# My Little Tomato Garden A Photographic Journey



## alelover (Jun 7, 2011)

It seems the older I get the smaller my garden gets. Planted some Sweet and Genovese basil, a few Kirby cukes and of course tomatoes. San Marzanos, cherries and Better boys. Here are a few pics. I'll add more as the season progresses. Got started about a month late this year. They've only been in the ground 3 weeks.
































See ya in a few weeks after we grow a little.


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## beer-b-q (Jun 7, 2011)

Nice little plot... I like your irrigation system...


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## alelover (Jun 7, 2011)

Thanks. It was cheap but it's effective.


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## realtorterry (Jun 7, 2011)

Looks fantastic


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## roller (Jun 7, 2011)

Looks good...I have 12 plants myself and picked 16 tomatoes from them yesterday. It was the first big pick. Nice and red. I know that you can`t wait.


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## pineywoods (Jun 7, 2011)

Looks great I'll look forward to more pics as they grow


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## SmokinAl (Jun 7, 2011)

Looks great! Our season is just about over here down here. Have to wait until Nov. to plant more tomato's.


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## alelover (Jun 7, 2011)

Thanks. How's your garden doing Piney?


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## big twig (Jun 7, 2011)

Tomatoes look great. You can't get better tomatoes then ones you grow yourself!


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## Bearcarver (Jun 7, 2011)

Nice tomato garden!!!

I only have 3 plants, as usual.

Nice irrigation system too!

I got a Buddy (big Bud drinker) who put a piece of 3" PVC in the ground, down to the roots, at each tomato plant.

He pours water in those PVC pipes---Works great! 

I told him to put ALL Budweiser in one of them, to see what happens. He was thinking about it.

Bear


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## scarbelly (Jun 7, 2011)

Looks great man - My garden is getting overgrown with weeds - need to get out there and clean it up


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## alelover (Jun 8, 2011)

Actually Bear I was at my friends on Memorial weekend and they always pour the beer over the rail on the deck into the rose bushes to empty the glass for the next tasting. Nicest rose bushes I've ever seen. Might work for maters too.


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## chefrob (Jun 8, 2011)

alelover said:


> It seems the older I get the smaller my garden gets.


LOL! yer not alone.........nice plot!


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## venture (Jun 8, 2011)

ale, my garden got a lot smaller this year because I am getting older and the ups and downs are getting harder for me..  If I had your huge and beautiful back yard, I might make a mistake and plant more than I could do.  I have a more traditional drip system, and I wish my garden looked as good as yours.

Good luck and good smoking.


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## tyotrain (Jun 8, 2011)




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## alelover (Jun 18, 2011)

It's 2 weeks later now. Here's what we got. Remember I started a month late this year.







 My cukes.







Looking East.







Basil. Sweet and Genovese.







A little Bearview on the Genovese.







This is so irrigating. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	

















See ya in a couple weeks.


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## captturbo (Jun 18, 2011)

Where's the hot peppers? Like Smokin' Al said, our tomato season is winding down here in SW Florida. I still have several Cherokee Purple plants in containers producing but the heat is taking it's toll. The rainy season just won't kick in to break the heat.

As for using beer, I pour beer on my compost piles ... after I personally filter it.


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## Bearcarver (Jun 18, 2011)

LOL---BearView of a plant !!  ---I almost missed that comment !

Thanks Scott !!

Bear Part #1

Now could one of you many Florida boys (like SmokinAl & CaptTurbo)please explain your tomato season---or seasons????????

I don't get it---I'm used to sneaking the little seedlings in just before Mothers' Day, and then keeping fingers crossed for NO FROST, so they don't get killed, so you don't have to plant again.

Then the end of our season comes in Fall when the leaves turn colors & start to fall, and the early frost puts a stop to the growing & ripening of the tomatoes.

You guys are confusing me with your season ending around June, and talking about planting again in November---What gives?

Thanks,

Bear Part #2


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## captturbo (Jun 18, 2011)

It is a different world down here Bear. I grew up as a farm boy in NE Ohio and the family always had two acres of garden. We often did extend the toms past the first frost or two by covering the plants.

Now for down South:

I like to plant the tomatoes in late October or early November. The Summer heat and humidity usually breaks here in October so it's the time when I start getting some seedlings started. In truth you could probably carry tomatoes year long even through the Summer with the use of shade cloth but the heat and humidity brings on a battle with white flies and blights. If you stay on top of things with spraying you might keep a few going. Not Worth the effort to me.

Another battle which we Dixie gardeners have to fight is the rootknot nematodes. You higher latitude ground scratchers don't have this misery because you have good hard freezes of the ground to kill them off.

I can grow amazing in-ground gardens from Fall through Winter while the nematodes are dormant but for my Spring planting the nematode sensitive plants which include the maters, eggplants, and the okra have to be grow in containers. The eggplant and okra do well through the heat of  Summer so that is what I grow during that time.

Fall is the best time of all for us. That is when we plant the salad crops, greens, broccoli ... you can almost name it. In any case we have had two Winters of all time record breaking cold and it was a lot of work saving everything by putting lights under covers to keep the freeze at bay. This global warming is trying to freeze us to death?


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## Bearcarver (Jun 18, 2011)

Thanks for the run-down Capt !!!

Very interesting!!

