Quote of the Day: Amy Goldman
At the end of September, about two months after the appearance of the first vine-ripened homegrown tomato of summer the time has come to dismantle the garden before the cover crop is sown. Frost is coming: fermentation and decay are in the air. Plants have fallen down, top heavy, and many tomatoes look like sad sacks, flaccid and drained.
-Amy Goldman (The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table: Recipes, Portraits, and History of the World’s Most Beautiful Fruit)
I’ve been clearing out some of my tomato vines. They’ve reached the end of their productive lives and they will make room for cover crops, and winter greens. I used to try to keep the tomatoes going until frost, but I have found that I’d rather have fresh spinach in February than a few extra tomatoes in October.
I still have a few tomatoes that are going strong, most of them were seeded later in the spring. Among them are some tiny yellow cherries, a ‘Lemon Boy’ tomato, a ‘White Beauty’, a few ‘Goldman Italian Americans’, and a few ‘Principe Borghese’ tomato plants.
My ‘Winter Keepers’ are coming into their own as this is their time to shine. I’m hoping that these will last well into the winter on shelves in the basement as the name implies. My mom is growing some ‘Long Keepers’ and they look exactly like my ‘Winter Keepers’.
When do you clear out your tomato plants? Do you keep them going until frost?
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Parched
Everything is parched here. It’s been a dry dry summer and it was especially dry during the month of August, we got less than an inch of rain for the entire month. To make it even worse we have sandy soil which doesn’t hold water at all. Everything is crispy and some thing are badly wilted.
I have rain barrels to collect the rain water, but they’ve been empty for weeks since we haven’t had any rain. They were drained to water all the potted tomatoes, vegetables and the raised beds in the back. I don’t make it a habit of watering much, the plants usually bounce back fairly well when the fall rains come. I do have a few choice plants that get a drink every 10 days or so to make sure they survive the dry spells. Mostly these are the hydrangeas in my collection, I’d hate to have to replace any of them, which would cost far more than the water it takes to make sure they survive the dry spells. When it’s this dry I do water the front foundation gardens as they are filled with a lot of plants that I’d hate to lose. The blueberries especially would suffer with reduced yields next summer.
I enjoy watering by hand most of the time, it’s good exercise and it gives me time to monitor all the plants. Usually I’m carrying around these 3 gallons watering cans and occasionally I’ll use the watering wand if the plants need a lot of water or if I’m watering a larger area.
When it’s been this dry I water the larger garden areas with the sprinkler. It saves a ton of time to set up the sprinkler and let it do it’s job. I bought this fantastic heavy duty Gilmour metal sprinkler many years ago and I love it. I’d highly recommend it if you’re in the market for a good quality sprinkler that will last forever, I especially love that it’s easy to set, no little knobs that get stuck and won’t turn. And it’s all zinc and brass and heavy enough to take some serious water pressure. After going through a few cheap sprinklers, I invested in this and I’ve been happy with it for the last 5 years!
When I’m using the sprinkler, I use a rain gauge to monitor how much water the gardens have received and I set the timer on the stove to remind myself to check every half hour. I make sure I give everything a good inch of water so I only have to do it once or maybe twice during a really dry month like this.
No doubt my water bill will be 2-3 times the normal amount, but it’s cheaper than buying new plants. I know the more I amend and improve the soil here the better the plants will weather these long dry spells. The rain barrel system is a real money saver for us when it comes to watering the garden, but there are other things I also do to save water.
I keep a dishpan in the sink and save the water from rinsing vegetables and washing dishes for the plants. When we run the shower to warm it up we save the water in a bucket. We also have containers that fit in the bathroom sinks that we use to collect hand washing water to use for watering as well. All of these small measures really can add up to a lot of gallons saved. Some day I dream of having a gray water system in my home, until then, it’s buckets and dishpans.
How’s the rain/water situation in your area of the world? What’s your preferred method of watering when rain isn’t coming?
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It’s HOT, HOT, HOT
We’re having a bit of a heat wave here in NE Ohio. In addition to being hot, it’s pretty humid, which isn’t a good combination. We have some weather like this each year, but this year seems to be particularly bad. Normally our hot temps come in late July or Aug, hopefully it isn’t this hot until then.
On top of the heat, it’s been pretty dry here as well, so the gardens are getting a little wilted. That means lots of watering. It’s a good thing I have those rain barrels to keep me from using so much city water. Not to mention the plants like it better, no chlorine.
I always enjoy using a watering can to water, but when it gets this hot everything needs a lot of water and I just don’t have the time. Last summer Mr Chiots installed a water pump on my rain barrels so I could use a sprinkle or hose. It’s quite nice and it sure saves me a lot of time when it comes to watering, although not as good for building biceps.
I enjoy watering in the evening, I always feel like the water has a chance to soak in and the plants can drink before the sun starts beating down on them. Some people say you should water in the morning. In my mind I think evenings are more natural. Often on hot humid days thunderstorms pop up in late afternoons, so nature often waters in the evenings. I’ve never had issues with mildew or any of the issues that are mentioned for avoiding evening watering.
When do you like to water your garden?
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She loved the air after a hard rain…
For some reason I really enjoy the rain. I suppose it might be from my childhood. I grew up in a tropical city in Colombia. It was generally very hot, but the rain would bring coolness which was always nice.
I was reading yesterday right before the rain came and had to blog this quote I came across right before the rain hit.
She loved the air after a hard rain, and the way a forest of dripping leaves fills itself with a sibilant percussion that empties your head of words.
-Barbara Kingsolver (Prodigal Summer)
I especially love it when the rain comes during the day and I can grab my camera to get a few photos. I know many of you are having too much rain in your gardens, but we’re not having enough. The rain was a wonderful gift yesterday afternoon, it will bring with it some cool weather which will be perfect for gardening. Here’s a little glimpse of our rainy afternoon.
The garden is so lovely after a good rain, the colors seem more vibrant, and everything shimmers with drops of rain. When that time coincides with late evening it’s a perfect pair, everything is bathed in a golden glow.
I’d have to say this is one of my favorite times to stroll around the garden. There’s something so peaceful about being in outside after a good rainstorm, still feeling a few drops falling from the trees. I always feel that the plants seem more alive since they’ve had a good drink.
How’s your weather this year, have you had enough rain or do you need more?
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Quote of the Day: Kahlil Gibran
Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
-Kahlil Gibran
I’ve been wanting to take a photo like this for a long time, featuring dirty bare summer feet. One of the things I love about the coming of warm weather is the ability to go barefoot or wear flip flops all the time. Of course this means a good foot washing every evening before bedtime, but it’s so nice after a long winter of knee-high wool socks.
Are you a barefoot person when the weather gets warm?
