Watering While Away - Just Add Wine

Keeping your plants 'hydrated' while you fly off to fun adventures is always a bit of a conundrum.
 Unless you have some form of automatic watering system in place, you must turn to begging or borrowing - especially when it comes to containers.

As I took stock a couple of weeks ago of the weather forecast, state my veggies were in, and length of my trip, I came upon a simple plan that seems to have work wonders.

I was only leaving for three days, and rain was possibly anticipated for the night of our return (you know how those meteorologist like to hedge). So I decided to front-load the water by giving everything a good thorough soaking the day before I left.  This would suffice for all the big half-barrels, but I worried more about some of the smaller pots.

I know that peppers can take some drought, and you even want to keep them a little underwatered in the case of hot peppers if you want to develop that heat. Ever wonder why some jalapenos are so much hotter than others? Usually its due to how they were watered. As the developing peppers are only the size of a baby's thumbnail right now, I took the chance to leave them be (after the good soaking of course).

For the leavy veggies, I was a little more concerned.  I knew that the window boxes of lettuce would wilt in 3 days for sure, leading to bitter, leathery leaves. Another compounding factor was their location - under the roof of the back deck - leaving all their water needs to me.  My other concern was my actively-growing lemon verbena. She is putting out such quantity of new growth that I new she'd dislike drying out.

So with all that said, I decided to give my lettuce & lemon verbena wine! With a plethora of wine bottles empty in the
recycling, I just filled three of them up and put one, upside-down, in each pot burring the neck.  It worked like a charm! They were empty when I got back, but all the plants seemed happy and ready to resume the normal course of
watering the next day.  For bigger pots, or longer away, you might consider placing 2 or more in each pot, if large enough to accommodate.

As a bonus, any rainwater that accumulates in the 'dimple' at the bottom of the upturned bottle provides a great little butterfly pond. They need water to you know, and the rim gives them a place to land to get a sip.  So not only are we watering the plants, but local insect-life too.

Bring on the Tomatoes!

I’ve started a page for the Warm Season Varieties that I have experience growing to give you some ideas for what has or hasen’t worked for me.  The crops are those that you typically associate with the sexy bumper crops of summer - tomatoes, peppers, cucs, squash, melons, and the like..  What they have in common is they need warm soil and air temperatures to thrive, and in the Pacific Northwest typically aren't planted until mid May (okay, we do chomp at the bit to plant them earlier, but they don’t really do much until the soil hits 60 degrees F).  Thus, the majority of these are best started indoors or purchased as transplants in order to get the most out of the harvest before the first frost.

I've started with tomatoes, as this is likely to be the most interesting to the most people.  I will follow up shortly with the descriptions to some of the pepper, eggplant, squash family plants that I’m growing but the varieties are all listed, along with selected flowers and herbs. Check it out here.

Some tomato-growing basics

Sun

You’ll get the tastiest fruit with the best color if you can give them 10 hours of sun a day – and this is
pretty much a must if you want to grow the big, beautiful beefsteak heirlooms like Brandywine and Purple Cherokee.  I don’t have this much sun (and you might not either) so I suggest going for quicker-to-mature varieties - signified by the number of days on the label.  Shoot for 75 days and under.  Cherry types are also a good bet, as it takes less energy to put out a small-yet-tasty fruit.

Water

Consistent watering is the key to good tomatoes – and keep that water where the plant will use it, the roots.  Try not to get the foliage wet as this only gives fungal diseases a chance to reproduce.  Regular, deep waterings are key to developing deep roots and strong plants, as well as prevent blossom end rot.

Fertilizing

Tomatoes are heavy feeders, so give ‘em what they want! Many commercial organic blends are
available specifically for tomatoes and peppers, and usually include the trace minerals they crave like sulphur, calcium and magnesium.  For the relatively small amount you need for container gardening, its probably not cost effective to buy in bulk and mix your own, but this is definitely an option if you want greater control of what goes into your plants (and your food).

Containers

If you are growing tomatoes in a container (as I do) you need at least a 5-gallon bucket for the smaller
varieties, and really would do better with 20 gallon or a half-barrel for a better yield, not to mention a more reasonable watering schedule as they are less likely to dry out in a day.  You also want to find ways to warm the soil and/or use reflected heat to your advantage to help you out, especially in areas not receiving those 10 hours of sun.

In a half barrel, use the space around the tomato for quick leafy crops

Varieties such as Bush Goliath, and other determinate types (that only grow to a certain height and then put out fruit more-or-less all at once) are tailor made for containers.  If you want to go the indeterminate route (where they grow on and on until frost), don’t hesitate to prune the suckers and even the whole plant to keep things manageable.  This help the plant direct more energy into fruit production, rather than keep on with the leaves.

For more great tomatoes growing advice, check out this Organic Gardening post for the Complete Guide or just check out the 10 Best Tips to get you started.

