Garden Update

The garden is growing.  We've been blessed with some rain this spring. We're lucky because it looks like we're headed for another very hot and very dry summer.


The Good

green beans


watermelon


tomatoes






I'm excited because it looks like my new tomato growing plan will have some success. I have baby tomatoes all over one of my plants. Another is covered in flowers that just opened this weekend, so more baby tomatoes are on their way.


The Bad


Those are the tomatoes in the self watering container. They grew so well in it last year, but this year they look awful. They look all shriveled and yellow and aren't growing big and lush. The few tomatoes that set are growing but that's it. You can see the difference between these and the ones in the raised beds in the background.

I first thought I was using too much water, so I let it go for while. Next, I thought not enough water. I tried epsom salts and organic tomato fertilizer. I just think I need to let them go. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the other two plants don't fail on me now.

I'm still trying to figure out when to harvest the onions I planted. I'm suppose to wait until the leaves fall over.  The necks are not as stiff so I think it might be soon.

Garden 2012, Early Edition

It is the last weekend of February and I'm taking the advice from the garden center tomato class. I planted tomatoes today.

I put two plants (brandywine, valley girl) in the raised beds I built.




I put one plant (supersweet 100) in the self watering container from last year.




I made a couple of adjustments to the swc. I cut several inches off and angled the end of the pvc tube for adding water to the container. It was sometimes difficult last year to fill it last year and I'm hoping those changes will improve things.




The strawberry plants are doing well. I moved them around to make room for the tomatoes. I hope it doesn't mess them up. A would really like to get strawberries this year.




The onions are hanging in there.






We had a freeze with rain a few weekends ago and, despite being covered, they weren't looking so good.  They are finally look a little less straggly.

tomato success

So far I would declare my self-watering container tomatoes a success.

Look at what I have growing already!



If this one tomato ripens, it will exceed the crop from last year.

I can tell as the temps get higher, the tomatoes are using more water. It is taking longer to fill the reservoir then it did even a week ago.

Now I just have to figure out how to trellis the plants so they don't grow into a massive jungle of tomatoes back there.

Tomatoes

I haven't had much luck with tomato plants the last few years. I think inconsistent watering was a big issue. I decided to try something different this year.

I followed these directions to make a self watering container for tomatoes.

Here is the process:

First bucket with bricks to create a reservoir.


Second bucket with glad container zip-tied in and hole for watering pole


Buckets stacked


Landscape fabric & watering pole added


Adding dirt in layers, watering in between


Planting with some fertilizer


Done


Water running out the weep holes so it doesn't overfill



I don't know if this will work or not but it is worth a try.