PlanterTomato Vegetable Gardening

How To Grow Tomatoes If You Have No Space, No Time, and A Black Thumb

The most frequent questions I get about tomatoes, are from people interested in growing them but who have very limited space.  In addition, the same folks often express concern about their own gardening skills.  In this posting, I'll show you an almost fail-proof way to grow delicious tomatoes, even if you have almost no space and lack a green thumb. 

The Best Container for Tomatoes

If all you have is a balcony or a small patio, the best approach is to grow tomatoes in containers.   I've been testing a type of self watering plastic container called an Earth Box for two seasons and believe it to be the best system for gardeners who have limited space and who don't want any of the hassles associated with traditional gardening.

The Earth Box has many advantages over other container systems and is particularly well suited for new gardeners and those who tend to over-water their plants.  Here are some of the advantages of the Earth Box:

• Self-Watering - The Earth Box is a "self watering" container.   You "water" your plants by filling a reservoir that sits at the bottom of the container.  When the reservoir is filled, excess water spills out from a drain on the side of the container.  When you see water coming from this drain, it's time to stop watering.  Once filled, the reservoir provides a steady source of water for your plants.  The water is drawn upward towards the roots by capillary action.  All you need to do is keep the reservoir filled.  At the beginning of the season, this means once per week, but during the heat of summer, you will need to fill the reservoir more frequently, perhaps even once per day.  That said, it's very easy to do and no bother.
  
• No Worries About Soil Preparation -The Earth Box kit contains all the fertilizer you need for a single season.  Just fill the container with potting soil you purchase at the garden store and the fertilizer that comes with the Earth Box kit.  That's all there is to it.  You can buy additional packs of fertilizer each year to replenish the nutrients in the soil.  Earth Box even sells organic fertilizer re-fills for those interested in organic gardening.
  
• No Weeding - After filling the Earth Box with soil, you cover it with a black plastic cover that comes with the kit.  The cover has elastic around the edges so it easily fits right over the top of the Earth Box.  You then slit two holes in the plastic and plant your tomato seedlings in these two holes.  The plastic keeps weeds from growing in the Earth Box and it also helps retain moisture.
• Easy To Move - The Earth Box is built with four wheels on its base.  This makes it easy to move if you need to do so.
  
• Tomato Cages - While not part of the standard kit, you can buy an accessory cage that fits right over the Earth Box.  I recommend this since it keeps your tomato plants properly trellised.
  
• For more detailed information about how the Earth Box compares to other container systems, check out my prior posting on Vegetable Containers Compared. The Earth Box costs about $45 and can be purchased from your local garden store or via Amazon.com.  If you have Amazon Prime (free shipping) it won't even cost you anyting to have them deliver the Earth Box to your door.  A very similar product, The Tomato Success Kit, can also be ordered for $65 including the trellis from Gardener's Supply.
  

Tomato Seeds and Plants

Tomatoes plants can be either determinate or indeterminate in their growth habit.  For container gardening you should select a determinate tomato variety because this type of tomato only grows 3-4 feet high. By contrast, an indeterminate variety will grow over 7 feet tall, making it impractical for container gardening. 

Fortunately, there are many good varieties of determinate tomato available on the market today.  If you are willing to start tomatoes from seeds, there is a very wide selection available from companies like Baker Creek, Tomato Fest, Parks Seed, and others.  When you shop on line search for "Determinate" and you should get a list of determinate varieties from which to choose.  Tomato varieties such as Burbank Slicing, Carnival, Grushovka, Bison, and Manitoba are all reputed to be good, but there are so many varieties in various shapes, colors, sizes, and for various climate conditions that I'm hesitant to make a specific recommendation.

If you really want to make it really easy for yourself, go to your local garden store and buy tomato seedlings instead of seeds.  Seedlings are several weeks old by this point, so you don't need to fuss with germinating seeds in trays or run the risk that the delicate young seedlings will die.

