Tag Archives: vegetable gardening

Can any pumpkin become a Giant Pumpkin?

Christy Harp with her 2009 World Record Giant Pumpkin-1725 lbs!

Can ANY pumpkin grow super big if you feed it a lot? The answer is no. Just as there are varieties of tiny pumpkins (like Tom Thumb-2 lbs), there are varieties that grow medium size (field pumpkins-15-25 lbs), big size varieties (Big Max-100 lbs) and then there is ONE variety that grows RECORDS-STATE AND WORLD RECORDS! The current Atlantic Giant Pumpkin World Record is 1810 lbs, grown by Chris Stevens of Wisconsin. The picture above is of Christy Harp of Ohio who held the record in 2009. This picture just shows you how big they are! They say someone will hit the 2000 lb mark within a couple of years but it won’t be me. I don’t live in an area that would be conducive to that-too short of growing season here in Santa Fe. It was hard enough growing a giant pumpkin 421 lbs last year here. Of course I’m trying to break my own record again this year!

Now that we are (finally) getting into giant pumpkin season, I will share my techniques for growing them throughout the season. Stayed tuned…

Main Garden is planted BUT…

The main garden is planted except for a couple of seeds. Yea! BUT the new drip system manifold isn’t working so I must take it back to Firebird to see what I did wrong in the setup. I’ll have to wait until Tuesday as Monday is a holiday. Meanwhile I’ll hook up the old system again so I don’t have to water the whole garden tomorrow by hand-what a dreadful thought! I use to like to hand water but since the garden has gotten so big and I saw how the garden did so much better on a drip system, I feel it is the only way to go nowadays. Besides it saves a ton of water which is important in the high desert of Santa Fe.

Planting, planting, planting…

Well, if you are wondering why I haven’t been posting, it is because I’ve been out PLANTING, trying to get the last of the garden in. So far, I have 70 tomato plants, ‘Rattlesnake’ pole beans around my trellis, 4 ‘Pepperocini’ pepper plants, 16 eggplants, 2 rhubarbs and put additional wall of waters around all of the tomatoes and created some new drip sections for all these.

Tomorrow (Sunday) goes in 12 shishito pepper plants, bush bean seeds, pole bean seeds, 4 different types of cucumbers seeds, ornamental japonica corn, flowers and a new drip system manifold (I take a deep breath now) I hope to get this done (early-way early!) before the BIG WINDS come in AGAIN and make life MISERABLE….

Monday goes in 2 giant pumpkins, 1 giant greenie squash, 2 giant marrows and a giant pear gourd go in. The long gourds will have to wait till I make them a trellis later this week or next.

Phew! It is always such a big push in spring to get things in the garden and fall come harvest time. The rest of the time I feel like I’m just cruising in the garden! All this on 4000 sq feet of garden which is only 1/10 of an acre…

Planting Summer Squash

Costata Romanesco

Summer squash is a warm season crop. A friend asked me yesterday when should she plant her summer squash seeds in the soil. Should she do it now that the magic date of May 15th has past. Well, we might be over freezing nights BUT the soil temperature is still pretty cool for these crops. Summer squash likes to be planted when the soil is a little warmer so I would wait at least a week. Here is some information about growing summer squash.

-The soil temperature should be between 65°F-75°F when planting the seeds. My soil temperature today was 62°F where I’m want to plant them so I’m going to wait till it is warmer because 70°F is actually optimum. If you plant too early, the seeds could rot or not germinate.

-Summer squash are heavy feeders so put lots of compost in your hole when planting and be sure to fertilize them at least 1 time a month during the growing season with fish emulsion and seaweed fertilizer.

I plant in a ‘hill’ which actually isn’t a hill at all but a circle where I put three seeds spaced out in each ‘hill’. That way if one of them gets a disease I can just cut it out and still have a couple left.

