Beautiful Tomatoes

I just don't understand it when people call heirloom tomatoes ugly. I find the odd shapes, unique colors and varied sizes to be enticing. They taste sweet, and sometimes tart, especially when a little green. When they are still warm from the sun, its even better. Tomatoes from the garden smell earthy. They are heavy and bend and break the stalks that try to hold them up. Even with the support of cages, stakes and string, they pull and bend the plants down to the ground.

This year I have several types of cherry tomatoes which I love to eat directly from the vine and keep in a bowl in my kitchen window, adding more every single day. They are great in salads and to snack on throughout the day.

mixed Cherry Tomatoes

Green Zebra and Cherokee Purple

The Green Zebra are new this year and the plants are producing a lot. They transform from green and dark green tomatoes to a ripened yellow and green striped bulb. They are meaty and yellow on the inside.

Brandywine

 
The Brandywine tomatoes grow to be largest at a hefty weight of more than a pound. They slice up beautifully for sandwiches and salads. I'm looking forward to using more for soup in a next few days.

Katherine's Speckled Roma

My friend shared a Speckled Roma plant with me, which surprised me with these huge deep red colored Roma with yellow veins. I think these are great for pasta sauces, but I have yet to try it.

Brandywine and Green Zebra

I've been cutting my tomatoes off the vine and bringing them inside to ripen in the window because of bird attacks. Earlier this year, I would watch as the green tomatoes would begin to show some color. And just as they began to darken, I'd come back to find large holes pecked through the flesh. I did once see a pretty guilty looking robin fly away from a plant and I think it's safe to say that the birds love to eat my tomatoes. After the birds had gotten several big juicy ones, I decided it was safer to pick them green and let them ripen indoors, instead of letting the birds eat them all! I'm really not sure if the taste is different, but they do ripen to deep colors and keep their sweet, juicy insides. Just please don't call them ugly!

Snap Shots

Rose of Sharon blossom

peas and beans

peas and beans up close

fig tree leaf

cherry tomatoes

cucumber blossom

mystery plant from Lindsey's soap box

kohlrabi

blooming coleus

Brandywine tomato

cabbage and kohlrabi

Lights in the Basement

Tomatoes are here! I've had some tasty Sweetie cherry tomatoes and a few Silvery Fir Tree tomatoes, which I think are a bit early for the area. I started my tomatoes indoors a good eight weeks before the average last frost date, which is April 23rd in DC. In addition to tomatoes, my peppers and marigolds were started way back in January! I started kohlrabi, cucumbers, broccoli, basil, cabbage and a few flowers all by seed indoors. To do this, I set up florescent lights in the basement.  

There was an old shop light in our basement when we bought the house and last year I simply added new bulbs and set the light up to a timer which gave my seedlings about 18 hours of light per day. This year I got a little more sophisticated and added a warming mat for the seedlings and created a little shade around the light with tinfoil to add more reflective light for the plants and help contain heat. Once the seedlings were an inch or more tall, I transferred them from the small seed starting containers to larger biodegradable planters. I kept these in small plastic tubs, which made for easy watering. 

tomato seedlings under the old light

By early March everything was growing so well that I ran out of space and needed another light. I decided to buy inexpensive shop light and the brightest bulbs that I could find at my local garden store. I spent only $20 on the light and another $10 on bulbs that had the biggest lumen count available. It's quite lightweight and was easy to mount on existing shelves in the basement. I bought another timer, plus an extension cord, and we were set! Aside from the increase in electricity (which I never really attempted to measure), it was an pretty inexpensive endeavor.

tomato seedlings under the new light

The sweet bell peppers, which I started first in January grew really well and started to bloom already in April. I think they were started just a bit TOO early. They had grown tiny little peppers and were quite ready for more space outside well before it was warm enough. In the end, I lost a bit of time because the blooms and small peppers eventually fell off. After the transition outdoors and some fertilizer, they bloomed again and now I have nearly full-sized peppers. 

pretty purple pepper stalk with blossoms forming

tiny peppers growing out of blossoms

Before the plants were ready to go outdoors at the end of April, I had to slowly transition them to the temperature and light in the sunporch. It's a great step in spring when the days became warm and sunny but it is still cool and sometimes freezes at night.

