If you’ve ever grown a vining plant, you know how important it is to provide strong structures to which the vines can cling and climb. Using tall, natural bamboo stakes and strong jute twine is a great way to support the growing tomato plants in my garden bed.
I am always interested in trying new ways to improve productivity in the gardens. This season, I decided to use eight foot vertical stakes secured to horizontal ones to create our tomato supports. Bamboo is attractive, easy to find, and can be reused year after year. So far, they've been working excellently. And yesterday, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, tied some of the long vines to the bamboo to keep them all the fast-growing fruits off the ground.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
After three weeks of hot, humid, and dry weather, we finally got some much needed rain. Tomatoes grow best when the daytime temperature is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. They stop growing above 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Tomatoes also need full sun and warm, well-drained soil. Our tomatoes are thriving and it’s time to support their growing vines.
In late May, the season’s designated tomato beds are covered in black weed cloth to cut down on some of the laborious weeding in the garden. We planted our tomatoes in the back of the garden this year – always as part of our crop rotation practice.
Our tomato plants are always started from seed over the winter and then transplanted in the ground as soon as daytime temperatures are consistently above 65-degrees Fahrenheit. 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. If the seedling is already too tall and wobbly, dig a trench instead of a hole and lay the plant on its side. 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.
These are the tomato plants in early June. With nutrient rich soil and warm days they’ve grown pretty quickly. Tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, have long been one of America’s favorite garden vegetables. Those bold red, sun-ripened tomatoes deliver the taste of summer with every bite. And, they’re filled with excellent antioxidants and vitamins. We plant many, many tomatoes, but just a handful of healthy plants can produce a bounty of delicious fruits within eight weeks.
I am always trying new methods for staking our tomato plants. Every year we try something new and better. I like using bamboo canes. They are easy to buy in bulk, and can be found in a variety of sizes. These canes are about eight to nine feet tall.
This year, I came up with the idea to make straight supports down each aisle – with no netting, just bamboo. The first step is to pound the stakes into the ground, so all are the same height along the bed.
Chhiring places one eight-foot stake every couple of feet along the center of the tomato beds. And each one is about eight to 10-inches deep. The important thing is to place them deep enough, so they remain secure for the duration of the season.
Next, Chhiring secures horizontal bamboo pieces across all the bamboo stakes. He makes four rows about a foot apart going up the bamboo.
And then secures them with jute twine. Chhiring secures twine at each joint, so it is 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.
Here is one aisle. Look closely, the plants are still quite small, but it won’t take long before they cover the base of the stakes.
Two weeks later, the plants are already several inches taller.
And yesterday, many were more than two feet tall, with their vines drooping onto the ground.
Here’s Chhiring measuring and cutting strands of jute twine to the same length.
Then he drapes them around his neck as he works to carefully tie up the long tomato vines.
First he loops it gently around the vine…
And then he secures it to the bamboo crossbar. He ties a simple knot tightly to the bamboo.
And this lifts the vine off the ground. There is plenty of space to tie and support every tomato vine. This is the best method we have used yet.
Tomato leaves have serrated, or wavy and pointed, edging along the entire perimeter. Tomato leaves 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. Never use chemically treated wood or other material for staking climbers, as the chemicals would likely run off and go into the soil.
Remember, it’s the yellow flowers produced by tomato plants that must be fertilized before fruit can form. Once fertilized, the flowers develop into tomatoes – small green globes that become visible at the base of the blossoms and then eventually become mature fruits.
Here are some of the green fruits already growing on the vines. It’s a good idea to grow several varieties, including at least one or two disease-resistant types, since, of all veggies, tomatoes tend to be the most susceptible to disease. There are several types of tomatoes available, including globe tomatoes used in processing, and for fresh eating. Beefsteak are large, often used for sandwiches. Oxheart tomatoes vary in size and are shaped like large strawberries. Plum tomatoes are usually oblong, and used in tomato sauces. Cherry tomatoes are small round, often sweet and eaten whole. Campari tomatoes are sweet and juicy and of small to medium size. Many of our tomatoes are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds – a source I’ve been using for many years for both seeds and supplies.