Two plants will feed 4-6 people so don’t go too wild unless you are feeding your neighborhood! I consider a ‘hill’ basically as one plant. Otherwise you will be looking for zucchini ‘victims’-people who will take some off your hands!

– Everyone tends to plant squash too close. Give them lots of room between plants. I like to give them about 4 feet between plants which seem like alot but they always seem to fill in the space. Overcrowding encourages powdery mildew later in the season.

-Plant some onions around your squash plant. This may help deter the dreaded squash bug from wanting to visit your plant. I planted some last year and I got a few but I think I got less of them.

-Summer squash starts producing fruit from about 52-65 days.

-Harvest when the zucchini type is about 8 inches long and the skin is easily pierce-able with your fingernail. Pick patty pan types when they are 2-3 inches in  diameter.

Strawberries

One of my fellow gardeners in the Las Vegas, NM area, Gene, asked me about strawberries and I thought what a good post it would make.

TYPES: Strawberries come in three types: June Bearing, Day Neutral and Everbearing.

June bearing strawberries: The most traditional berry that produces a single crop in early spring or June and are largest in size of the 3 types.  They produce for a 2-3 week period. It is the type I have. I got them from a friend who was thinning out her strawberry bed and I planted them 3 years ago so I’m not sure what variety but for sure they are June bearing type cause that’s when I harvest. Give them room cause they will take over areas. I’ve already let it spread out twice but I love strawberries so I don’t care. This winter I got hit hard with the extreme cold temperatures and lots about half but I’m sure they’ll come back.

Day Neutral strawberries: They produce continuously throughout the summer. They have smaller berries and fewer runners. These would be good for limited space.

Everbearing strawberries: Produce 2-3 crops per year-one in June, then late summer and again in fall. They also have smaller berries and fewer runners. These would also be good for limited space.

VARIETIES: You’ll have to do some research to learn more about these varieties listed here:

  • Early – Earlidawn, Catskill, Raritan
  • Midseason – Surecrop, Redcheif, Midway
  • Late – Guardian, Fletcher, Sparkle

PLANTING: With all strawberries, they like a soil with lots of compost so be sure to heavily amend your soil before planting the plants. Plant in full sun. Dig a hole that will accommodate the roots in the soil but be sure to keep the crown at or just above the ground level-otherwise it may rot. Plant about 18″ apart. Don’t worry if that seems like a lot of space, each plant will put out runners and baby plants from the runners and soon it will fill in.

Pick off any flowers the first year so the plant can put it’s energy into growing instead of making fruit.

Harvest the second and third year and then thin out, taking the original ‘mother plant’ leaving room for the babies. The babies will produce more fruit if you thin out as the original plants will slow down. So dig them out, start a new patch or give them to a friend. June bearing types put out a lot of runners and baby plants every year and must be thinned out for sure every 3 years.  Trim off the runners if they are running over your boundaries. I don’t know about the other types and how much they run.

PROTECTION: Now to keep the birds from eating them–I DON”T use that ‘bird’ netting as I got a small bird caught in one and it died and I felt awful so now I just cover the patch with row cover. I can water right through it and just pull it back to harvest. Much better. This is my third year so I will see how many I get what with the winter damage. Last year (second year) I got a ton and they were great!

For winter protection, some people put about 6 inches of straw over them after it freezes. I don’t bother, maybe I should have this past winter!

Pictures of Planting Tomatoes Outside

Well it’s time to plant tomatoes! Finally! This cold and windy weather is going to take us almost up to the average first frost free date and the tomatoes inside are chomping to get out in the world! I will still use ‘Wall of Waters’ on all of the tomatoes that are not too tall as the nights are still very cool for a tomato. Here are some pictures of how I  transplant tomato plants outside.

First I harden them off outside for about 4 days or longer if I can wait that long! I put them outside for an hour or two each day and increase their outside time each day. Start getting them use to our harsh conditions they will have to endure.

