How are your tomato plants doing? Mine are growing excellently with careful planning and maintenance.
Tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, grow on vines, so it is crucial to provide strong structures to which the vines can cling and climb. Some use pre-made tomato cages. I like to use tall bamboo stakes for supports. Bamboo is attractive, easy to find, and can be reused year after year. I also use natural jute twine to carefully secure the plants to the bamboo canes. Last week, Pete from my outdoor grounds crew, worked hard to put up all the tomato stakes, so the fast-growing vines can stay off the ground as they grow.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
With nutrient-rich soil and warm days my tomato plants have grown pretty quickly. Tomato leaves have serrated, or wavy and pointed, edging along the entire perimeter. They are compound with multiple leaflets growing along a common stem, called a rachis. These leaves are also slightly fuzzy to the touch, which is caused by the trichomes, or multi-cellular hairs, on the plant.
Once the plants are about knee-hi, it’s time to support their growing vines.
Some fruits are already growing so perfectly.
I like to use strong bamboo. Bamboo canes are easy to buy in bulk, and can be found in a variety of sizes. These canes are about 10-feet long.
As with all our projects using twine, we use jute – everything is kept uniform and as natural as possible.
Pete secures three stake into the ground next to each tomato plant. They will form teepee like structures. The plants will use these upright stakes as supports.
Each one is pushed into the ground about eight to 10-inches deep and at a slight angle. The important thing is to place them deep enough, so they remain secure for the duration of the season. And never use chemically treated wood or other material for staking climbers, as the chemicals would likely run off and go into the soil.
Pete gathers the three bamboo stakes at the top and uses zip ties, also known as tie wraps, to secure them.
Then he cuts off any excess.
Next, he secures them with twine, so the joint is extra tight and strong enough to hold the fruit laden vines. Securing the tomato plants is a time consuming process, but very crucial to good plant growth and performance.
I have three rows of tomato plants running down this wide bed. Here are some teepee structures partially done.
And here is the bed complete. Each plant is now surrounded by designated stakes. As plants are groomed, the long wines will be tied to the bamboo where needed. These supports really help to keep all these beautiful fruits off the ground and free of rot.
These stakes should last through the season nicely. It takes about 50 to 90 days for tomato varieties to reach maturity. Planting can also be staggered to produce early, mid and late season tomato harvests.
In a more narrow bed, two stakes every three feet are pounded into the ground at an angle, so they touch each other at the top. Pete starts at one end and continues down the length of the bed.
Using a line of twine secured above from one end to the other, Pete ensures the stakes are all centered perfectly.
He ties the two stakes securely using the same zip ties and twine.
Next, at about three feet up from the ground Pete secures horizontal bamboo pieces across the length of the bed and the already secured bamboo. He can add more rows of horizontal supports as the plants grow.
There is plenty of space to tie and support every tomato vine.
Here is the bed all done. Looking through the center of the bed from one end, there will also be just enough space to carefully walk through for any maintenance work or harvesting.
Maintaining the plants and checking them regularly will go a long way in keeping them healthy. Another key to maintaining a rich vegetable garden is to rotate the tomato bed between a few spots in the garden to diminish the risk of soil-borne diseases such as bacterial spot and early blight. These tomato beds located on the south end of the garden this year. Very soon, we will have many, many tomatoes to enjoy.
Are the hydrangeas blooming where you are? Here at my farm, the hydrangeas are starting to put on quite a show with more blooms showing up every day.
My hydrangea border is located down the carriage road from my hoop houses and across from my chicken coops. It is home to a selection of colorful hydrangeas including mature mopheads transplanted from my former Lily Pond home in East Hampton. I added more hydrangeas in this area last year, planting both white and dark pink varieties. I also have hydrangeas growing around my tennis court, outside my goose and peafowl pens, behind my main greenhouse, and beneath the London plane and Cotinus trees in my middle field. Many of the newer plants are from the First Editions and Endless Summer Collections by Bailey Nurseries.
Here are some photos, enjoy. And have a wonderful July 4th holiday weekend!
I have long grown hydrangeas. Hydrangeas are one of the most popular ornamental garden plants because of their large spherical bloom heads that come in varying shades of pink, purple, blue, and white.
When I redesigned my East Hampton gardens, I transferred about 30-plants to my farm and have added many more ever since.
Hydrangea is a genus of at least 70-species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea. Mopheads are the most popular flower style of hydrangea.
In addition to the mopheads, there are also hydrangeas that bloom in lovely lacecaps.
The lacecap is very similar to the mophead, but instead of growing round clusters of showy blossoms, this hydrangea grows flowers that resemble flat caps with frilly edges.
They produce florets, surrounded by small flowers that look like closed buds.
This is Hydrangea ‘Eclipse®,’ a dark bigleaf hydrangea from First Editions. Its blooms are bold cranberry or amethyst depending on the soil ph. In extending the hydrangea border, I planted these along the carriage road heading toward my Japanese Maple Woodland.
On the other side outside my tropical hoop house, I planted FlowerFull hydrangeas also from First Editions.
These stand out with bold white blooms and sturdy upright stems.
FlowerFull can bloom from summer to first frost. The abundant white panicle balls turn green as the season progresses.
