So here are two of the four raised beds, as of this weekend. They are growing very well, and I didn't realize how much until I saw some pics I took right after I planted them. Anyway, here are the first two:
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| 4x8 Tomato raised bed |
Above is the tomato bed (I don't think I've posted a pic of it yet). We put them in the 4x8 bed. There are six plants growing...five tomatoes and one tomatillo (that counts, right? LOL). We've got two heirloom cherry tomatoes, the "Texas Wild Cherry" and the "Black Cherry", then we planted two tomato plants called "Homestead 24". They are heat and humidity tolerant and even drought resistant, so with our hot Summers, thought that might work well. Then I'm trying an heirloom called "Black Krim". I know nothing about it other than the beautiful fruit it produces. Then there is the "tomatillo". Love those in salsa.
All of them have flowers on them so, at this point, so far so good!
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| 4x4 Squash raised bed |
This was one of the most recent projects. It's one of the new beds I built this year and the last irrigated bed. I had to add soil to it so I put in some good organic soil and compost and stirred it all up. This bed will only have two plants and from what I've heard, that might be one too many, ha. They get big and spread out but we'll take our chances...with a "zucchini" and an heirloom "yellow crookneck squash". They also have blooms on them so they are happy.
Later today, I'll have an update of the other two beds.
your garden is wonderful! you can grow those squash on cages to keep them off the ground and to give them more room. i will once again try zucchini but something always eats the blossoms.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Its small, for now, but it's hopefully going to produce some veggies (or is that produce some produce? ha, gotta love the English language). Finger crossed!!
DeleteLOVE Black Krim and Black Cherry! These are my "must haves" for several years now! Black Krim has smocky sweetness that is heavenly with mozzarella and balsamic, and Black Cherry are my substitute for candy in summer :)
ReplyDeleteWell I'm glad to hear that. I sort of got them on a whim. I just hope they do well in our climate. Thanks for the validation that I made the right choice. :-)
DeleteI have to grow all my tomatoes under glass here. I've never tried a tomatillo, one to grow in the future.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, I bet they are good good!! Tomatillo is sort of like a tomato but I don't think it's related to them. They have a papery husk and make a killer salsa! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteYour garden is just beautiful! You have done such a wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteI love heirloom tomatoes - the different varieties and tastes can't be bought in a grocery store! I once saw a picture in a magazine of various heirloom tomatoes in a bowl - it was gorgeous!
BTW - have you ever planted the little yellow pear tomatoes? They are so cute. And so delicious that only half of the ones I pick ever make it into the house!
Texas Rose
I've seen those yellow pear toms. I might try those next year. Heirlooms have such beautiful colors and shapes and flavors don't they? We had a heirloom tomato salad last year (at a restaurant) it was amazing!!!
DeleteAnd I'm with you on the whole 'one for me, one for dinner, one for me, one for dinner". LOL
1st Man,
ReplyDeleteBeautifully done!!!
Thank you much! Can't wait to see it grow.
DeleteLooking good. Some unsolicited advice..... I don't know about the tomatoes in your area but here, (pacific northwest) the plants each reach about 6ft... I have tried a lot of methods to hold them up... But at the minimum you are likely going to need stakes.. Easier to put them in now than later and then you can tie the plants as they grow up.... I use the small cages for my basil....
ReplyDeleteHey, there is no such thing as unsolicited advice, that's why I put this all out there, the good and the bad. We love when people make suggestions. And you are right, I didn't think about that but yes, they will get big especially the indeterminate ones. I'll have to do some research! Thank you for that!!
DeleteYou KNOW I have to say something about companion planting, haha. So as far as the squash goes.you can plant beans (if you don't want to invest in a trellis, you can fashion a teepee from bamboo), interplant radishes, marigolds, spinach and lettuce. The radishes deter cucumber beetles. The spinach/ lettuce deter whitefly. The marigolds deter squash bugs.
ReplyDeleteOh that's a good idea. I was thinking about radishes. I'll need to make sure they are near the soaker hose. It's probably too hot now for us to have spinach but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try and see what happens huh? And definitely marigolds. I want those everywhere, love them, love the color, I even enjoy the smell. And the bug repelling ability is icing on the cake, ha.
DeleteIf you use a teepee for the beans plant your lettuce or spinach under the teepee. The ideal is the bean teepee shields the lettuce or spinach and slows down the bolt process. . It works here but am in Zone 6B, so the temperate conditions are drastically different. Good luck though!
DeleteI definitely agree with deergarden - whenever I tried growing determinate tomatoes with just the cages, they inevitably toppled over once the tomatoes started maturing - and that's in our climate which has a fairly short growing season compared to yours, I'm guessing. So last year I sunk & tied 2 bamboo stakes to both sides of each cage & that helped a lot. I'm still trying out different ways of supporting indeterminate varieties - this year I think I'm going to try a Florida weave type method. BTW I envy your summer squash spacing. I'm putting mine a lot closer as they usually go kaput before they get very large (that darn squash vine borer/powdery mildew!).
ReplyDeleteI just discovered your blog via John Gray's "Going Gently" blog. I grew Black Krim last summer and they were very good, and decent producers (heirlooms sometimes aren't). I'm in the mid-Atlantic.
ReplyDelete