Next after I dig the hole, I add some yum-yum mix (a handful), a tablespoon of powder milk, a tablespoon of epsom salts, a shovelful or two of aged compost (or bagged compost) and a small handful of mushroom compost (not too much-its high in salts). Then I mix it up with some of the soil I dug out.

In addition, new for this year, I am adding a small handful of humate and a tablespoon of bone meal (for lots of flowers) and some worm castings. I will mix this in with the above amendments.

Next I take off any lower leaves, especially if the plant has become leggy and place it deep in the hole with the amendments and backfill with the  amended dirt. If it is really tall, plant it on it’s side. It will develop roots on the stem either way.

Notice how deep it was planted. Here I make a ‘well’ around each plant and place my drip line tightly around the new plant (not shown).

Fill the well several times–one time with Seaweed and ‘Thrive’ in a bucket. DO NOT use a regular fertilizer like Fish Emulsion at this time. Wait till the plant acclimates. Later as the plant grows, after I remove the wall of waters (when the tomato plant peeks out over the top of them), I will loosen the drip line inside the well to water more of the root zone as the plant grows.

To put my wall of water on the plant, I place a 5 gallon bucket inverted over the plant. Then put the wall of waters over it-do this part in the morning so the water has time to heat up the cells that will give off the heat at night back to the tomato. Fill up the ‘cells’ with water and remove the bucket. Be sure to pull the handle up on the bucket when you first put the wall of waters over it or you’ll have a hell of a time removing the bucket.

I place a few bamboo sticks inside to hold it up should a big gust of wind come up. I also tie another bamboo stick next to the tomato plant and loosely tie up the plant with a twistie tie so it doesn’t fall down. Remove the wall of waters when the plant outgrows it. Here is how the plant looks in the wall of waters. Ok now I get to multiply this times 64 plants…

Related post: Secrets to planting tomatoes

Rhubarb

Rhubarb-Victoria variety

Yesterday I picked up 2 rhubarb plants-Victoria variety (not the root types but the actual plant) at the nursery and will transplant them today. They were flowering and I read that if they start flowering, one should cut off the flowers so it puts it’s energy into growing leaves again. I hope it will do well with the asparagus (I read somewhere that it likes asparagus close by).  I wish my plants looked like the picture here but alas they do not. The plants look a little sad-root bound, only 2 leaves each and dry but I think I can revive them-they just need room to stretch out…

Getting ready to plant tomatoes

Still prepping the soil for the tomatoes today with Caleb. Got the last of the garden beds amended with the composted horse manure and all the holes dug where they will go in next week. Put the drip line back in place but haven’t tested it yet. The exact date of planting tomatoes is still unknown because next week is a mixed bag as far as the weather is concerned. Low temperatures will be from in the HIGH 30’s and the high temperatures will be in the 70’s degree range. Maybe we are over the freezing weather at night-I hope so.

I’m going flyfishing at the San Juan River over the weekend. My housesitter, who is also my garden apprentice, will watch all the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants inside while I’m gone. After I return, I will put the tomatoes in the ground- weather permitting. Looks like I’m almost going to May 15th. Last year I couldn’t wait to start planting and many of my tomatoes really struggled in early May when I first planted them. If they didn’t freeze then they were wind burned and they got set back because of my impatience! This year I’m trying to be patient!

SECRETS TO PLANTING TOMATOES

Tomatoes in wall of waters that are ready to take off-2010

Hopefully we can plant tomatoes in the garden in the month of May. The last average frost date is May 15th.  I like to try to get them in early every spring if possible. I don’t think it will happen this year with these cold late spring nights. Here are some of my secrets to growing great tomatoes.

-If growing from seedlings or nursery starts, harden plants off for a couple of days before transplanting them outside in the ground so they don’t go into shock.

-Before planting, amend the soil in each hole before planting. Add lots of compost, yum-yum mix, a small handful of mushroom compost, 1 tablespoon Epsom salt-the bath type (adds magnesium) and 1 tablespoon dry milk (adds calcium and wards off some fungal diseases). Mix up with soil in bottom of hole.