Bear


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## justpassingthru (Jun 18, 2011)

Me too, us southern boys are starting our gardens.  LOL

Nice looking garden you have there Ale, I don't have any space for a garden so I making mine upside down in 5 gallon buckets, I just about have the frame welded up.

Looking forward to the 'mater pics.

Gene


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## alelover (Jun 18, 2011)

I can't wait to see your contraption Gene.


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## alelover (Jun 26, 2011)

It's only been 8 days but I think they grew a little. I have cucumbers now.




















And a pollinator.







And a tomato. LOL. See if you can find it.

























And my basil.







Thanks for tuning in.

See you in a week or two.


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## Bearcarver (Jun 27, 2011)

All coming along nicely!

Bear


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## captturbo (Jun 29, 2011)

Looking great! Thanks for taking us along on your adventure!


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## alelover (Jul 4, 2011)

*New Pics From July 3rd*

Starting to get cukes and man are they good.







When I slice one up my kitchen smells of cucumber.







Let's go outside. This is the best my cukes have grown in years. Amazing what good dirt can do.













Close up.







The Basil just keeps growing. The septic line runs by that side of the garden.







Genovese Basil is going crazy.







The tomatoes are doing well. Growing too tall too fast though. It's been so hot here the last month. Mid 90s everyday.







Better Boy.







San Marzanos.













Cherry Tomatoes.







The whole garden.







See ya next week. Thanks for tuning in.


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## captturbo (Jul 4, 2011)

It's looking great! Those cukes are killers! I didn't do well with them this year. I tried to grow them while it was too cold. Florida has two all time record breaking cold winters so I got humbled on a few things. Now that it's smoking hot every day my okra and eggplant are pumping out the product. Strangely I still have some tomatoes. Never had maters still coming in July down here.


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## alelover (Jul 5, 2011)

I remember when I lived in Cocoa. Gardening was a challenge.


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## meateater (Jul 5, 2011)

Great looking garden.


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## alelover (Aug 7, 2011)

Well it's been a while. I have pics of the garden but they are on my less than a year old terabyte hard drive hard drive that I think may have crapped the bed. It's been in the 90's for 2 months with hardly any rain so the garden looks like crap anyway. The basil is thriving though. I do have some pics of the pickins however. Got some cherry tomatoes and some basil and made some insalata caprese. A simple and delicious snack that goes great with a nice hoppy IPA.

Mozzarella, Genovese Basil and cherry tomatoes.







Place a basil leaf on each cube of moz.







Top with a tomato. And secure with a toothpick.













Drizzle with some good EVOO and give it a light dusting of freshly cracked black pepper.













Pair them up with a nice IPA and start snackin.







And a nice Bearview.







Thanks for tuning in to this weeks episode. Mangia.


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## Bearcarver (Aug 7, 2011)

That's Great Scott !!!

With that last BearView, you can turn cherry tomatoes into "Big Boys", just by left clicking!!!

I like doing that too, when I need a snack---Hmmm some of these---a little of this & that----And I like your combination a lot !!!

Thanks,

Bear


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## alelover (Aug 7, 2011)

Thanks Bear. It's an Italian classic. We eat it a lot this time of year.


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## mco (Aug 7, 2011)

Great pic, I was wondering what I was gonna do with all the basil that I have growing, Talk about hot 15 degrees above average and no rain in site


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## alelover (Sep 2, 2011)

Well the tomatoes are all but dead from the heat and no rain. Was able to get one more picking. Here's what I got and what I did with them.

Got some more cherries. Used those for caprese and buttered up my boss at work with some.







Picked some San Marzanos. Picked 3 Better Boys. I'll throw those in too. Those will be sauce.













Blanched them and threw in ice water before peeling.







Sauteed some chopped onion in EVOO.







Added in some crushed garlic near the end so we don't brown the garlic.







Can't make sauce and not throw in some homemade italian sausage.







Fry these babies up.







Slice them into nice size pieces.







A little Bearview.







And into the sauce with them for about 4 hours.







Made some spaghetti and chiabatta garlic bread to go with.







And topped it all off with the king of cheeses.







Thanks for watching. Hope we all had a great summer.


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## Bearcarver (Sep 2, 2011)

MMMMmmmmmm.........Looks Great !!!!!!!!!

Nice BearView too!!!

Bear


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## mco (Sep 2, 2011)




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## alelover (Sep 3, 2011)

Thanks. How come my pics are displaying smaller in the post this time?


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## alelover (Sep 3, 2011)

And here are some Basil pics.











The daddy long legs keep the basil bug free.











And a view of the whole garden. See how beautiful my tomato plants are. Too much hot, not enough rain.


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## Bearcarver (Sep 3, 2011)

Basil looks real nice, Scott !!!

We just had the wettest August ever in SEPA.  You could have had all the water you wanted from here!

Bear


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## alelover (Sep 3, 2011)

It sure would have helped. It actually poured here last nite. Too little too late I'm afraid.


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## budster (Oct 9, 2012)

Hey Bear

I like your watering system. We will be planting our heirlooms in about 3 weeks, just waiting for things to cool off here and lose the humidity. I think I'm going to try it as watering by hand here is a big problem. Pictures of everything will follow. What size did you make the watering holes? I'm thinking I'll drill the holes after I plant and lay down the pipe.

Here are some pics of last years crop. Sorry it looks like I don't have permission to load pictures yet. I'm new to the site.


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