Strawberry Time

After an early morning thunderstorm, we traveled to Ter-lee Gardens to pick strawberries.  When we got there, there was only one other picker in the fields.  They only just opened yesterday for picking, so it was as if we had the whole place--all those strawberries--to ourselves!  Here comes the strawberry jam!

Tomato Blossoms!

Tuesday proudly standing by a paste tomato. 
We are seeing blossoms and some small tomatoes.

The Garden is in!

Tomatoes are looking great this year!  Even the cherry tomatoes (jujubes), which struggled to get started, turned around and began to thrive.  Our new, stand-in greenhouse was a great success for the little seedlings.  

Let the planting begin!

These paste tomatoes are ready to get in the garden.

Off to the garden in our plant mobile.
We feel very green here!

Planting the tomatoes was a whole family event.

The garden--officially in on the last day of May.

It will be interesting to see if the weed blocker is a success.

It's That Time of Year

My spring begins before the snow melts.  
It starts as soon as my tomato seeds are sewn. 

Tuesday giving the tomatoes some TLC.

The first week in April I planted five varieties of heirloom tomatoes--two of which are new to me.  I planted my go-to sauce tomatoes which include black vernissage, romas, and Amish paste.  New varieties include a cherry tomato called jujube and a pink slicer named dester.

Tomato seedlings coming up!

I hate thinning my tomatoes because I can't throwing away seedlings that bring me joy.  This year I decided not to throw any extra seedlings, instead transplanting them in their own pot and selling them for $2.00 each.  All 30 of my extra romas sold in about two hours!  I'm excited to pass on these favorite tomatoes to others who will enjoy them.

These romas are thinned, transplanted, and moved into the greenhouse.
They will stay here, bulking up, for another month.

This year I will have 15 Amish Paste, 15 romas, 10 black vernissage, 2 cherry jujubes, and 3 slicer desters.  I will also try some new techniques as I grow them.  Instead of putting straw at the base of the plants, I will be adding a cloth weed barrier.  I will also thin the more nonproductive tomato branches that grow towards the bottom of the plants, and stabilize the branches with soft twist tomato ties as the plants grow in the tomato cages.