Pinch off lower leaves on the tomatoes and plant tomatoes as deep as possible. Don’t worry about if it leggy, it will grow roots along buried stem and become stronger.

-Don’t rush to plant if still cold at night outside. Tomatoes don’t like to be cold. If you do plant early, put a ‘wall of water’ around the plant IN THE MORNING so it has time to heat up the water and tomatoes by evening. Wall of waters protect down to 28°F. Place a 5-gallon bucket upside down over top of tomato plant and put the wall of water over the bucket. That way is can hold up the wall of waters while you fill each cell with water. Then take off bucket and the wall of water will hold itself up. I use bamboo stakes inside the edge of the wall of water so the walls lean on them to help keep them open as they can blow over when winds are high.

-If leaves turn purple underneath, it means the ground is too cold and the plant can’t take up the available phosphorus in the soil. Sprinkle rock phosphate around base of plant and water in to help them turn green again.

-Make a large well around each tomato so water stays close to root zone. If you have a drip line, put it in well now around base of plant.

-Add water and THRIVE AND SEAWEED FERTILIZER in a bucket and water well when you FIRST plant outside but NOT fertilizer.

Tomato in cage, branches trimmed off the ground, in concrete reinforcement cage with straw in well and supported by green ‘t-post’ that cage is tied up to

-In June AFTER THE SOIL HAS WARMED, add straw around well to keep moisture level even. This will help keep the water from evaporating and will keep the water from splashing soil on them. Splashing soil on tomatoes can allow soil borne viruses to get into plant.

-Use bamboo stakes and tie up plant. Change out to bigger stakes as plants grow. Cage plants as they grow or tie to tall stake. I use 5’ green t-posts for stakes or make cages out of concrete reinforcement wire.

-After plants have been transplanted for about 2 weeks, FERTILIZE with FISH EMULSION and SEAWEED. This should be in early June. Fertilize again in July (2-3 times during the season). Too much fertilizer makes lots of leaves but will not produce as many tomatoes.

-Train tomato plant to one or two stems. Allowing multiple stems promotes more green growth but takes away from fruit production.

-Pinch off suckers. They grow between the main vine and side branches. They take energy away from the fruit. Do not pinch off blossoms.

-Cut off or tie up any branches that touch ground. Tomatoes can get soil borne diseases from touching ground.

-If using one of my wire cages, I use a small 3’ t-post to tie my cage up to it, as plant gets bigger. This really helps to prevent the plants from blowing over when they get top heavy.

-Water consistently throughout season. The main reason tomatoes get cracks is uneven watering. The most efficient method of watering is by a drip system.

-Use ‘Serenade’ as a foliar spray for some soil borne diseases like Early Blight. It is best used as a preventative. Spray every two weeks or at first sign of disease. It is a made from a soil microbe and is organic. Aqua Fria Nursery carries it.

-Use ‘Companion’ as a drench around base of plant to help keep fungal diseases away. It is made from another soil microbe and is organic. You can Google it, as you must buy it online.

-If you do get some diseased branches, cut off branches with clean scissors. Disinfect scissors between plants with alcohol or a 10 % bleach solution. Take out severely diseased plants and throw in trash, not compost pile.

Note: If you are a smoker, wash hands before handling tomatoes-you can pass a virus called tobacco mosaic.

Good day to plant seeds inside-Cold!