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.
Here are some cherry tomatoes already changing color. I can’t wait to try the fruits of our labor.
These plants look so much better when kept upright and neat. The tomato plants have a lot of room to climb, keeping delicious fruits looking their best. Very soon, we will have many, many tomatoes to enjoy. I am looking forward to a wonderful harvest this season. I can almost taste them already!
My newly painted outdoor garden furniture looks so wonderful out on my terraces - a new coat of paint is an easy way to update and transform these metal pieces.
Not long ago, I decided to paint a large number of metal furniture pieces my signature "Bedford gray". Some of the items were old, weathered, and in need of attention, while others were simply painted the wrong shade or color. It took several days to prime and paint the furniture, and then a few more until everything was completely dry. Last week, we put them all out where they could be used and enjoyed by visiting family and friends.
Here are some photos.
Earlier this month, I gathered all my mismatched, timeworn, metal garden furniture along with some pieces that had been incorrectly painted, and prepared a painting area outside my Winter House carport, so all the furniture could be repainted the same Bedford gray.
Two of my crew – Pete and Fernando – took on the task of spray painting every piece – first with a primer made especially for metal and then with an oil based finishing paint.
All the pieces looked so great once finished. Then it was another three days of drying to make sure everything was completely dry. Drying time is heavily dependent on the surface of the material. Oil-based paints take longer to dry on metal than on wood or drywall. There was no rain in the forecast, so it was fine to leave them all drying in my carport.
The first pieces I moved were these benches. They look so nice outside my Flower Room. It creates a whole new space for rest and contemplation here in this passage way to my Winter House kitchen.
Last Friday, Pete and I began moving the rest of the furniture to their new summertime homes.
On this terrace, I placed this charming plant stand. I’m looking forward to filling it with small potted plants from my greenhouse.
Have you every seen one of these? It is called a “conversation chair.” Over the centuries it has also been known as the courting bench, a tête-à-tête, a chaperone chair, the vis-à-vis, or the gossip chair. It was considered a piece of sophistication and style during the Gilded and Victorian age.
Here’s another view. Conceived in 19th century France, the basic setup shows two seats conjoined in a serpentine shape, allowing sitters to have a quiet, more intimate conversation while also preventing too much physical contact because of the shared armrest cleverly doubling as an elegant barrier.
Over in front of this window is a dainty single chair – also in the same Victorian era style. But look closely…
It is actually in miniature size – for the youngest of guests.
And here is an average sized Victorian style bench – also painted the same Bedford gray.
In the courtyard behind my Winter House kitchen, Pete and Dawa transport this large plant stand.
It looks very nice behind this table. Once the glass tabletop is returned, this will be a great spot for summertime brunches.
Another small table is positioned on the terrace behind my Summer House. These chairs are Francois Carre Sunburst chairs, also known as Pinwheel chairs.
Nearby is another Sunburst chair sitting behind a small glass covered metal desk looking out at the formal sunken garden. These chairs were made in both France and the United States until the 1940s. They have a spring mechanism on the seat and backs.
And look at the garden now – so lush and green with all the beautiful foliage. When I first designed this garden, I called it my Boxwood Room. It measures 60 by 120 feet. The garden’s focal point is the old Ginkgo tree at the back of the garden. On the sides are smaller ginkgo trees planted over the sculpted boxwood shrubs and hedges.
And over on the terrace parterre in front of my Winter House kitchen – this circular bench, ready for visiting friends and family.
Over on the other side, tables and other seating arrangements – everything is now all matched and ready for summer entertaining.
One single bench is placed in front of the herb garden with a perfect view of the paddocks and stable beyond. We are in desperate need of some rain here in the Northeast and in much of the country, but the gardens are looking beautiful this season.
Here is another view over one of two hand-casted antique fountains I purchased many year ago. They are 19th century fountains with a hexagonal shape. I installed them about four years ago and the birds love them. I hope you are all enjoying your summer and the beauty of your gardens.
