Plowing the fields

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!

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Garden 2011 - The Tomatoes

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

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 . . .

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Visiting the Mater Man

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!

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