tomatoes
Jesse’s Brooklyn Garden Begins!
I think I’m more excited about Jesse’s garden this year than my own. I’m always curious as to not only what he will plant but how he will plant it. He has very little space in his urban setting but it doesn’t stop him from thinking big.
Large cities are notorious for their dismissive views on recycling programs. I know this is true for Chicago and Jesse tells me that it is the same in NYC. Our “city” kids – one in Chicago, one in San Francisco and Jesse in NY have always found ways to recycle and be a little more responsible about these things than their respective cities generally care about. (One exception would be San Francisco.) Jesse likes to find recycled containers for his garden.
This past weekend Jesse spent some time assembling his garden. Using compostable egg crates rather than peat pots as containers for planting his seeds he was able to re-use what would have gone directly into the garbage. I’ve warned him that these can work well but need some holes in the bottom to aid root growth before transplanting. The egg-crate planters were placed into Jesse’s darkroom trays (yes, he’s a photographer too) to hold water for bottom watering and for ease of moving them around. The photos below show his seeds before they were pushed into the seed-starting mix.
Jesse also used recycled bits of cardboard to label his delicata, heirloom tomato, habañeros, sweet dumpling winter squash and pumpkin seeds. He has no idea what variety of tomatoes they are. They were labeled “heirloom tomatoes” at a local market and he described them as “delicious.” I like his adventuresome spirit.
As you can see below, Jesse is proactively recycling. He bought eggs so he’d have the crates which necessitated his having to find a (recycled) container for the eggs! And of course, those are old film containers holding his seeds. Atta boy, Jesse.
I’m sure we’ll hear from Jesse occasionally about his garden’s progress. I’d love to hear from others who are experimenting with “urban planting.”
seeds on seed-starting mix
seeds and seed containers
recycled garden
eggs new home
Planting Time?
Planting time can sneak up on you. If you simply look out the window and wait until you see robins pulling up worms and see some daffodils to plant your garden you can miss a lot of the fun – and cost savings – of planting inside.
It’s not at all early to begin planting, depending on where you are and what you are planting. Indoor planting can begin right now for things like peppers which are slow to get started. Tomatoes could be planted at the same time but usually a little later. I like to plant some marigolds so they’re almost ready to bloom when I put them in the ground.
I’ve come upon a pretty handy and quite reliable source that serves as a good reminder of what to plant when. This is the 2010 Best Planting Dates for Seeds from the Old Farmer’s Almanac. All you need to do is to fill in your town or zip code and information based on average last frost date is there for most things you might wish to plant. There is even a separate date listed as “Moon-favorable Dates.” Having lived on the ocean I am aware of the power of the moon to change tides so I guess it could have some effect on plants. I haven’t paid much attention to this myself.
So what are you planting? Just shoot me a comment (below) and let me know. Should I experiment with comparing “Moon-favorable Dates” plantings with regular dates?
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Just a little update on this post…
“Pogo,” one of the knowledgeable people on the Organic Gardening forum reacted wisely to my mention of the Best Planting Dates for Seeds information. She said, “…All these predictors are based on probability. Generally it isn’t a date, but a range with a certain probability of freezing or not. I like this map (from NOAA) because it gives the probability of both frost (32) and freeze (28). How far you push the dates just depends on how much risk you want to take.”
Even in a very small area that date can be different depending on if you are on the north side of a mountain or the south side; if you are right on the shore or on a nearby rise overlooking that same spot. The date for a valley can be different than the date for the adjoining two rises.
Your own records for YOUR location are the best yet not perfect when it comes to determining the date of the last frost for you.
“Huge Pumpkins up to 70″ Around!”
My seeds from Seed Savers Exchange
Last year’s successes have emboldened me enough to expand the garden. For the first time I’ve saved some seeds from last year to plant this year. Jesse brought some seeds from Brooklyn at Christmas that I’m anxious to plant and today I got some pumpkin seeds that will give me “huge pumpkins, up to 70″ around!”
I’ve taken a different approach to seed selection. Last year I picked up seeds on sale from Ace and Home Depot. This year I’ve done that again but I’ve also investigated some of the seed companies that specialize in heirloom and rare varieties. I have also taken a look at some of the companies that sell primarily to commercial producers. Those companies that maintain their own test lots and labs and trial grounds and whose germination rates exceed federal standards are the places I want to shop for seeds. Although there are others, I’ve taken a close look at Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Territorial Seed Company, Stokes Seeds Ltd. and Parks Seed Company which has a wonderful Gardeners Handbook.
This year my favorite resource for seeds is the Seed Savers Exchange. This is a non-profit organization that saves and shares heirloom seeds. It is the largest non-governmental seed bank in the United States. They have 23 acres of certified organic preservation gardens. Their site itself contains a wealth of information on all aspects of gardening as well as seed saving and trading. Even their seed packets have instructions for seed saving . The Seed Savers Exchange is the source of the seeds photographed above.
Let me know if you’ve come upon a favorite seed source.
And yes, I know I already used this photo.
First Snow
I couldn’t bring myself to post a photo of the snow that fell in the Chicago area last night. Instead I’ve opted for this “warmer” interpretation of the season’s colors that I photographed this past summer. I didn’t realize how quickly I’d default to the old gardening theme of the original blog. Maybe I’m trying to tell myself something…
jalapenõ pepper and tomatoes
Decay… Again
broccoli leaf
Once again I am struck by the aesthetic side of decomposition. This time I took the broccoli leaf into the studio to photograph it. It was a little late in the evening and pretty dark for photography outside.
This is the same type of leaf that in June I was so taken by its waterproof quality. It now looks very different. No longer waterproof, it has taken a distinctly autumn-ish color. It looks worn and ragged.
As my garden ages it changes in so many ways. Leaves like this broccoli leaf become battle scarred. Tomato plants wither from the inside as they seem to yield their energy to the fruits as they ripen. The same fate falls to Noah’s pumpkin plants. They look horrible – just dying – again, in sacrifice to the beautiful pumpkins they produce.
Only the pepper plants continue to look as virile as their fruits.
This is the period of the greatest harvest. It comes at a price the plant itself pays. We enjoy the harvest but I also watch as the plants begin to succumb to their efforts.
New Progress in the Garden
ripe cherry tomato!
There are some good thing to report!
• In spite of a cool, wet summer our first cherry tomato has ripened.
• Pumpkins are getting large and on their way to 25#, or so the seed packet says.
• We are learning many ways to cook zucchini! Katie had a zucchini Asiago cheese-omelet this morning.
• Wildflower seeds I planted are blooming, although I don’t know what most of them are.
Anyone who knows wildflowers please feel free to help me identify them.
Any Brooklyn pumpkins yet, Jesse?
How about Pilsen jalapeños, Andy? Does the el cast too much shade on your garden?
This pumpkin is about 12 inches long so far.
unknown wildflower
unknown wildflower with bee
Tomatoes…as Weeds!
Tomato plants have more resiliency than I knew! After posting about having drowned mine, I further subjected them to a mild frost – normally a true tomato killer! I have done all things wrong to them and still they survive. 
Finally, I have discovered that tomato plants share something with garlic mustard. As a prolific seed producer, last-year’s tomato plants have left THIS year’s turnip-radish-lettuce beds with little tomato plants…THOUSANDS of them! All of them need to be pulled.
I have a little more respect for the tomato plant this year…and I’ll be a little more careful about cleaning up the tomato patch this fall.