In general, mophead and lacecap leaves are relatively thick and crisp, shiny, and often heart-shaped. They range in size from four to six inches long by three to five inches wide.
And look who’s admiring the flowers here – one of my handsome “blue boy” peacocks. I planted a selection of hydrangeas around the bird enclosures. It’s always important to do research before planting. Make sure to consider the plant’s mature size and light needs when selecting a space. And remember, perennials grow slowly the first year, faster the second year, and then usually reach full size in the third year.
All of these are BloomStruck® Bigleaf Hydrangeas around two sides of my peafowl and goose pens, where they could be seen from the carriage road. When mature, these hydrangeas will reach two to four feet tall and three to five feet wide.
The name hydrangea originates from two Greek words – “hydro” meaning “water” and “angeion” meaning “vessel” or “container.” Together, the rough translation is “water vessel” which refers to their exceptional thirst for water.
Most hydrangeas are shrubs, but some are small trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.
Hydrangeas are long-lived, and extremely vigorous specimens that offer lavish and varied blooms. The most common garden hydrangea shrub is the Bigleaf mophead variety, Hydrangea macrophylla.
Mophead blooms measure 3.5 to 5 inches across. They bloom in rose-pink or violet blue, depending on pH of the soil.
Here’s a flower still waiting to bloom. Blooms appear all summer long on both old wood and new growth.
This beautiful white panicle hydrangea is growing outside my tennis court.
Last year, I added to my collection in this area. Surrounding the court itself are Little Hottie® Panicle Hydrangeas from First Editions. They are just starting to bloom. They are compact, mid-sized white hydrangeas with large, full flower heads that bloom from the bottom to the top of the plant. The flowers start out lime green, then turn white in the summer and eventually to an antique white in the fall.
The blooms on this compact Summer Crush® hydrangea are intense, deep raspberry pink. These hydrangeas are from the Endless Summer Collection by Bailey Nurseries. These are growing beautifully in my middle field under the allée of London planes and smoke bushes.
These hydrangeas will reach 36-inches tall with a spread that’s 18 to 36-inches wide. They add such a nice bold color to this long allée.
I hope you can enjoy the gorgeous colors of the hydrangeas where you are. And I hope you all have a very joyful and safe July 4th holiday weekend!
Bright, beautiful, and colorful dahlias are starting to bloom here at my farm.
Dahlias begin to flower with great profusion just as many summer plants pass their prime, and they last right up until the first frost. My dahlia garden is tucked behind my vegetable greenhouse in an area exposed to full sun and protected from strong winds; however, as they grow it's important to provide tall, hollow, dahlia stems with good support to prevent them from flopping. My crew stakes each plant every year using wood and jute twine.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Well-maintained plants will never disappoint -here is one of the first dahlias to bloom this season. Dahlias grow more blooms when they get at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day.
Dahlias are named after 18th-century Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. He actually categorized dahlias as a vegetable because of their edible tubers. The tubers are said to taste like a mix between potatoes and radishes.
Dahlia plant leaves grow segments that are ovate to oblong to lanceolate in shape. The leaf margins may be lobed or dentate. Leaves may be green, reddish-purple, or purple-black depending on the variety.
Most of these dahlia plants are about waist high already – some even taller. It’s important to make sure they are properly supported as they grow, especially those that produce larger, heavier blooms.
Pete starts by making the stake holes along the outside of the bed.
Then he pounds in strong stakes about a foot deep to anchor the outer edge. The twine here is used to ensure the stakes are straight.
Pete does this around the entire perimeter to support any stems on the outer edge.
Here, one can see how tall some of the flowers have grown.
Next, Pete stretches the twine from one end to the other…
… tying it securely to the wooden uprights. Jute twine is available in different thicknesses and its tensile strength can reach about 140-pounds, but because it is a natural material, it can degrade over time. Pulling the twine tightly will help it keep its form through the season.
Fernando works from the inside of the bed, making holes and securing stakes.
He stakes the larger plants individually, and the smaller ones in groups, supporting them on all four sides.
Here is one section staked nicely. As plants grow, twine will be added to support more stems.
Pete and Fernando also make sure the aisles are clear, so it’s easy to access and cut flowers during the season.
Dahlias are classified according to flower shape and petal arrangement. This is a single dahlia with just one row of petals surrounding the center disc.
They range from a charming single, daisy-like flower to the popular double varieties which can be two-inch-pompons to 12-inch dinner plate size. They are divided into 10 groups: single, anemone, collarette, waterlily, decorative, fall, pompon, cactus, semi-cactus, and miscellaneous.
This cactus variety is called ‘Park Princess’ with tightly rolled rich, vibrant pink petals. It is a prolific re-bloomer and an excellent cut flower.
Currently, there are more than 40 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. A member of the Asteraceae family of dicotyledonous plants, some of its relatives include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia.
The majority of dahlia species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars, but they are brightly colored to attract pollinating insects.
The genus Dahlia is native to the high plains of Mexico. Some species can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador & Costa Rica as well as parts of South America where it was introduced.
This area was once used for growing grapes. Now, it’s proven excellent for growing dahlias. I am looking forward to seeing more and more of the gorgeous blooms in the weeks ahead.
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