Starting the veggies indoors worked out pretty well. For some, it took several weeks for the plants to become established once they were planted outdoors. The cucumbers didn't grow much at all until the weather became hot, but the kohlrabi, cabbage and the broccoli grew slow and steady, especially in the cool sunny spring days that we were lucky to have this year. Now, they have become healthy full-sized crops ready for harvest.

I'm certainly planning to start plants from seed indoors again next year. I'll have to hold off and not do so many so early, but I will be planting again in the early spring to get a head start on the growing season.

Kale for dinner

Last year, I had heaps and heaps of kale and I just didn't know what to do. This year, I could go for more! I don't think that I've grown less, it's just that now I know that we love to eat fresh kale.

It's kind of a funny looking green that doesn't get a lot of credit. Kale is a good source of dietary fiber, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, and a very good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese. It's pretty much chucked full of goodness.

Red Winter Kale inside the cold frame (purple stocks in the background)

Siberian Kale

I grew two varieties this year. I planted Red Winter Kale in the cold frame over the winter, which grew up to be our very first greens already in March. And then in early spring outside, I planted Siberian Kale.

We've been adding raw kale to loads of salads and making some salads with kale as the sole green. I also saute it to include in quiche or as a cooked side dish. We also dried a bunch in our dehydrator to make kale chips (seasoned with olive oil, honey and salt). Our favorite recipe is this salad, which I adapted from a Cooks Illustrated recipe for Best Sweet and Tangy Coleslaw.

kale (bountiful bowl full)
2-3 tbsp. parsley
1 granny smith apple
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt

First, mix on the dressing:

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• fresh ground black pepper
 

cut from the garden for salad

Put the mixed dressing in the freezer while you prepare the kale. Clean and trim a big bunch of kale. De-stem, wash, dry (salad spinner) and thinly slice kale. Take out the dressing and massage into kale until well covered, but not dripping. Refrigerate in the serving bowl.

Cut up a granny smith apple into 1/4 thick thin slices. Chop 2 tablespoons of parsley (cilantro would also work well).  Take out the salad, massage the kale again, add the apples and parsley. Mix gently and then sprinkle salt and sugar over the top. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

This salad is best eaten when served, as it gets soggy the longer it sits. Alas, I don't have a picture because we usually gobble it up so fast!

Get some kale from the farmer's market while you can. This green doesn't like the heat and will wilt away soon!

Peas Glorious Peas

Okay - it's corny, but I love fresh peas. They only last 2-4 weeks and they taste sweet, fresh and crunchy. This year, I gave my vines more support and room to grow. They are taller than me! Next year I may try something even bigger to give them more room to stretch out. The flowers are a delicate little white blossom and the vines have pretty twists and curls.

Flowering

Growing from the blossom

Pea Pod

I chose a new variety from the Botanical Interests, where I bought the bulk of my seeds this year. I like this company for its great selection of heirloom and organic seeds that are non-GMO. They have both veggies and flowers - they are family owned too. I have the Pea Snap Super Sugar Snap. Wow, say that five times - I don't think I can.


Seriously though, I think they are GREAT and my neighbor agrees too.

See them towering over everything on the left and right.

Pest Control with Plants

As I talk to folks about my garden, many are surprised to hear that I use plants to control pests to keep the garden organic. My biggest helpers are marigolds, nasturtiums, and rosemary. Some of these repel harmful critters and bugs, while others attract the right kind of bugs.