Varieties

Sungold in bloom

Here are the varieties that I’m trying this year.  Some of my tried and true favorites will also be on Warm Season Varieties tab at the top of the page, so don’t hesitate to check those out too.  This year I’m mixing it up a bit so I can speak more intelligently about more varieties, and we’ll see if it pays off, switching Stupice for Paul Robeson.
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CHERRY TYPES - a great way to go for containers, and areas without the 10 hours of sun that tomatoes prefer.  At the very least plan one cherry along with your slicers, for a quick and continuous harvest of pop-in-your-mouth delights.

Sungold | 60 days | A great reliable orange cherry tomato that is a must have for the PNW

Chocolate Cherry | 70 days | A new one for me this year, looking forward to a great dark colored cherry

PASTE TYPES - while not always, these tend to be determinate tomatoes, which means that they grow to a certain height and put out their fruit all at once (and are a more manageable size for containers).  While often used to make sauces because of their lower moisture content, these are still great fresh-eating tomatoes and their smaller size is easier to use up in one serving, such as on a sandwich.

San Marzano | 80 days | This Italian heirloom has always been a reliable producer for me with meaty flavor, such that I have not tried another paste type yet! Many people rave about the Amish Paste variety, and Roma is a standby.

SLICERS - what wonderful things can't you say about slicing tomatoes?! These are the epitome of a ripe juicy summer tomato for most people.  A word of caution though - those big meaty beefsteaks take a looooooong time to mature - when it says 90 days, that's to the first ripe tomato. Due to our cool nights in the PNW, unless you have an area with all-day unobstructed sun you'll likely be disappointed growing anything that takes over 80 days.  Those 10 days might not seem like much, but when you consider you can get some varieties that mature in only 60 days, then the difference is a whole month - a whole month more with tomatoes. You decide if waiting for that big beefsteak is worth it - I buy them at the market late in the season instead while I enjoy my earlier tomatoes at home in early July.

Bloody Butcher | 55 days | A new, somewhat crudely named variety for me this year, it has endeared itself already by being the first one to flower (on May 20th!). Now to see what a 55 day tomato tastes like!

Taxi | 62 days | An early yellow variety that I'm excited to try - this determinate type should stay small and yield a good crop.

Bush Goliath | 68 days | This is a fantastic variety for containers, as it is a slicer that stays bushy and compact as the name implies, with such as sturdy stock that I grow it without staking it (!).

Paul Robeson | 75 days | Another new variety for me this year, I was tempted by the description of dark mahogany fruit, and the setting of fruit at lower temperatures (typical of many Russian heirloom varieties).

Aunt Ruby's Green | 80 days | Even though this is at the far end of my usual 'days to maturity spectrum', the description of bright green fruit, and the vision of someone's Aunt in Tennessee saving seeds to pass down this heirloom.

Garden Interlude

As the days grow longer and the temperatures warmer, I encourage you to pause, breathe in stillness, smell the roses.  The heady perfume of these velvet red wonders caught my attention today; be present in the moment and grateful for the small miracles all around you.

Fava Feast

One thing in the garden that I have managed to stay on top of while in the midst of a month-long-and-counting renovation is picking the fava beans.  The pods are swelling up nicely with plump emerald gems that are sweet and earthy and simple to prepare.  For a quick and easy recipe check out this VGF post.

I planted seeds last October to see how the favas might overwinter and do double duty as a cover crop.  I figured at the very least if they were killed off by frost that they would at least be adding some nitrogen to the soil.  And we didn't get a killing frost this winter so they made it through and are rewarding us with green goodness.

Young favas and purple mustard

I planted some additional favas in February when the peas went in, and the two sets of favas are only about 2 or 3 weeks different in pod development.  However, in the front yard the fall-planted favas are setting more fruit than the spring-planted ones.  I think this might be due to the large cherry tree that sits to the south of the veggie barrels there - the spring-planted favas had less light because the tree was leafing out during their early growth.  So I'm considering a spring planting next year only if I loose fall-planted ones over the winter as this seems to give them the best conditions.

I see bunnies!

Besides being delicious and fixing nitrogen in the soil, fava beans are beautiful plants. They have blue-green leaves that shimmer in the wind, composed of gracefully pinnate leaflets, and their white pea-like flowers have distinct purple-black dots on them that playfully remind me of bunnies (see for yourself!). Mine are 3 to 4 feet tall and each plant sports multiple branches, so 9 plants in a 22 inch diameter wine barrel is about the most intensely you can plant them in my experience.

Graceful favas and mustard blossoms

I've only grown the variety 'Long Pod' because its the only one they stock at the grocery store through Ed Hume seeds. However, with their great success in the cool wet spring weather here and somewhat miraculous overwintering, I'm going to branch out and try some other varieties this fall.  Fava beans (a.k.a broad beans) are common in many Mediterranean dishes, including the Italian pasta e fagoli and Lebanese foul medames. As you plan your fall garden, try some fava beans - they are a great and easy addition to your soil and table.



Pick when big and bumpy

For more about favas and specifics on how to grow them, check out this article from Ed Hume.


Verdant goodness!