Good day to be inside today. Caleb, my apprentice, came out and we planted many things inside as the wind was blowing outside and  it snowed until midday. Very cold! So he planted his tomatoes up to the next size pots, and we planted seeds of 13 collards and 14 dino kale. Then we planted 27 flowers in 2 inch pots and 2 mystery gourds as we don’t know what type it is. I’ve never planted flower seeds INSIDE before. I usually plant them directly in the ground OUTSIDE, so this is new for me. Now I need another big plant heat mat for them. For now they are on the floor by a south facing window. I may see if they germinate there as I don’t know how warm they need to be-not like tomato plants that want it warm…

Don’t Plant Tomatoes Outside Yet-Cold Weather Forecasted AGAIN

Weather forecast April 27-May 1

Here we go-Cold weather AT NIGHT again. Today the weather is cold high 56°F and low 25°F, already snowing a little bit. It’s ok , we desperately need the moisture. Unfortunately we are also going to get high winds-up to 70 mph! Above is the forecast for the next 5 days.

All 60 tomatoes and giant pumpkins, giant squash and marrows are inside and waiting to go out but I’m hanging tight and will wait till the nights are a little warmer and above freezing. I will still plant them in wall of waters for extra protection when they go out but why throw them out when I know what’s coming…I try to sneak them out early every year but I just have to wait and see. Our first frost freeze date is May 15th and it looks like we might go to then..

Grow Sunflowers and Other Flowers this Year for Bees!

Queen of the Sun movie poster

Fact: Of the 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees. Without them, we would soon starve. We need to be educated and take care to not poison bees with pesticides and herbicides.  We need to protect the bees.

Just saw ‘Queen of the Sun’, a movie about bees and their plight and our plight in the world-Excellent movie. The movie won 8 awards at film festivals. Since I now have a bee hive on the property, I want to take care of them and their beekeeper, Caleb is going to teach me through the year. In return I hope they pollinate everything! Bees and gardening go hand in hand.

Along the same lines, believe it or not, I just saw an episode of ‘The Simpsons’ called ‘The Burns and the Bees’ that was addressing the bees problems and it was great! It was done in 2008. The bees are getting some press-even in a cartoon. Hope as humankind gets educated, the bees make a comeback!

In the meantime, grow some flowers and especially grow some sunflowers this year for any bees that may visit your garden. Sunflowers are not only beautiful to look at but the bees like them as well.  Also grow a succession of flowering plants through the whole growing season such as Russian Sage, Lavender, Asters, Black-Eyed Susan, Penstemon, Zinnias and Agastaches. These are a few of many flowering plants they love. You want lots of vegetables this year? Well, then help the bees find your vegetables by planting some flowers in your garden that they like. Also look at what pesticides and herbicides affect bee populations and avoid them.

Baby Bok Choy

evergreenseeds_baby pak choy

So this year I’ve been getting into Baby Bok Choy and am looking for some starts as I’m too late to start from seed. Can you imagine that? Already too late to get some crops started-amazing! Anyways, I’ve tried the full size Bok Choy and like the Baby version better-more tender. I never thought much about it as a vegetable before but I bought some to try. I cut them in half and sauteed them in olive oil and then at the end, added a couple splashes of tamari and it was wonderful. So if any of you know where to buy some locally or seeds for next fall, please let me know!

My Future Veggie Garden (can ya see it!?)

MY FUTURE GARDEN-CAN YA SEE IT!??(click picture to see bigger)

Well, I told everyone on my blog and in the Master Gardening classes about Arrow Ranch’s free horse manure here in Santa Fe that they load for free  and when I went to get some, they were all out! So I had to scrounge around to find some OLD manure and finally did in Eldorado horse stables. Went and got 2 trailer loads full and got it all dug in main veggie garden except for 3 small beds that I will finish up this week. I will hook up the drip system and make sure it is working also this week. Here is a picture with what will be! Not much now but just you wait!

