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Very pleased with progress so far, although tomatoes and chickens are the same. They shouldn't be counted until they're harvested.
Edits: 04/27/25Follow Ups:
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Nice looking set up. My wife has hers up and growing. She started the seeds a month or two ago. It's time to stick them in the ground here in Northern California.
Toasted bacon and tomato is heaven.
I completely agree.
The BLT might just be the greatest sandwich on the planet.
yes indeed!
Lovely tomatoes BTW!
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
We agree 100% on that one! I like small curd cottage cheese with diced tomato on top as a side with the BLT. Delicious!
I congratulate all on the possibility of deserved fulfillment. anticipation is a very underrated pleasure in today's must get it now world , but it is solid.
I'm starting off easy with non grafted climbing roses and a few miniatures. They are second only to cactus for ease of care in my climate, which is definitely my speed.
I once had a tomato over in Italy that came in with the ship's stores that had a sweet taste I will always remember. if I knew what variety that was , I would defiantly go for it.
Nice garden. I have just started getting the soil ready. Still iffy on the possibility of cold nights here in the Willamette valley.
Do you, local guys, get special pricing?
I quit drinking alcohol over 30 years ago so I have not kept up on the growth of local wine production. I do know there are some amazing facilities for tasting and events at most of them.
Thank you for saying so.
In the end it's ALL ABOUT the soil prep. I made some investment into prep myself. I incorporated some greensand into my beds in Spring of '24. Given the slow release of nutrients from greensand, I may be just now reaping benefits from it. I also added composted cotton-burr hulls over this past winter. Plant growth, and more importantly, blossom production this year has been impressive.
Best of luck with your garden.
Great choices on the green sand and cotton burr hulls. I see you are in Texas. In parts of the south the use a herbicide to defoliate the cotton before harvest. But in West Texas they generally don't do that. It is something to be aware of when you get the hulls. Contaminated hulls likely won't kill your plants, but they won't help them either. You likely got the good ones.
Looks very good and healthy. What varieties are you growing? They look very compact and bushy, are they a determinate tomato?
I got most of mine planted 3 days ago, so I have a couple of months before expecting edible fruit. This is my 15th year of exclusively growing tomatoes and like you, I find it very enjoyable and therapeutic. One year I grew 30 different Heirloom varieties and my wife thought I had lost my tomato loving mind. I wanted to try a wide variety and see what I like, grew well and produced the best. Some turned out to be Mules and didn't produce any fruit. And most did not produce very many fruit and were very susceptible to disease. It turned into a lot of work to try and keep them going.
The last few years I only grow a total of 4 plants in large 30 gallon containers and have more tomatoes than we can eat and they produce into November or the first hard freeze and it takes little effort. I grow 2 Cherokee Purple, 1 Big Beef and 1 Celebrity. All indeterminates.
I would enjoy hearing about yours.
Same as I always plant. Half Cherokee Purple and half Big Beef.
New this year is trellising. Have always used cages in the past. The trellising makes them look more bushy and upright. So far I'm loving the trellising. I probably waited a bit too long to start the trellising, so it was a bit of a PITA to do the initial setup. Now that's done it's a piece of cake to keep up with the vines, and it's way easier on the plants than trying to train them into growing within the cages. Bending the vines to get them back within the cage results in way more broken stems than I like. Plus the trellis being taller than a cage works really well when the vines get longer than the cage is tall.
Also trying out the toothbrush trick you told me about. I have to say I think there's something to it. I've had virtually ZERO dropped blossoms this year. Almost 100% of blossoms are setting fruit. I'll definitely do it again next year and see if results are duplicated.
I don't trellis, but I know what you mean about the cages. I use some of those 8' green stakes to secure the cages and then use bungee cords to sturdy up the stakes. Basically it extends the height of the cages.
We are on the same page for tomato plants. I throw in a Celebrity to increase quantity. But they aren't as tasty as BB and Cherokee. Cherokee are so thin skinned I pick them at first sign of color on the bottom. Otherwise they split from watering often when it gets summer hot.
That toothbrush trick works really good. I do it everyday when the blooms really get going. I have a single HUGE super loom on my Cherokee and I just buzzed it before I read your post.
Do you grow organically? I have always done it that way. I use Tomato-Tone.
Yes, I stay as true to organic as far as I can.
Tomato-Tone organic granules in the soil at planting and then weekly foliar feedings with Garrett Juice. Other than that it's natural soil amendments only. Oh, and all the egg shells and assorted other kitchen scraps turned into it on occasion.
