Tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, have long been one of America’s favorite garden vegetables. Those bold red, sun-ripened tomatoes bring on the taste of summer with every bite. And, they’re filled with excellent antioxidants and vitamins.
Just a handful of healthy plants can produce a bounty of delicious fruits within six to eight weeks. The best time to plant tomatoes is when daytime temperatures are consistently above 65-degrees Fahrenheit. Last week the weather was perfect and my gardeners planted our tomato crop - about 120-plants. Many of them were grown from seed right here in my greenhouse. They're all doing excellently in my new large half-acre garden.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here are some of the season’s young tomato plants ready to go into our beds. We always start our tomatoes from seed in my greenhouse. We don’t use any pesticides or chemicals of any kind, so we know we’re nurturing the highest quality plants. We always grow an abundance of tomatoes – I love to share them with family and friends and use them to make all the delicious tomato sauce we enjoy through the year. This season, we also have tomato plants that were gifted to me by a friend and some from one of our trusted growers.
Phurba is bringing all of the plants into our new half-acre vegetable garden. Everyone here at the farm gets so excited for the planting of our tomatoes.
Ryan decides how many tomato plants will be planted in each bed. He takes into consideration how big each plant gets and how much room each plant needs to grow properly. Here he is measuring the width of the bed to determine how many rows can fit.
Then Ryan sets all the plants in the rows where they will be planted, making sure all the plants are equally spaced along the bed.
To ensure all the plants are spaced equally, Ryan uses a two foot long piece of bamboo as a marker.
Meanwhile, Phurba starts planting. Here he is digging the hole for one of the plants. Each hole is at least eight to 10-inches deep.
Transplanted tomatoes that are kept free of weeds for the first four to eight weeks can usually outcompete emerging weeds later. Most tomato plant varieties need about 100-days to mature, but there are some that only need 50-60 days. One can also stagger plantings for early, mid, and late season tomato harvests.
Phurba teases the roots of each tomato plant before putting into the ground. This stimulates growth.
And then each plant is carefully placed into the hole and backfilled. All these beds were already well fertilized when we put in the soil. The best fertilizer for tomato plants contains a relatively low concentration of nitrogen. High nitrogen content promotes the growth of stem and leaves, but not the fruit and flowers. Instead, tomato plants use phosphorous and potassium to produce fruit. Apply the fertilizer before the tomato plant is placed in the hole. A fertilizer with a 5-10-5 ratio of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium is good for the young plants.
Because these beds were all tilled and filled with new soil, Phurba is able to plant pretty quickly.
Two-thirds of the plant should be underground, meaning all but the two top most leaf sets should be buried. Planting deeply helps the plant to develop more roots, and more roots mean more ability to take up water and nutrients.
Keep in mind, the stronger root system also helps the plant better survive the hot weather. This applies to tomatoes planted in the ground, in a raised bed or in a container.
Here, Phurba looks across the bed to make sure the tomato plants are all in line.
Meanwhile, Pete is working on a trellis for all our growing peas. Here he is cutting rebar to use as posts. I decided that would be the strongest material that would last year after year.
Rebar, short for “reinforcing bar” or “reinforcement bar”, is a metal bar often used with concrete settings. It is inexpensive and can be found at building supply shops.
Pete measures the rebar going into the long bed – it should be 73-inches exactly.
Here is a row of rebar secured to the side of the middle garden box.
And here it is with the fencing he put up – an easy way to support the vining pea plants.
This is galvanized wire fencing. It’s easy to find in six foot rolls. We placed it on both sides of the long center bed – it’s perfect for the growing peas.
And here’s Phurba almost done planting our tomatoes – most of the large garden beds are now filled.
As with all our plants, they’re all given a good drink of water once they’re in the ground.
This garden is looking so wonderful. I can’t wait until our first big harvest!
We're making lots of progress with our long list of late spring chores here at my farm.
This time of year can be very hectic - my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are busy keeping up with all the rapid growth in the garden beds. Many days are spent mowing the fields, trimming and pruning the hedges and shrubs, tending the vegetable and flower gardens - and of course, weeding and watering. Last week, the crew tackled the terraces outside my Winter House - clipping and grooming the bright golden barberry.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here I am earlier this month grooming one of the boxwood shrubs outside my stable with one of my favorite tools, my STIHL HSA 26 battery-powered garden shears. I always instruct my crew to “use the right tool for the right job,” and this handy garden tool is perfect for clipping and shaping the boxwood here at the farm.
It’s also perfect for trimming the bright golden barberry outside my Winter House. This is my upper terrace parterre, where I have four quadrants, each with a large boxwood shrub surrounded by a square hedge of boxwood and golden barberry. This is a look before the barberry is trimmed.
One can see the growth here. It definitely needs some shaping and grooming, but I am so pleased with how well it is doing.
Golden barberry, Berberis thunbergii, is a deciduous shrub that is compact, adaptable, very hardy and shows off striking small, golden yellow oblong leaves.
