could eat the leaves and get happy, but she said "We don't promote medicinal uses, just culinary." Oh well. I figure the little yellow flowers will make me happy anyway.

The Herb Barn (York, SC) is closing for the summer this year. Cathy's going on vacation! She'll reopen in the fall, and will host her traditional craft fair on Thanksgiving weekend. If you hurry, you can still pick up some half price plants this year, but only through the end of May.

So herby up!

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Memorializing the Garden

2008-05-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Since tomorrow is Memorial Day, I figure it is appropriate to share some memories about my Granddaddy's garden, since after all, he was a WWII vet.

As long as I can remember, my Grandfather had a garden. I'm quite sure that in many years, the garden was a key source of food, not merely a hobby. He grew the basics: tomatoes, cukes, squash, beans, corn, okra, potatoes.

Somebody really has to not mind work to grow potatoes. Dig, plant, wait, dig. How do you know when they're the right size? No clue. I'd probably try digging them when they were the size of peanuts. I'm thinking $2.89 for a 5-lb bag of potatoes at Bi-lo ain't a bad deal.

My grandmother canned and pickled and froze stuff, of course. I've never figured out canning and pickling. I fear the pressure cooker. Mason jars intimidate the life out of me. I always figured I'd start canning when I was forty-something, but it hasn't happened yet, and I'm not thinking it will.

I remember visiting my grandparents in the summer time, and sitting out in the back yard with a bowl of beans to snap, or a box of corn to shuck. The beans weren't too bad, but the corn was risky. You never knew when you were going to pull off the husk and find a big ol' juicy worm. Ew!

Granddaddy always grew watermelons, too. Watermelons were one of my favorite things about summer (still are!). We'd always take one to "the river" (that's what we called Lake Wylie in those days), and of course to Myrtle Beach. If we went to the beach early in the summer, we'd have to hit a fruit stand to make the necessary purchase, as the melons wouldn't ripen in my Granddaddy's garden until late July or August.

Once, when my mother & uncle were just kids, the watermelons were just tiny little things when the family left for their annual trip to the beach. My uncle was eager to get home to see how "his" watermelons had grown. My grandfather was a bit of a prankster, and bought the largest watermelon he could find and attached it to the vine back home. When my uncle went out to inspect the garden, he thought there had been a miracle! It was only after the watermelon was "picked" that my uncle noticed the 39 cent price written on the bottom . . .

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. By the way, Bi-Lo has seedless watermelons for just $2.99 this weekend. You know I bought one!

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Week one & nothing's dead!

2008-05-10T05:12:00.000-07:00

My garden has made it through the first week, hallelujah! We've had a spit of rain, nothing substantial. Tony (my husband) finally got our irritation system working . . . and hopefully it will hit the garden in all the right spots.

Meanwhile, last night I watered everything by hand. We had a bunch of teenagers over, and I didn't want the yard wet because it would end up in my house. 'Course it did anyway - - teenagers have a way of doing that.

Anyway, I know my plants Felt The Love as I lugged watering can after watering can over to my garden, dousing each plant Just So.

Julia Child (one of the heirloom tomatoes) was looking rather puny at the first of the week, but she's perking up a bit now. I thought she was a goner.

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Heirloom Tomatoes

2008-05-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

There's quite a buzz around local farmer's markets and nurseries about heirloom tomatoes. Exactly what is an heirloom tomato, and what makes it so? Wikipedia says, "An heirloom tomato is an open-pollinated (non-hybrid) tomato. Heirloom tomatoes have become increasingly popular and more readily available in recent years." There is a debate on how old these seeds must be. "Some say the seeds must be over 100 years old, others 50 years, and others prefer the date of 1945 which marks the end of World War II and roughly the beginning of widespread hybrid use by growers and seed companies."

Regardless, heirloom tomatoes have a reputation of the tastiest on the planet, and have colorful stories to go along with their colorful names. I have a couple of friends who have nurtured a crop of heirloom varieties bearing such names as "Kellogg's Breakfast", "Mortgage Lifter", "Omar's Lebanese" and "Soldacki". I was the lucky recipient of ten varieties, and have planted them in my garden. Harvest time will be quite an adventure, as the tomatoes are all different shapes, sizes, and colors.

Google is my friend, so I do a little research to figure out what to look for in ripeness. I could, for example, wait an eternity for the traditional red color, only to learn that my plant yields orange fruit.

The Kellogg's Breakfast, for instance, is a yellow-orange beefsteak tomato with a fantastic sweet, tangy flavor. The Soldacki is a Polish, potato leaf plant that yields dark pink fruit, described as intensly lucious. Omar's Lebanese produces giant, 3 pound tomatoes with a rich pink hue. Julia Childs are lightly fluted (whatever THAT means??) with robust flavor. Hmmmm . . .

Then theres the Paul Robeson: a Russian heirloom named after the operatic artist who won acclaim as an advocate of equal rights for Blacks. This "black" beefsteak tomato has deep, rich colors that stand it apart from others. Very flavorful with "earthy, exotic flavors". It originated in Siberia, however, which I believe has a climate vastly different than South Carolina. We'll see how this one fares!

Then I have a couple of plants that are total mysteries, because I couldn't read the labels. No worries. My garden typically has a few surprises, because I like to grow exotic things and have a tendancy to forget what I plant.

I am so excited about my garden this year! Pray for rain, and stay tuned!

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Gardening with a Notso Green Thumb

2008-05-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

I've had my own garden now for twenty-some-odd years, and I have to admit that I'm not particulaly gifted in this area. However, hope springs eternal. There are not many things on this earth better than a tomato basil omelette made with just-picked home grown tomatoes and fresh grown basil. And a BLT, perfectly toasted, with a touch of Duke's mayo? Heaven on earth, my friends. I'm not alone in this opinion. I remember hearing a country song years ago, "The only two things that money cain't buy are true love and home grown tomatoes!"

So each year, I continue to try. I buy the plants, plant 'em, stake 'em, fertilize 'em, mulch 'em. One year I calculated that I spent about $83 on each tomato that I harvested.

I have had a decent crop or two. Thanks to a mother & a few friends who actually know what they're doing, I've received some sage advice and managed to do things right on occasion.

Speaking of sage, I have found that herbs are perhaps the most forgiving crops. I grow a few in my garden (basil, chives, parsley stevia), and use some in "landscaping areas" (rosemary, oregano, lavendar, thyme, sage, and the ever prolific mint). I use many of the herbs in cooking, and grow some for their visual appeal or novelty. That's a blog of its own.

Back to the main garden patch. This year, I'm excited to be growing several varieties of heirloom tomatoes, several varieties of peppers, some cukes and zuchinni, and a solitary watermelon plant for which I have high hopes.

Stay tuned.

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