Thursday, July 30, 2020

garden news-late summer plantings for the fall

GARDEN NEWS-LATE SUMMER PLANTINGS FOR THE FALL
the tomatoes are coming in like crazy right now
my garden really only needed 6 tomatoes but i couldnt help myself so i planted 10 plants
the picture above is of sungolds i harvested yesterday
when i go back today to work in the garden there will be more waiting on me to pick
ms b and mr hudson loves the sungolds
they eat them like candy
if you pick at the peak of ripeness well they do taste like candy
now
i tend to pick mine early since varmints and birds like the real ripe ones so i let them finish ripening in the condo on that platter
the other prize tomatoes are these heirlooms 
they were suppose to be a black krim and a cherokee purple
they look the same to me 
i think they were mislabeled
anyway 
they taste delicious
these i found hiding amongst my tomato jungle
the large ones are the size of a softball
i also call these sink tomatoes since when you bite into them or cut into them you better be over a sink
a few weeks ago we planted some beefsteak tomato seeds in small tiny pots
when they got bigger we transplanted or should i say i did into 4 inch pots
then after a few weeks they are ready for placement in the garden

i have found it hard to decide when to plant tomatoes here
so 
i usually plant mine in mid march 
this year the garden wants to try to plant some tomatoes now to see if we can get a good crop for the fall
late july august september and october are usually our warmest sunniest time which is just right for tomatoes
in may and june and now this year in july we get coastal fog to mid day then we get a nice sunny afternoon
that fog is rough on tomatoes
they tend to get fungal diseases
i removed all the onions from this bed
then i raked the bed out real good
we try not to till the beds
i added a couple of inches of real rich compost that we make ourselves
as i plant the tomatoes i added a little bit of organic fertilizer in the hole
this is what this 30 ft bed looks like when completed

hopefully mother nature will cooperate so we can have fall tomatoes

another thing i am going to try this week is something folks do in texas to get fall tomatoes
they cut back their indeterminate tomatoes this time of year to about 1 ft 
the cut is just above a node that has a branch starting to grow
keep this watered and nurtured and sometimes they will produce fall tomatoes for you
in texas in the heat of the summer you have to use sunscreens to block the hot afternoon sun off of the tomatoes
ive not snipped off my indeterminates here yet but i plan to do that to one of my sungold indeterminate tomatoes
 
i also prepped beds for these acorn squash and butternut squash that the soup kitchens like to use for their soups

we do most of our plantings in the garden of veggies that the soup kitchens or food pantries like to have

as i was talking to someone yesterday as we looked out over the garden 
you know j and i planted most of those veggies you see growing there
sometimes
i feel like i have an acre garden im taking care of
but
i really only have a small 400 square foot personal garden that i maintain for my wife she and me
thats all we need

later into the fall we will be planting kales leeks salad mixes chard cabbage broccoli etc in the main garden 
all to be donated 

so thats where i am doing my volunteer work at right now
i usually have the garden to myself when im there
if others are around we are all spread apart over the one acre garden

the organicgreen doctor

No comments:

Post a Comment