the tale of two tomatoes

< the facts >

Two tomato plants are growing outside on our patio. They are in smallish handmade clay pots and they quite like it on the patio because it is south facing but gets ample shade from the ceiling above them so they are protected from the harsh sun. We filled the pots with aged donkey shit, mushroom compost, and a layer of banana peels for potassium plus egg shells for calcium and other minerals. Once a week I fertilize them with Mendocino County sea weed tea. For stakes we used sticks from the forest.

playing with carlos' new instagram app

< the residents >

Carlos and me, Desiree, who will be leaving this Sunday for the gathering and to travel a bit.
My mom and dad, who will be leaving in a couple weeks for their anniversary.
Many plants in the garden and on the patio.

< the dilemma >

Our tomato plants grew way tall, super fast and one day I noticed that our Chocolate Cherry tomato was very wilty and losing many leaves. As it turns out, it outgrew the stakes, leaned over our railing, and cracked open on its stem. Also, everyone on the patio will need to be watered while the family is away. Carlos and I moved a tomato to the garden bed that gets watered with the sprinklers but the sun was killing it... so we moved it back onto the patio.

< the climax >

DIY How to mend a cracked tomato stem:

gauze + cotton yarn = tomato cast

a happy, loved tomato is a healthy, delicious tomato

AND...
I came up with a way to water while everyone is vacationing!

DIY self watering container

inspired by "aqua globes" but free.. and "shabby chic"!

Patio Container Garden

As some of you know, I'm currently living in an apartment. At one time, my family was given the okay to plant whatever we want in the garden bed next to our apartment as long as we maintain so last year we grew lots of cucumbers, some tomatoes that didn't do well because of the hot, dry weather.. lettuce, mint, wheat, and flowers. This year we wanted to plant more stuff so we made the bed bigger and started lots of seeds really early. Things were looking good until the management hired an outside landscaper who had no idea what anything was so he hoed up many of our plants. Goodbye lettuce and elderberry bush! A few lovely plants made it through the ransacking, but this made me think twice about planting veggies in the bed. I have resorted to primarily using containers on the patio...

And it's a struggle.

Please excuse my nighttime iPhone photography (no flash). These tomato plants are doing GREAT. On the right we have Chocolate Cherry and the left is a Goliath.

Besides the tomatoes though, most things are having a hard time. I'm very new to container gardening and I definitely did not use the right mix of soil. To start, I used straight COW MANURE and nothing else... it seems I was a little off my rocker that day. Since then I have amended many things with sand so they are 50/50 sand/cow manure. Yet most plants still look a little down. The only fertilizers I like to use are those that come from real sources like bone meal, kelp, etc. I haven't invested in any yet, but I have inquired at my local feed store. Should check back in with them. I have made one revelation and it is seaweed :

Above you will see my jar of seaweed! At night I put a handful of seaweed in the jar, let it steep like a tea overnight and in the morning I have nutrient dense seaweed water to feed my plants with! I feel like this is definitely helping, but I still need to amend the soil a bit.

Anyone have experience with container gardening and want to share some tips??

Love - Desiree

Pickled Green Tomatoes

A couple weeks ago, Carlos and I played our first show at the new Farmers Market of the Ozarks in Springfield. It was a very rainy day amongst many new farmer friends. After the show, we got a big basket of donations from many generous farmers. In the basket was 5 juicy, slightly sour green tomatoes. We fried one, baked one into a casserole, and the rest I decided to pickle this morning. :) 

 

Supplies & Ingredients

two green tomatoes

two cloves garlic

three parsley stems

four chive leaves

1/4 onion (last minute decision, not pictured above)

freshly ground pepper

heaping tablespoon sea salt

apple cider vinegar

olive oil

water

knife, cutting board, quart mason jar

Slice and chop the ingredients. Since the jar will sit and maturate for a couple of weeks, it's not necessary to chop things very small. The ingredients will all absorb one another. Many people even like keeping their tomatoes whole.

 

When I pickle things, I always like to do it in layers. This is how I did it - tomatoes, pepper, herbs, tomatoes, pepper, herbs. It's like a pickle casserole in a jar! 

After all the ingredients are layered in the jar, I mix my pickling juice. I normally abstain from using specific measurements, but instead use a general method. In this case, here is my method:

A heaping tablespoon (ish) of sea salt per quart jar of pickles.

I fill my jars with 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water leaving room at the top.

 Since I still had loads of room after adding my pickling juice, I decided to add onions! Yuuuummy. :) I threw them in the jar and shook it up. Shake SHAKE Shake

To ensure that unwanted bacterias don't penetrate the jar, I top it off with olive oil and make sure everything is completely submerged. 

... And that's all there is to it!!!

You can use this recipe to pickle many vegetables, even fruits!