Buying seedlings at the store also gives you a jump on the growing season because by the time you buy them at the garden store, the seedlings are already several weeks old.  If your garden store doesn't offer determinate tomatoes that appeal to you, some catalog merchants sell plants as well as seeds.  Check out Burpee and Territorial Seed Company.  Both sell live plants through the mail.

Seedlings at the garden store are generally labeled with information about the variety and and a picture.  The description should say whether the variety is determinate or not.  If you are not sure, just ask the garden store staff for help.

Extending Your Growing Season

When growing determinate tomatoes, you may want to stagger the timing of your plantings since determinate varieties produces all the fruits at once.  If you have one Earth Box, buy and plant one seedling early in the season, and then purchase and plant a second tomato seedling a few weeks later.  If you have multiple Earth Boxes, you can stagger both the timing and include more varieties of determinate tomatoes in the mix of things you grow.

Sunlight Is the Only Requirement

If you use the Earth Box and a determinate variety, I'm very sure you will be successful.  However, sunlight is a requirement for success. Tomatoes can't be grown in the shade.  During the summer months, tomatoes need a minimum of 8 hours direct sunlight to bear fruit and will do even better if they get 12 hours sunlight.  As long as you have a location that gets sunlight, it really won't matter if the space you have is a balcony, small patio, fire escape, parking lot or roof top.

If you have questions about growing tomatoes, just leave a comment.

Heirloom vs. Hybrid Vegetables: The Debate Over Which Are Better

As we move into gardening season, many will be buying seeds to start at home or plants from the garden center.  Gardeners have many options including a choice of "heirloom" and hybrid varieties.  There has been a vigorous debate over the merits of each raging for a number of years.  In this posting, I outline the basic arguments of the debate and provide my opinion on this matter.

Heirlooms

The definition of what constitutes an "heirloom" vegetable is a bit vague, but heirloom varieties are always open pollinated and have been in existence for 30 years or more.  The classic definition is that they are open pollinated seeds that are over 50 years old.  Open pollinated means that seeds taken from one generation will produce a plant and fruit that is essentially the same in future generations. 

Gardeners who advocate for heirloom plants claim they taste better, foster genetic diversity, and are more economical because seeds from open pollinated plants can be replanted in subsequent seasons.

Hybrids

In contrast, a "hybrid" is a cross between two different varieties.  Hybrids seeds can produce plants that bring positive attributes from both parents, but the seeds from these plants will not yield the exact same type of plant when grown in subsequent seasons.  To reliably grow a hybrid, a gardener needs to purchase seeds produced by the cross of both parents each year. 

Advocates for hybrid plants argue that new varieties bring improvements over older ones in the same way that a new computer is better than one available 10 years ago.  They also point out that all heirloom varieties were first creatied by hybridizing two parents and then genetically stabilizing the cross over time.  In fact, farmers have been hybridizing for thousands of years and all improvements in agriculture have been achieved through hybridization.

My Opinion on the Matter

I do think that modern hybrids offer advantages to home gardeners and that we should be open to using them.  Having said that, I have to admit that almost everything I grow is an heirloom.  I like the diversity and quirkiness of heirloom varieties and I also like growing things with a link to the past. But I am not so stiff-necked as to exclude all hybrid varieties from my garden.  For example, I have serious problems growing squash due to a disease that afflicts this plant called powdery mildew.  In 2011, I will be growing hybrid squash varieties because they offer resistence to this disease.

My biggest concern with hybrids is really about their use in commercial agriculture and commercial agriculture in general.  Large scale agricultural enterprises require vegetable varieties that have long shelf lives, can be shipped without damage, and produce high yields.  In optimizing for these traits, plant breeders have created hybrids that meet the demands of commercial agriculture, but trade off attributes like taste and texture.  That's one of the reasons why produce purchased at the supermarket is less tasty than that grown at home from plants that were bred for attributes such as sweetness, acidity or texture. 