At least once a year, we groom and prune the boxwood and the golden barberry. Both are known for being robust when grown under lots of sun. Golden barberry also takes on its brightest coloring if it gets at least six hours of direct sun a day.
STIHL makes a lot of wonderful and dependable garden tools, but the hand-held HSA 26 garden shears is what I use most when I prune and groom. It comes in this easy-to-carry case, so all the accessories can be safely transported from one area to another.
Here it is unrolled – it contains the shears, the two blade attachments, the battery, and the charger.
The battery on the right is small, light, and fits into the handle of the tool.
The hedge shear attachment with double-sided cutting blades cuts in both directions. Phurba starting on the golden barberry, which has a moderate growth rate of about one foot annually.
Phurba likes to use this attachment for the tops of the barberry, which is trimmed so it is just a few inches taller than the boxwood.
Here, one can see how precise and clean the cuts are using the shears. Phurba goes over the top lightly again to make sure everything is straight and level. One can see the area he has trimmed and the area he still has to do.
The tool’s two blades are easy to switch. Phurba just removes the hedge shear from the bottom. Here is a view of the motor inside.
And then here is the grass shear cutting attachment. This blade is about four-and-a-half inches wide and has a cutting width of about 12-centimeters.
Phurba likes to use this blade for the sides of the barberry which are also showing lots of growth.
The grass shear trims the barberry very precisely and is so easy to maneuver. Occasionally, Phurba stops to look at the work he has done and to make sure it is straight and well aligned with hedges in the other quadrants.
Phurba is able to switch the blades easily as he works.
Once everything is trimmed, the terrace looks so much better – all the hedges are all level around the boxwood and each other. This view looks at the two north quadrants of the upper terrace parterre.
And here is a look at all four quadrants with my antique sugar pot in the center. Sugar kettles were used on 19th century Louisiana plantations for the production of sugar. In the winter, I use it as a fire pit when entertaining. The terrace looks great – and “check,” another task is completed from our long list.
"Sleep, creep, leap" is an adage many gardeners use to describe the yearly phases a perennial goes through to reach its full mature size - and what a difference the time makes.
In 2020 here at my farm, we planted hundreds of hosta plants down behind my chicken coop yard across the carriage road from my allée of lilac. I first got the plants as bare-root cuttings and kept them in a cold frame for several months until they were big enough to transplant. In all, more than 700 hostas in a variety of cultivars including 'Wide Brim,' 'Francee,' 'Regal Splendor,' 'Elegans,' and 'Blue Angel.' That first year they "slept," the second year, they "crept," and now three years later, they're "leaping," filling the space with beautiful, verdant foliage.
Enjoy these photos of their development.
In early 2020, this garden bed behind my chicken coops was cleared and cleaned. This area is shaded by a grove of tall dawn redwoods, Metasequoia, which I planted about 13 years ago.
My plan was to plant lots and lots of hostas in this garden bed. Their lush green foliage, varying leaf shape, size, and texture, and their easy care requirements make them ideal for many areas.
Before planting, the hostas were strategically positioned and spaced, paying attention to variety, color, and growth habit.
Here they are after they were all planted in April of 2020.
In the spring of 2021, we mulched the entire area. The hostas are already looking quite strong.
Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies, and occasionally by the Japanese name, giboshi.
Hosta leaves rise up from a central rhizomatous crown to form a rounded to spreading mound. Most varieties tend to have a spread and height of between one and three feet.
Here are the hosta plants in August of 2022. In summer, blooms on long stalks extend up above the clumping hosta foliage.
Hostas are native to northeast Asia and include hundreds of different cultivars.
Hosta leaf textures can be smooth, veined or puckered. Their surfaces may be matt, shiny or waxy but are usually satiny.
And here they are this spring – the leaves are so large and lush.
Look at how full the garden is. Vigorous growing hostas can reach mature sizes in three to five years. Giant and slower growing hostas can take a little longer. I am so pleased with how well they’re doing.
Unlike many perennials, which must be lifted and divided every few years, hostas are happy to grow in place without much interference.
‘Elegans’ has huge, rounded, blue-gray leaves.
Some hosta clumps can grow to more than six feet across and four feet high.
This variety is called ‘Francee’ with dark green, heart-shaped leaves and narrow, white margins. A vigorous grower, this hosta blooms in mid to late summer.
This is ‘Wide Brim’ with its dark green leaves and wide, yellow, irregular margins. This variety prefers full shade for most of the day.
And this hosta has light green leaves with darker green margins.
Hostas thrive in sites where filtered or dappled shade is available for much of the day, but they can survive in deep shade.
And always make sure your hostas are planted in good, well-drained, nutrient-rich soil with compost, well-rotted manure, and phosphorous.
The garden is divided in large sections showing the different varieties. Hostas, with their palette of so many different colors, textures, and sizes have tremendous landscape value and offer great interest to any garden. If you have the space and the right conditions in your yard, plant some hostas – you’ll love them for years to come.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