Another good pruning job is complete at my Bedford, New York farm - this time, on the hedges surrounding my swimming pool.
In 2018, we planted more than 170 purple columnar beech trees, Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyck Purple' along the inside of the pool fence. The columnar beech is a splendid tree with deep-purple foliage that holds its color all season long. Around the outside of the pool fence, I have a hedge of two dark-colored burgundy-black leafed specimens - Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ and Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple' shrubs. I always try to incorporate unique and interesting plantings into my gardens - all these have superlative color and appealing form. This week, my crew gave the hedges a good pruning to keep them all healthy and looking their best.
Enjoy these photos.
When planning the gardens around my pool four years ago, I wanted to create a natural border along both sides of my pool fence, so I chose a dark purple color palette. These Physocarpus and Cotinus shrubs have grown quite a bit since last year – it’s hard to see the beech trees behind them.
Here is the inside hedge of columnar beech trees. These are fastigiate meaning their branches slope upward more or less parallel to the main stem. I knew these would be perfect around the pool, but like all garden specimens, they must be well-maintained. It was time to prune them all at least a foot.
The leaves of the columnar purple beech are rounded ellipses, two to four inches long and one to three inches wide, with an undulating margin and a slightly pointed tip. They are smooth and softly lustrous in the sunlight. In spring the new leaves are a vibrant, deep purple-red. As they mature in summer they become dark burgundy-purple, holding this color well through the hotter weather.
Physocarpus is commonly called ninebark, and is an upright, spreading, somewhat coarse, deciduous, Missouri-native shrub which is closely related to the genus Spiraea. It boasts a deep burgundy foliage with ovate to rounded, usually three to five lobed leaves that are dull green in summer changing to an undistinguished yellow in fall. Then its color veers toward bronzy red by the time the leaves fall in late November.
After the white flowers of the physocarpus bloom, what follows are these seed pods – a favorite food of small birds.
Also known as smoketree or smoke bush, Cotinus is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs. They are a great choice for massing or for hedges. The stunning dark red-purple foliage turns scarlet in autumn and has plume-like seed clusters, which appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips.
In fact, the name “smoke bush” comes from this – the billowy hairs attached to the flower clusters which remain in place through the summer, turning a smoky pink to purplish-pink. I have many smoke bushes around the farm.
Here’s Chhiring starting to prune the outside shrubs. Pruning means to lop or cut off any superfluous branches or shoots for better-shape and better growth. These look fuller every year – in part because of our regular pruning.
Chhiring cuts off any dead or crisscrossing branches first. The rule of thumb when pruning is to cut the dead, diseased, damaged, non-productive, structurally unsound, or otherwise unwanted plant material. The branch on the right is dead – it is woody and hollow.
To remove the top, Chhiring uses our STIHL HSA 94 R Hedge Trimmer, which is ideal for making clean pruning cuts.
Chhiring carefully goes over the top of the shrubs with the trimmer keeping them all at the same height as the fence itself.
Here’s a look after a section of it is cut – it looks so much better.
It doesn’t take long for the ground to fill with clippings. Once all the pruning is done, Pasang rakes up all the trimmed branches…
And then loads them all up in our trusted Polaris vehicle, so they can be taken to the compost pile where they will decompose for next year’s garden dressing.
Here’s a view from the other side. They’re the perfect height and still disguises the fence very well – one cannot see it at all.
To ensure the pruning is perfectly straight on the beech trees, we always use a landscaping twine, so it is visible and can be pulled taut.
Here’s a look at one side of the newly pruned beech tree hedge – so straight all the way around.
These trees create such a gorgeous privacy screen around my pool.
I wanted the pool to look as natural as possible where I could enjoy the panoramic views of the landscape with my family and friends. At the far end of the pool I have five staddle stones. Staddle stones were originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders. They typically looked like giant stone mushrooms, but mine are square – a more rare and unique version.
The pool is so inviting. This is one of my favorite summertime areas of the farm. And the perfect place to cool off – it’s expected to be a very hot, humid week ahead.
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