My research tells me that marigolds repel and offend a host of destructive insects and rabbits too. I've been told mosquitoes don't like them either. This year I started my own from seed because I was disappointed by the lack of choice at the garden center in the past. I selected two varieties for their small size, color, and uniqueness from the typical marigold on the street. I have a few plants spaced throughout my raised beds and added more as a boarder plant near my tomatoes.

Lemon Gem Marigold

Lemon Gem Marigold

Lemon Drop Dwarf Marigold

Nasturtiums are actually edible flowers and are sometimes served in salads. I use the plants primarily to confuse bugs, which are attracted to the nasturtiums. They also work to fight off fight off wooly aphids, whiteflies, squash bugs, and cucumber beetles. The flowers act as a trap for aphids, which is why I tend to leave mine to the bugs instead of eating them! I've been told the bunny rabbits don't like these either. I started mine from seed this year so that I could choose interesting varieties that don't grow too large (since I need space in the raised beds for the veggies!). I likely started my seeds too early outdoors and didn't have much luck with the first set - only two plants survived. But I started more seeds and hope to use the plants as a boarder in new places other than the raised beds since they are quite pretty.

Empress of India nasturtium (from last year)

Cherry Rose Jewel Nasturtium

Rosemary is mainly used as a companion plant to help feed my cabbage, beans, carrots, but it also deters cabbage moths, bean beetles, and carrot flies. I have two large thriving plants that I wintered in my cold frame. I chopped off a huge amount of the growth from over the winter and started several new plants from the clippings. We used the considerable clippings in the kitchen too, of course. The plants will continue to grow and can turn in a large bush in this climate.

rosemary clippings

As I was looking into the specifics of my helpers, I realized that there are other plants in the garden doing the same thing. I've been planting basil along side my tomatoes as a companion plant which feed nutrients to one another. I just learned that the oils in basil repel thrips, flies and mosquitoes. It's a good thing I planted LOTS of basil!

Just yesterday I planted catnip for Mica and Molly and now I'm reading that catnip plants repel just about everything. It can be used to keep away flea beetles, aphids, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, ants, and weevils. AND dried sachets of dried catnip will help deter the annual parade of ants that invade my kitchen. Can't wait to try that!

Dill repels aphids and spider mites, which I have planted near my basil and tomatoes. But now I see that its also ATTRACTS hoverflies and predatory wasps, and its foliage is used as food by swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. I guess we can't win them all.

Lavender is a favorite among many beneficial insects and also repels fleas and moths. It grows in huge beautiful plants, nearly bushes, in our climate. I have a one well established plant fighting its way out from the ivy in our front yard, but I've been struggling to find the right variety to do well in the back. I'll keep trying!

I have a patch of garlic, which I'm hoping I can soon harvest. It deters codling moths, Japanese beetles, root maggots, snails, and carrot root fly. I don't know what these guys are, but they must be bad!

how my garden grows

Kale, swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, chives, parsley and PEAS are thriving in the garden and on the dinner plate. Our zone 7b climate is by now quite lush and we've had our first set of days in the 90s. I'm hoping the weather will stay cool enough to keep enjoying the lettuces, spinach and peas that faded so quickly with the heat last year. I've already had a lot more greens this year and we've been freely enjoying salads from the garden.

Tomatoes are in the ground and starting to bloom. I've been sharing the left over plants with anyone and everyone that I can interest. There's only a handful left and it's been loads of fun to find homes for the others. It's amazing how many tomato seeds, plants and fruit that can be shared from just a few packs of seeds. I love it and happy to get others involved!

Brandywine tomato blossoms

Brandywine tomato plant (love that texture!)

Green Zebra tomato blossoms

Siberian kale

Romaine lettuce

Swiss chard

Little Gem Romaine lettuce

Freckles Romaine lettuce

Little Marvel pea blossom

Pea pods - my favorite from the spring garden

Royal Burgundy bean blossom

Spacemaster cucumber

purple asparagus

Greek oregano

purple cone flower

new stone path!

dinner