Sunday, October 23, 2011

I was actually able to pull the tomato plant out of the ground

Unripe huge Lemon Boy beside ripe one of normal size.
For over thirty years I did not garden in this yard. The clay that we are in, turns to something resembling concrete in the summer. Actually, no, I'm not exaggerating one iota. If you were to take a shovel, and try to dig in the clay, you would literally have to scrape the ground to remove a thin layer and keep scraping. You could not push a shovel into it at all. Not one inch. I think you get the idea. It was hard.
This spring I put in my first lasagna garden. It has been a dream. I can plant, I can weed, I can pull tomato plants out of the ground. No shovel at all.
The last tomato, Lemon Boy, looked like it had some blight on the top leaves. I decided to pick off all the remaining tomatoes and put the plant in the trash. There is a tomato that must be five inches across. I am so thrilled to have gardened somewhat successfully...for a newbie. Just for the record, I will not be growing Lemon Boy again as it is a Seminis seed which is owned by Monsanto. As is Early Girl.
The lettuce in the greenhouse is looking good. I think we'll have plants big enough to start harvesting in a few weeks.
The slugs have begun to nibble the cauliflower and chard in the raspberry bed. It looks to me though that the plants are hale and hardy, and should be able to survive. I did break off some leaves that look like they may have leaf miners.
Dehydrated tomatoes

6 comments:

Mark Willis said...

Part of the joy of gardening is being able to succeed DESPITE the elements and the ravages of pests and diseases. As long as you don't expect 100% success, you'll be OK. You should show us a photo of your 5" tomato - or is it already gone?

Erin said...

Good idea...yes I have it still. I'll do that today. I thought it was four inches and a pound. My husband said no, more like five and a kilo.
I think there is a lot to be said for planting extra for the bugs, slugs and elements. I'm putting a fig in the front yard next year and fully expect I can add to that list, and enough for people who need some and prefer not to ask. :-)

Indie said...

This lasagna gardening sounds amazing! I, too, have concrete clay. I usually dig out my gardens with a pick axe. To not have to do that would be wonderful.
Enjoy the veggies!

Erin said...

Hi Indie. I highly recommend lasagna gardening for clay. I actually grew carrots. I can pull them out!! (only a person with clay can really get why that is SOOOO exciting)
So when you pick axe the garden are you mixing in sand? Are you having success? I need to go in and read you again today.

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

Our first two gardens were horrendous clay, really, we could have thrown pots! I wish lasagna gardening had been a thing back then, it probably would have saved my sanity. I'm glad it's working for you. Congrats on being able to pull your tomato out of the ground! I agree, there are more than enough varieties of tomatoes out there that you don't need to grown Monsanto fruit. ;)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you are on your way with a plan. Clay is here too and I condition every year with my homemade compost, but the clay returns with a vengeance. Granted it is far better in the beds than when I moved here, but our freeze thaw conditions just keep pushing in more clay to battle.