Every picture tells a story.....

  I know ,  know  the picture is not too pretty. but it is real. I regularly peruse Pinterest and many other sites looking for inspiration and information. Everything is  soooo pretty. which is great but c'mon people this is gardening. It involves dirt , bugs and a multitude of  weeds. Myself I have been fairly lucky. the insect pests have been few but I constantly battle four legged creatures and of course weeds. Lots of weeds. Soooo many weeds I have wanted to quit.

     This ugly little picture will never  be put on Pinterest but it tells a fantastic story. It almost did not make it to the blog. I need to contain myself from letting this thing get out of hand. No I don't want to teach people how to garden. just share my experiences and keep a journal of my garden. With that said I will explain my lowly little picture.

    These are my Roma Tomatoes I lovingly grew from seed. hopefully they live but that's ok there's always plan "B" , the nursery. Open any seed catalog and you will be assaulted with 6 pages of Tomato varieties. In all the years I have been gardening The Roma and Cherry Tomatoes not only preform the best but are the most useful. Yes I will grow a few beefsteak tomatoes but nothing beats the Roma for cooking and freezing. They have less seeds and the skin is easily removed in the blanching process.

   The next point to this picture is planning. These were planted against the pen walls. I may use a bit of chicken wire but really only need to tie the plants to the poles to keep them growing. No need for expensive Tomato cages. Although I have been considering experimenting with some techniques found on the Internet.

  One of the pests I can always count on returning is the dreaded Whitefly. this will be my mortal enemy in the coming months and it will be slain. Hopefully. I grew up with the practice of Organic Gardening . So pesticides aren't really an option. You know you have Whitefly when you shake the bush and a white cloud of bugs fly out . these little guys will suck the juices right out of your plant. Not good for fruit production. Or is the tomato a vegetable ? Eh who cares.

  This year I have planted Onions within the Tomatoes. According  to Nick Federov , the plant guy on the local news, this will help. Good thing as I have a ton of Onion bulbs.  Went all out on the Onions this year. I guess I will need a good root cellar. Hmmmm.

   The next point to the picture is the straw.  Love the straw. Place some old newspapers on the ground And add two inches of straw on the top . At $8 dollars a bale you will save yourself  countless hours of weeding. Not only weeding but you are starting the composting process for years to come.

    So, every picture tells a story, or four.