I am not familiar with Garrett Juice but will look it up. I use a product called AgroThrive . I couldn't find it, but requested it from Ace Hardware and they brought it into a local store. This Ace sold it quickly and brought it in a larger size. Lots of micro and macro nutrients and enzymes in this 100% organic product. I have been using it for 4yrs and am sold on it.
Now to check out Garrett's Juice.
A warm weather favorite of mine.
Wifey and I just began an herb garden. Getting some good initial results.
Stock tanks are a brilliant way to do easy raised-bed gardening.
Have you made any provisions for drainage? I have a friend who uses cowboy bathtubs too, but I've never thought to ask him about if or how he's draining them.
wifey made the suggestion to drill a number of drainage holes in the bottom for that very reason. It's not in position yet because we've got some siding repair and painting going on behind the bed where they'll live.
I really need to look into reserving a small bit in our community garden.
You really should.
I find it extremely cathartic. I used to bitch about the labor involved, but have come realize that the labor involved is a product of my own harvest-greed. Pick just a few things to grow, and keep it manageable. Now that I got my expectations in line it's fun and something I look forward to each year.
Highly recommended ...- especially if you love fresh tomatoes.
Per our HOA, we aren't supposed to grow vegetables in our yard, but we have a nice community garden within walking distance or golf cart ride. It is fenced to keep out rabbits and deer and you can reserve a row or a half row. I doubt I would want more than a quarter of a row. I'm going to look into it.
We gave up, as he would take bites from as many as he could reach.
And the rest was constantly pecked by birds.
I think we managed to harvest maybe 20%.
Approximately 10 days ago I noticed a groundhog had moved in and set up shop under my shed. I set up a live trap, baited it with various fresh fruit and even carrot tops and he didn't touch it. I would see him out munching on the grass and scurry back under the shed when I would let my dog out.
Anyway, groundhog met his demise yesterday when I slowly slipped onto the back porch and placed a 22 short into his ear.
Sounds like a soft pop.
Yes, my wife never heard it.
My wife never shot a rifle in her life. She was very, very good with a pistol, took part in many matches with me, but never tried a rifle.
One day the little bastard was going about his nasty business or ravishing her garden. I kept a .22 Savage rifle with a scope by the kitchen window for such events.
Anyway... her first and only rifle shot hit him squarely in the head.
It is pretty amazing how accurate a good 22 rifle can be with good quality ammo that the rifle likes. I have an Anschutz rifle that with the proper ammo shoots 10 shots at 50 yds and easily cover the hole with a dime. And that's with me shooting. I have a cataract in my right eye that needs fixed, so I couldn't come close to doing that today.
In good hands they do miracles. But that takes tons of practice and specialty equipment like special target ammo, stiff leather jackets, glasses, etc.I have never been a great rifle shooter, just average, I guess. With pistol I was very good in practical shooting, not bull's eye.
Edits: 04/28/25
I wouldn't consider myself a great rifle shooter, just competent at best. And am just average with a handgun.
I think it's great that you did competitive shooting with your pistol. To me that would require much more practice and dedication than a rifle.
My Anschutz likes Lapua Center X the best of all I have tried.
Rifle shooting is just as challenging, I think, but it has different criteria in ITS OWN sport.
These two rarely cross their ways, but it happened in IPSC, which used to be the pistol only sport.
Maybe 10 years ago they introduced the pistol caliber carbines into the competition, and the carbine shooters quickly began to occupy the top lines in the combined results. Their shooters tended to be quicker and more accurate.
So much so that the moved the former kings - the Open gun shooters. I guess the longer barrels, more stability and less muzzle flip were among the things that helped them.
Our two cats have the run of the back yard and discourage visitations by birds. We've also had a breeding pair of hawk that have frequented our immediate area for the last few years. They scare away a lot of birds and put a serious dent in the vole population around here. We've stopped putting out bird feed too. Don't want to create a gathering place in these days of avian influenza. So birds don't present a problem ...- at least nothing like what you've apparently had.
I have far more problems with possum snacking on them than anything. And now that I know tomato cutworms are fluorescent under UV light I don't think they'll be a problem anymore either (thx for that tip, Tim).
She is going nuts in her flower garden.
Seeing how happy it makes her I don't mind. And they ARE beautiful... almost as beautiful as your tomatoes. :)
Another benefit - the woodchuck doesn't touch them.
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