Furthermore, commercial growers tend to plant a very limited number of varieties because it's easier to sell one or two varieties than dozens.  Again, thinking of the grocery store experience;  you can only purchase a few varieties of tomatoes at the market, but there are thousands of known varieties in existence.  Thus, commercial agriculture has resulted in a dramatic decline in varieties in production.   The hybridized varieties produced by commercial agriculture may be more vulnerable changes in temperature, moisture, or even specific diseases than their heirloom cousins.  Reliance on just a few, hybrid varieties potentially puts the worlds food supply at risk, particularly as the climate changes.

One of the reasons I grow heirlooms is because I feel it helps maintain genetic diversity by acting as a counterbalance to commercial practice.  I grow as many varieties as I can, even if this is just one plant of each variety.  For example, in 2011, I'll have 15 types of tomatoes in my garden.

New York Times Article

For additional information on this subject, here is a link to a recent New York Times article, Heirloom Seeds or Flinty Hybrids.

Welcome To Spring & Some Books To Inspire You

Today March 20, marks the beginning of Spring.  On this rainy cold day in Northern California, I took some photos showing the resurgence of my garden that I hope will inspire you.  I'm also providing a list of  books that I think would be helpful to those interested in creating their own "urban farm."

Sugar Snap Peas - A family favorite.  These peas have crunchy, sweet edible pods that my kids love.  I've planted snap peas as early as January 1 in my green house.  This year, I planted them in a raised bed.

Blenheim Apricots Forming - Blenheim apricots are considered the best but they are hard to get outside of California because they are so perishable.  To enjoy them, you need to grow your own.

Cherries in Bloom - I have relatively young trees.  Seeing them flower is nice, but not as dramatic as when the trees are larger and in full bloom.  A mature flowering cherry is an amazing sight and one that has inspired nature lovers for centuries;  the Japanese celebrate Spring by pick-nicking under cherry trees in full bloom.  This practice, known as "Hanami," or flower viewing, dates back to the Nara Period. (710-794 AD)  Thankfully, you don't need to be the Emperor to enjoy cherry blossoms.

All Blue & Maris Piper Potatoes - You would think that home grown potatoes can't taste much different than those purchased at the grocery store.  Well, think again.  Not only can you grow better varieties, even standard ones are better because they are so much fresher.  It make one wonder how long they sit in storage before they hit the produce aisle.  See my posting to learn how to grow potatoes in containers.  The grow bags shown in my garden can be ordered for Amazon.com for just $7.

Ripening Blood Oranges & Lemons - wonderful fresh citrus.  The oranges can be eaten or juiced.  The lemons are great for lemonade or for salt preserving.  Check out my wife's recipe for preserved lemons.

 
Oats - This is an experiment for me.  I planted these in the late Fall and overwintered them.  I won't get much actual grain this year but I just wanted to see if Oats could survive the Winter here in Northern California.  They did, so I'll probably plant a larger amount in Fall 2011.

Beets - So easy to grow.  The best way to cook them is to just wrap them in foil and bake in the oven.  When cool, you can easily remove the skin.   No need to peel prior to cooking.

Carrots -  Danville (shown here) are a good variety for the Winter because they are less likely to get woody.  For planting in the Spring, consider Chantenay, an heirloom French variety.

Peach - Last year this poor tree got peach curl and didn't do all that well.  It's a variety called Baby Crawford.  I'll give it another year and if things don't look better, I'll have to find another variety.

Garlic - I grow both hardneck and softneck garlic.  If you want to know more about garlic, have a look at my posting Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Garlic.

Bees Foraging for Nectar and Pollen - I'll probably have 4 hives this year which means plenty of honey for friends and family.  I may even make some mead, honey wine that tastes like sherry.

Books To Consider:

If you are looking for some good books to help kick-start your backyard gardening, the following can all be purchased at Amazon.com.  Just click to follow the link.

How to Grow More Vegetables & Fruits Than You Ever Thought Possible - There's a wealth of information here.  The tables at the back of the book are worth the price alone.  Highly recommended.

