Planting...Time

[ChristinaJo]

Rhines81
I donate produce to my local FISH ministry.

[Gardeneer]

I no longer do that. With tomatoes I can always make real nice thick sauce and jar/can it.

[Nan_PA_6b]

(I just had a second thought about this comment, I'm sure there is a charity or shelter that would gladly welcome my overzealous farming ... I'll look into that this year.)

The local food bank would be overjoyed to have any excess produce. You just have to know what days and times are best for them to receive it. Give them a call. Food banks tend to get canned goods, and fresh produce is a treat that goes quickly and is much appreciated.

Nan

[AlittleSalt]

A lot of the 'time' part has been spent cooling off, taking a break, cleaning the sweat off my glasses, changing my mind and thinking it out, and having to stop because of the disease. (I didn't like typing that last part.)

The one area that took the most time was figuring out what to plant in one set of raised beds. I stopped and thought about it overnight. The raised bed is one we see right out the northwestern windows beside our living room (Where we spend most of our time.) I'll take a picture tomorrow.

I first thought about planting varieties like Rebel Yell, Elgin Pink, Indian Stripe PL, Big Beef, etc. But my wife looks out those windows as the sun is rising, and she really loves cherry tomatoes. I thought about planting some new-to-us cherry tomatoes that probably look nice. Varieties like Gargamel, Garnet, Green Zebra Cherry, Suncherry, Mom's Big Fat Grape, etc. Those varieties might become favorites?

As I sat back and contemplated even more, I thought, "Why not plant her favorites there?" There is room for 17 plants in that raised bed- planted 3 feet apart in all directions. I chose the ones with an * beside them as her favorites and a few that I think will look good growing with them.

The picture will help explain this more. It got planted out like this:

Left Side
Sweetie Cherry x 2*
Annie Sunshine
Aunt Ruby's Yellow Cherry
Anna Aasa
Brad's Atomic Grape

Back End
Sweet Million x2 *
Blue Ambrosia (This plant is unbelievable - looks perfect)
Porter x2 *****

Right Side
Sungold F1 x2 *
Oranje Van Goeijenbier x2 *
VHS Cherry F2 x2*

The left side of the raised beds gets a little less sun, but I have not noticed a difference in plant growth or productivity. My wife really likes Peacevine too, but I had already planted one of the two Peacevine plants out in the main garden. What I have read is Peacevine is the OP version of SS Cherry 100. Being that Sweet Million is an improved version of SS 100...you grow what you got.

[Nan_PA_6b]

Salt, what a great way to show your love! Very thoughtful.

Nan

[AlittleSalt]

Nan, thank you. She means everything to me.

[rhoder551]

That's a lot of tomatoes to plant, for anyone. Last year I planted 9 tomatoes and even that small amount drove me crazy so this year it will be 5-6. I love the tomatoes but if I plant more then I can manage, they don't do very well and aren't as productive as they should be.
It is good to do certain thing slowly and with purpose, call it a tomato planting meditation.
Great thread... have a wonderful tomato growing season.

[peebee]

Salt, what kind of labels are you using, that can be peeled off the Solo cups you mentioned? That would be a good idea, I would only have to write the name once.

[Gardeneer]

As I have mentioned , I am holding off planting until Friday, when all lows under 40F are out of the forecast. But today I will plant my 2 Silvery Fir Tree plants in fabric bags.This way I can take them to the garage at night. One of them already has 2 flowers. SFT is a very early variety. Usually my first.

[Spartanburg123]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

As I have mentioned , I am holding off planting until Friday, when all lows under 40F are out of the forecast. But today I will plant my 2 Silvery Fir Tree plants in fabric bags.This way I can take them to the garage at night. One of them already has 2 flowers. SFT is a very early variety. Usually my first.

Gardeneer- you read my mind. I will also be planting this weekend. I got 6 20 gallon pots filled with dirt and bunny poo, ready for a few varieties that I like to grow in pots. The little patch I will be tilling will probably hold about 10-12 plants. They are all in my garage under partial light, hardening up now.

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by peebee

Salt, what kind of labels are you using, that can be peeled off the Solo cups you mentioned? That would be a good idea, I would only have to write the name once.

Peebee, they are masking tape marked with a sharpie.

If the plants grow and look good, I will make labels using the computer, bold 20 point font and put them in small bags (The size above the 2" x 3" bags we use for seeds.) It worked well last year. The labels still look like I just printed them.

[AlittleSalt]

I just remembered to take the picture.

[EPawlick]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

A lot of the 'time' part has been spent cooling off, taking a break, cleaning the sweat off my glasses, changing my mind and thinking it out, and having to stop because of the disease. (I didn't like typing that last part.)

The one area that took the most time was figuring out what to plant in one set of raised beds. I stopped and thought about it overnight. The raised bed is one we see right out the northwestern windows beside our living room (Where we spend most of our time.) I'll take a picture tomorrow.

I first thought about planting varieties like Rebel Yell, Elgin Pink, Indian Stripe PL, Big Beef, etc. But my wife looks out those windows as the sun is rising, and she really loves cherry tomatoes. I thought about planting some new-to-us cherry tomatoes that probably look nice. Varieties like Gargamel, Garnet, Green Zebra Cherry, Suncherry, Mom's Big Fat Grape, etc. Those varieties might become favorites?

As I sat back and contemplated even more, I thought, "Why not plant her favorites there?" There is room for 17 plants in that raised bed- planted 3 feet apart in all directions. I chose the ones with an * beside them as her favorites and a few that I think will look good growing with them.

The picture will help explain this more. It got planted out like this:

Left Side
Sweetie Cherry x 2*
Annie Sunshine
Aunt Ruby's Yellow Cherry
Anna Aasa
Brad's Atomic Grape

Back End
Sweet Million x2 *
Blue Ambrosia (This plant is unbelievable - looks perfect)
Porter x2 *****

Right Side
Sungold F1 x2 *
Oranje Van Goeijenbier x2 *
VHS Cherry F2 x2*

The left side of the raised beds gets a little less sun, but I have not noticed a difference in plant growth or productivity. My wife really likes Peacevine too, but I had already planted one of the two Peacevine plants out in the main garden. What I have read is Peacevine is the OP version of SS Cherry 100. Being that Sweet Million is an improved version of SS 100...you grow what you got.

Will you add some flowers such as marigolds as a companion plant for the tomatoes?

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by EPawlick

Will you add some flowers such as marigolds as a companion plant for the tomatoes?

Yes, I have two flats of Dwarf French Marigolds growing from seeds. They started getting their true leaves 5 or 6 days ago.

[EPawlick]

Perfect! I'm sure they will be a perfect accent for your vegetable beds.

A bonus is that they may help with bugs.