We’ve been having some great weather, but this week it’s suppose to get cold at night again so I think unless the weather changes, I will wait till next week to plant tomatoes. Now all I got to do is wait for good weather…

My Favorite Tomatoes to Grow

Talking about Virginia Sweet tomatoes made me think of some of the best tomatoes I’ve grown for flavor. So I thought I’d compile a list of them for you to consider growing sometime. These are not in any particular order as each one is unique and wonderful in it’s own way and not all are heirlooms.

striped german 75 day

Striped German-heirloom-beautiful bi-color- red and yellow large beefsteak up to 2 lbs. Luscious sweet-non acidic flavor. Super sweet beefstake. The marbled interior looks beautiful sliced. Complex, fruity flavor and smooth texture. 75 days to harvest.

costuluto genevese 78 day

Costuluto Genevese-heirloom-Italian heirloom tomato that has been enjoyed for many generations along the Mediterranean. Large, deep-red fruits have a singularly fluted profile, are deeply ridged, and heavily lobed. Meaty, full-flavored and delicious. Because of its scalloped edges, perfect for use in an arrangement of different colored sliced tomatoes. 78 days to harvest.

black cherry tomatoes 65 days

Black Cherry-heirloom-Beautiful large black cherry that is dusky purple brown in color. They have that rich flavor that makes black tomatoes unique. Sweet cherry tomato.

paul robeson 75 days

Paul Robeson-heirloom-This famous tomato has almost a cult following among tomato Connoisseurs throughout the world with its earthy, sweet and smoky flavor. Named in honor of the famous black opera singer, star of King Solomon’s Mine,1937. This Russian variety is aBrown/black tomato with green shoulders. Hard to find.

cherokee purple/80 days

Cherokee Purple-heirloom-Old Cherokee Indian heirloom, pre 1890 variety. Unique dusty purple -pink  color. Flavor rivals Brandywine. Real old time tomato flavor-suberbly sweet. Large fruits average 12 oz.

green grape/60 days”

Green Grape-heirloom- bright yellow green cherry tomatoes that are wonderfully fruity sweet and has become one of my favorites.

Virginia sweet/85 days

Virginia Sweet-heirloom- Another one one of the best tasting, bi-colors, gold-red tomatoes I’ve eaten.  The tomatoes are beautiful and large beefsteak, weighing at least 1 pound each. Flavor is sweet and rich.

pantano romanesco/70 days

8. Pantano Romanesco-heirloom-A Roman heirloom. The fruit are large and are deep red, with almost a purple tint. The flesh is very rich, flavorful & juicy. An excellent tomato for home and market gardeners, very rare and delicious.

lemon boy/72 days

9. Lemon Boy-hybrid-The first lemon color hybrid tomato to be developed. They have outstanding sweetness with no acidity.

sungold/57 days

10. Sun Gold Select II-heirloom-Very flavorful and juicy orange-yellow cherry tomatoes.  Excellent in salads or eaten alone as a treat. Very prolific. 57 days to harvest.

San Marzano/78 day

San Marzano-heirloom-Come from a small town in Italy and were first grown in volcanic soil in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Compared to the Roma tomatoes, Marzano tomatoes have thicker flesh with fewer seeds. Flavor is more sweet and less acidic. 78 days to harvest.

gold medal/75 days

Gold Medal-heirloom-large beefstake is bi-color of yellow with a blush of red inside. Very little acid. One of the sweetest tomato you’ll ever taste…..a gourmet’s joy when sliced.

Goldmans Italian American/80-100 days

Goldman’s Italian American-heirloom-Discovered by a Amy Goldman in a roadside stand in Italy, this large bright red pear tomato has old fashioned, classic flavor that made the best tasting tomato sauce I’ve ever made. Beats San Marzano in flavor but drawback is it takes 80-100 days to harvest and I had to bring it inside to finish ripening. Still…

brandywine red/80 day

Brandywine-heirloom-It is an old Amish heirloom, dating back to 1885 and named after Brandywine Creek in Chester County, Pennsylvania. One of the best tasting tomatoes ever with a great mix of sweet and acid to make a full flavor tomato.14. Big Zac-hybrid-Humungous red beefstake with old fashioned tomato flavor. Great for sandwiches and salads.
My biggest has been 2 lbs, 11 oz.