The Home Orchard - A great beginners guide to growing fruit trees at home.

Four Season Harvest - This book by John Coleman inspired me to grow year-round.  I now harvest beets, carrots, kale, mache and other veggies from my garden, even in the dead of winter.

Beekeeping for Dummies - This is actually better than the name implies.  If you are new to bee keeping, start with this book and then add The Beekeepers Handbook.

Raising Chickens For Dummies - OK, full disclosure time.  I haven't read this book, but I was so happy with the Beekeeping book in the same "Dummies" series that I feel comfortable suggesting this as something to consider if you are thinking about adding chickens to your backyard.  The book gets very strong reviews on Amazon.

And to close this posting, a photo of lemons on a rainy day.

Spring Soil Preperation

 As we move into Spring, it's time to think about getting your garden soil in top condition.  In this posting I suggest two ways to increase the fertility of your soil.

Professional Soil Testing

I had my soil tested professionally for first time last season and think this service is invaluable.  Having your soil tested by a professional service provides more accurate results than can be achieved with kits from the garden store. Additionally, a soil testing service tells you exactly what quantities of specific amendments (compost, alfalfa, bone meal, sulfur, etc.) need to be added to the soil to bring up its fertility.

Generally, it takes several years to get soil to peak fertility, so it's a good idea to do testing each spring for several years.  To learn more about soil testing and review an actual test report, see my prior posting on this subject:

The Dirt on Dirt:  What You Get with Professional Soil Testing

 Start Composting

One soil amendment that you can count on adding each year is compost.  Compost is just decomposed plant matter that is added to soil as a natural fertilizer for your plants. 

You can buy compost from your local garden store, but its very easy to create your own using lawn clippings, leaves, and kitchen scraps like coffee grounds, beet tops, carrot peals etc.  Composting is achieved by adding consecutive layers of green matter, brown matter, and soil.  It's not hard to do but there are a few tricks that will increase your chances for success. Below are two posting that explain how compost and how to create a composting bin.

How to Build A Composter

How To Compost

How To Combine Two Bee Hives

In this posting, I cover how and why to combine two bee hives.

This week end, I opened my bee hives to check on them.  One hive was doing fine.  I could find plenty of capped brood cells, indicating that the queen was alive and laying eggs.  Sadly, there was no evidence of this in my second hive and it was clear that the colony was limping to its death.

To replace this second hive, I've ordered a new "package of bees" from a local supplier.  The package contains a new queen and 3,000 bees to attend to her.  When installed in the hive, the bees will forage for nectar and pollen to feed themselves and the queen.  With any luck, the colony will grow rapidly in the Spring. 

If left on it's own, the current queenless hive would just fade away as the bees age and die with no younger bees to replace them.  In every sense, this would be a waste, so I decided to combine the bees from my weak hive with those in my strong hive.  The idea is to boost the population of the strong hive with an influx of several thousand new bees.

In the wild, colonies don't mix and a sudden influx of bees from one colony to another would create a war between the two.  In order to combine two colonies successfully, one needs to accustom the bees to each other and to the scent of the queen in the strong hive. 

Amazingly, this is fairly easy to do and can be accomplished in just a few days.  Essentially, you place the weak colony on top of the strong colony and separate them with a barrier that they will chew through in a few days.  Those few days are sufficient to allow the bees to become accustomed to each other. 

To accomplish this, open the strong hive and place a sheet of newspaper over the top hive box.  Then make a few slits in the newspaper to allow air to flow through it and provide a site for the bees to easily chew through. Now place the brood box from the weak colony on top of this newspaper and cover with an inner and outer cover. 

A few days later, I opened the hive and removed the remaining newspaper. Voila! The hives were combined.

Best Bee Hive Smoker

 In this posting, I review the Bee-Z-Smoker, a smoker that makes working in your bee hives easier.

