The very first tomato of the 2015 season, not surprisingly, is a Black Krim. They are very nice tomatoes, especially for our coastal region, a bit smoky and salty in flavor. Mine do not get very large but that is okay because these are perfect for salads. Black Krim, at least in my garden, start early and end late. I'm very happy with these and save seeds every year.
Gardening as metaphor ~ from my coastal Southern California community garden ~ a gardening blog
Friday, July 31, 2015
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
First Brandywine developing
First Brandywine developing. I have a shot of the plant in this photo, right side. I generally have noticed the Brandywines in my garden in past years do not produce many tomatoes. However, the fruit that develops tend to be quite large. Due to the predatory squirrel issue, I'm thinking this year I will harvest any tomtatoes earlier than I would like. This is not my preference but if I don't do otherwise, I will not be able to enjoy any tomatoes.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Watermelon, emerging
I am trying watermelon this year. The seeds were planted into a 15 gallon bucket. I cover the soil with one layer of newspaper to reduce evaporation. I realize this is a bit late to plant watermelons but we'll see. We usually get our extremely warm weather towards the end of summer which I hope we'll get. Right now, we still have morning fog, a bit chilly for most plants, due to our coastal climate.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Scarlet runner beans, one week later
No flowers yet but they are rapidly climbing up the poles. Late start this year. Here is what they looked like about a week ago.
Garden in early July 2015
The tomato seedlings have flourished this year. I am happy with their growth. Black Krim is in the back to the left. On the right is the Brandywine. On the front left is the Paul Robeson. There are a few developing tomatoes but they are hidden in this photo. I did plant them around 1.5 feet apart, but this does not appear to be enough room. The Black Krim and Paul Robeson are cooler climate tomatoes, perfect for our coastal region with morning fog in the summer time. I don't have much space so I have only planted one of each so far. They are all from seeds I have harvested in past years.