GREETINGS, GARDENER!!
Hoping this finds you well and thoroughly enjoying your garden and gardening!
CRACKED TOMATOES
Here in our NC garden-in-the-woods, we’ve hesitated growing cherry or grape sized tomatoes because they’ve tended to crack for us, even with regular watering. But seeing so many of your wonderful tomatoes looking so perfect, we’re trying it again.
One friend said that their cherry tomatoes crack too but they eat them and it doesn’t affect the taste. But the problem with cracking is that it does make the fruit more vulnerable to fungus, plus for us ants get into the tomatoes through the cracks.
So we checked out our article on tomato diseases and were reminded that there are crack-resistant varieties so we’re trying some Juliet grape tomatoes.
Please let us know which crack resistant tomatoes (large and small) work best for you.
STAKING TOMATOES
We’ve been too busy gardening in between wrestling tech tigers to write much on this, but you know the saying: “A picture’s worth a thousand words.” So… maybe a video is worth 10,000 or so, when it comes to sharing about staking tomatoes. 🤔
Our approach to tomato growing has shifted. We have adopted a method used by commercial growers. It’s what we call the “string method”.
Our setup is much simpler than this elaborate commercial greenhouse in nearby Mt. Airy, NC. However, the basic methods are the same. Read and view here.
BAMBOO TEEPEE FOR BEANS
In the photos and video below, Coleman shows how he’s making a bamboo bean teepee using bamboo we’ve harvested from our own bamboo patch.
No bamboo? No problem! If you don’t have bamboo, you can just use any kind of slim wood strips or poles. We like using bamboo because it’s light, sturdy, abundant (we have a large patch at hand to harvest for all our gardening needs), and easy to work with. Also the joints of the bamboo provide natural resting points that help keep the twine from slipping. Read and view here.
FAVORITE MILD PEPPERS - MARCONI PEPPERS - SWEET AND EASY!
If you have a short growing season, it’s too late for these, but if you can grow through September, there’s still time to plant from seeds at 80 days to maturity. Or, you can buy seedlings and enjoy them in about 60 days. For more...
RECIPES FROM THIS WEEK -especially for small tomatoes and cilantro:
Okay… we’re heading out to the cabin garden to pick blueberries, so all for now.
Wishing you a wonderful rest of your day. Drop us a line anytime, and don't hesitate to let us know anything you'd like to see more (or less) of!
Coleman and LeAura Alderson
GardensAll.com