A smoker is an essential part of any bee keepers kit.  A traditional smoker is really nothing more than a metal can with a bellows attached.  You place some kind of combustible inside the can, light it, and use the bellows to keep the fire going and drive smoke through a spout in the top of the can.

Smoking bees keeps them calm and makes it easier for the bee keeper to work inside the hive.  Actually, the presence of smoke causes the bees to go into defensive mode.  The presence of smoke leads the bees to believe that that a forest fire is occurring; they enter the hive and begin gorging themselves on honey in advance of an evacuation.  The bee keeper has an opportunity to work in the hive because the bees are preoccupied.  Additionally, once the bees have stuffed themselves on honey, they have a more difficult time bending their abdomens to inflict a sting.  So the bee keeper is also less likely to take a hit.

Lighting a smoker is fairly easy in concept.  Just load the can with pine needles, twine, leaves, wood chips, cardboard or any other combustible and then light it with a match.  In practice, it's actually a lot more difficult to do, so many bee keepers use a propane torch to light their smokers. 

One might think it's easy to light a smoker with a propane torch, but I've found this to also be fairly challenging. Whenever, I place the tip of the torch into the can it either causes a huge flair-up or the torch extinguishes itself.  So I decided to investigate alternatives on the Internet and found the Bee-Z-Smoker from Stinger Innovations, Inc.

The Bee-Z smoker uses an electronic system to ignite wood shavings that you insert into the can.  It works on the same principle that used in your toaster.  Electricity is run through a set of bare wires inside the smoker and these heat to cause the wood shavings to catch on fire.  An electric fan inside the Bee-Z handle replaces the traditional bellows and is used to drives smoke through the snout of the can.  The unit is powered by a series of batteries stored in the handle.  The batteries are charged with an adapter that plugs into any electric outlet.

I found using the Bee-Z-Smoker to be quite easy.  It made lighting the smoker much easier than using a match or propane torch.  The only drawback to the Bee-Z is that it's fairly pricey;  a normal smoker costs about $35.  A Bee-Z will lighten your wallet by $149.  Still, I think it's worth it. 

 

One small quibble I have is that the smoker uses a switch to light the wood chips and another to blow the fan.  Two switches is not a problem, but the placement of these controls is counter intuitive in my opinion.  Ignition is accomplished via a trigger switch that you operate with your forefinger.  The blower switch is located on the top of the unit and is driven with your thumb.  In my opinion, it would have made more sense to reverse the functions of these two switches because you will be driving smoke through the unit more frequently than lighting the unit and the trigger switch is easier and more accessible to use.

Updated 1/26/2012:

After reading this posting, the manufacturer contacted me about the aforementioned position of the fan and ignition switches.  Upon reflection, I agree that this is much safer approach.  Below is the explanation....

"We have the switches positioned in their configuration for safety concerns.  When the BEE-Z-SMOKER is dropped, only the fan button will ever engage by accident.  If the heating element switch were on the outside of the handle it could be ‘wedged’ against something when/if it is dropped thereby creating a LARGE fire hazard.  This potential hazard is simply too large to ignore."

Below is a photo of a traditional smoker and the Bee-Z.

 

Hive Boxes: One Size Doesn't Fit All

In this posting, I describe your options for configuring a hive, focusing on the configuration and weight of Langstroth hive boxes.

There are a variety of bee hive options on the market today including the National (popular in the UK), Top Bar (popular in Africa), and Langstroth (the worldwide standard).   Prior to becoming a bee keeper, I researched each of these options and came to the conclusion that the Langstroth is the best option for hobby beekeepers.  (It is a time-tested design, the equipment is widely available and the drawn-out comb can be reused after honey has been extracted, making life a little easier on your bees.) After using, the Langstroth hive for over two seasons, I can say that I remain enthusiastic about this design, but I've changed my opinion on the best way to configure it.

Basic Hive Configuration

A Langstroth hive is created by stacking hive boxes of the same length and width upon each other.  The bottom hive box is used by the bees for rearing brood.  The second hive box sits on top of the first and is given over to the bees for honey storage.  The third and subsequent tiers of hive boxes are used by the bees for additional honey storage.  These boxes function like attic of the house - the bees have enough honey to last the winter stored in the second box, but will store any additional reserves of honey in these upper boxes.   When bee keepers harvest honey, they are taking the additional reserves of honey that are stored away in the attic.

All of the above mentioned boxes have the same length and width so they can be stacked one upon the other.  But the height of these boxes vary.  Traditionally, the Lanstroth hive is configured with two "Deep" hive boxes on the bottom.  These deep boxes are 9 5/8 inches high.  Then there are two options for the boxes that form the "attic."  "Medium" boxes measure 6 5/8 inches deep and "Shallow" boxes measure 5 11/16 inches deep. 

Hive Box Weights

Medium and Shallow hive boxes were created to make bee keeping easier.  These boxes are smaller, and therefore, weigh less than "Deep" boxes when filled with honey.  This makes them easier to pick up and move when doing routine hive inspections or when harvesting honey.  Here is the typical weight of these various hive bodies when filled with honey:

• Deep - 101 pounds (11 pounds wooden box & frames + 90 pounds of honey)
• Medium - 48 pounds ( 8 pounds wooden box & frames + 40 pounds of honey)
• Shallow - 36 pounds (6 pounds wooden box & frames + 30 pounds of honey)

Recommendations

When I purchased my first set of hives, I purchased two Deep boxes to form the core of the hive and two Medium boxes to form the "attic."  At the time, I reasoned that I would not be moving the Deep boxes that frequently, so the weight would not be a problem, particularly since I'm in good health and reasonably strong.  After working with this configuration for two seasons, I've formed a different opinion.  Specifically, a 100 pound box is just too heavy for one adult to manage comfortably.  And if you want to involve kids in bee keeping, the weight is out of the question.

If you are considering adding a hive to your garden for the first time this year, I would recommend using only Medium and Shallow hive boxes.  To provide adequate space for brood and honey storage for your bees, you'll need to use three Medium boxes in place of the two Deep boxes that are normally used in a traditional Langstroth configuration.  You then have the option to use either Medium or Shallow boxes to form the "attic." 

The advantage of using all Medium boxes is that you'll have only one size of frame and foundation throughout the hive, making all the parts interchangeable.  The advantage of using Shallows for the attic is simply that of lower weight.

Since I already own some Deep hive boxes, I plan to keep using these as brood boxes (bottom most tier) since these aren't moved during inspections or harvesting.  I'll then replace the second Deep with two Mediums and use mediums for all subsequent layers.

  

Flats of Egypt Beets

Last Fall, I planted beets with the intention of harvesting them during the Winter months.  The idea is to make your garden into a kind of root cellar to store the beets that you harvest directly from the garden as needed.  This process is called overwintering and can be used for beets, carrots, brussels sprouts and other cold hardy vegetables.

One of my favorite beets is a variety called Chioggia. This beet is both delicious and beautiful -- When you cut into a fresh Chioggia you see concentric circles of red and white.  As much as I like them, Chioggia beets  can get a little woody when over wintered and so I tried other varieties this year to see what works best in my garden.

One variety I tried is called Flats of Egypt and I'm happy to report that I find them to be a great overwintering variety. Flats of Egypt produce sweet flattened roots that are about 3 inches in diameter.  These beets mature in about 50 days so plant them in the fall or late summer depending on your climate.

The best way to cook beets is to wrap them in aluminum foil and bake them in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 1 hour.  When the beets are done, let them cool; the skins should just slide off.

Flats of Egypt produce beautiful foliage that's a combination of green, maroon and red.  We keep the beet root for ourselves and pass along the tops to our flock of chickens.  They greedily devour the leaves and the resulting eggs yolks take on a deep orange-yellow color from the beets.

You can buy Flats of Eqypt beet seeds from Baker Creek Seeds, Park Seed Company, and Territorial Seed Company.